Working with your Processor

Josh Elmore, PASAdvisor III, Natural Resource Program

Objectives

• Working with your processor• Understanding what your animal will yield• Basic Cutting Specifications

Meat Processor

• Owner• Human Resource

Manager• Accountant• Meat Cutter• QC Manager• Sanitation Manager• Food Safety Coordinator• Public Relations

Manager

Livestock delivery

• Quality Control Point• Subject to Inspection• Humane Handling- minimize excitement when

handling livestock

• Does the processor know you are delivering animals?

• What time does the processor receive livestock?

• Are there any documents that need to be signed?

• Does the animal have access to water?

• Does the animal have room to lay down if held overnight?

Yield

• Live Weight• Hot Carcass Weight• Cold Carcass Weight• Cutout Weight• Yield Grade• Quality Grade

• Live Weight- many factors, most likely before taken to processor

• Hot Carcass Weight (HCW) -weight of live animal minus the hide, head, intestinal tract, and internal organs.

• Cold Carcass Weight (CCW) - weight of the carcass after it chilled and prior to fabrication.

Cutout Weight

Adopted from: R.E. Taylor. Scientific Farm Animal Production. 4th Ed. 1992.

YG

5

YG

2

Yield Grades

Quality Grades

Yield and Quality Grading

Cutting Specifications

• Know the variety of cuts available:

T-bones vs. Strip Loin &

Tenderloin Steaks

• Know the possible quantity of available cuts- Flank Steak vs. Tri tip

New York Strip

Tenderloin

Carcass Breakdown information

• Make the determination- you and processor

• What cuts do you want? What cuts do they cut?

• If selling, what specific cuts do you want?

How Much Do I Get?

Meat from a typical half beef (from a 1,000-1,200 lb. live animal) consists of

approximately:14 T-bone steaks (3/4” thick) 14 rib steaks (3/4”) 8 sirloin steaks (3/4”) 8 round steaks (3/4”) 2 sirloin tip roasts (3lbs.) 6 chuck roasts (4 lbs.) 4 arm roasts (3lbs.) 2 rump roasts (3lbs.) 8 packages of stew beef (1lb.) 4 packages of short ribs

(1.5lbs.) 4 packages of soup bones (1.5lbs.) 80-100 lbs. ground beef(variety meats, if desired, such as heart, liver, tongue, and oxtail)

How Much Do I Get?

Meat from a typical half hog ( from a 250- 270 lb. live animal) consists of approximately:

12-14 lbs. pork chops 6-10 lbs. ground pork and/or ground sausage

2 packages of spare ribs (1.5lbs.) 1 ham (15-18 lbs.; can be cut smaller)

3 shoulder roasts (4lbs.) 8-10 lbs. bacon 2 smoked hocks (0.75lbs.)(variety meats, if desired, such as heart, liver, tongue, and fat/lard)

Documentation

• Documentation is the best method to ensure you and your meat processor are on the same page!

• Meat processors advice • Get every cut that is available• Figure out what cuts you /customers want• Refine selection• Determine price

Yield

• Collect it.. Don’t assume processor will collect it for you.

• Know what the processor will collectHCW

• Know what you must collect– Live animal weight– Cutting Yield

Packaging

• What is available?• How many cuts/ package?• How may lbs/ package?

Not every option is listed below

All cuts below come from the same piece of meat. Average amount from 350 lb side of beef Amount

Rib LoinRib SteakRib-eye SteakPrime RibStanding Rib Roast

This is the ribeye with bones attachedRib Steak with bones removedBoneless Roast Prime Rib Roast with bones

12 to 14 steaks @ 3/4"12 to 14 steaks @ 3/4"10 to 14 lbs left whole or cut into 1/2 or 1/312 to 16 lbs left whole or cut into 1/2 or 1/3

Plate

Short RibsBoneless StewSoup BonesBrisket

Roasting Meat1" cubes of boneless lean meat

Roasting Meat, Stew or Ground

6 to 8 lbs average4 to 6 lbs average4 to 6 count average5 to 7 lbs whole

ChuckRoastsSteaks

Chuck, Arm Blade, Flat Iron, Denver

8 to 10 @ 3 to 4 lbs each

RoundSteaksCube Steaks Round Steak through mechanical tenderizer

6 to 8 lbs whole

T-Bone LoinT-Bone SteaksNew York StripTenderloin Not available if T-bone Chosen

12 to 14 steaks @ 3/4"12 to 14 steaks @ 3/4"12 to 14 steaks @ 3/4"

SirloinSteaksTri Tip Roast

1 Sirloin can serve 2-3 PeopleOutside muscle taken from Sirloin

7 to 9 @ 3/4"1 to 2 lb roast

GroundBulkPatties

Regular ground 80 to 90% lean4 to 5 oz patties 60 to 100 lbs depending on cuts used above

OtherSkirtFlank Steak

Used for fajita meat or groundUsed for fajita meat or ground

3/4 to 1 1/2 lbs3/4 to 1 1/2 lbs

All steaks will be 3/4" thick unless specified. Thicker cuts mean fewer steaks.Steaks will be packaged 2 per package unless specified.Roasts will be packaged 1 per package unless specified.Roasts will be packaged 1 per 4 to 6 lbs per package unless specified.Ground Beef will be packaged 2 lbs per package unless specified.

References• AMSA. 2001. Meat Evaluation Handbook. Savoy, Ill. • Boggs, D.L. , Merkel, R.A. 1993. Live Animal Carcass Evaluation and Selection Manual 4 th Edition• Burson, D.E. 2002. CDE Meats Evaluation and Identification Contest. Available:

http://animalscience.unl.edu/meats/cde2002/cde2002Meatsweb_files/frame.htm. Accessed May 3, 2005.• Lawrence, T.E., J.D. Whatley, T.H. Montgomery, L.J. Perino. 2001. A comparison of the USDA ossification-based maturity

system to a system based on dentition.• McKenna, D.R., D.L. Roeber, P.K. Bates, T.B. Schmidt, D.S. Hale, D.B. Griffin, J.W. Savell, J.C. Brooks, J.B. Morgan, T.H.

Montgomery, K.E. Belk, G.C. Smith. 2002. National Beef Quality Audit – 2000: Survey of targeted cattle and carcass characteristics related to quality, quantity, and value of fed steers and heifers.

• TAMU. 2005. Available at: http://meat.tamu.edu/producer.html. Accessed December 8, 2005.• Price, M.A. 1980. Can Judges judge what hides hide? University of Alberta, Department of Animal Science, Agriculture and

Forestry Bulletin, 3:9-12.• University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 2002. Available at: http://citnews.unl.edu/assuringquality/product.html. Accessed

November 30, 2005.• Wenther, J.B. NMPAN. 2009. Understanding the Meat Processors Language. Accessed Novemeber 12, 2010. Available at:

http://www.extension.org/mediawiki/files/c/c7/Wenther_webinar_slides_handout_9-15-09.pdf