Beef Innovations Group

Educational Workshop with Drs. Dale Woerner and Keith Belk from Colorado State University.

The annual educational seminar for food service professionals and culinary students at the 2016 Taste of the Hawaiian Range featured “Beef Carcass Butchering and Product Valuation” by Drs. Dale Woerner and Keith Belk of Colorado State University. The 1.5-hour, free presentation is conveniently available for viewing in five video segments on this blog page.

The seminar illustrates and describes how a half-beef carcass—the chuck and round primals—are butchered into products while the characteristic of each product is shared. The presenters also detail how to best utilize the primals to get the most value from the animal carcass.

Chuck products covered include brisket; flank, skirt and flat iron steaks; short ribs and new, innovative cuts like the clod heart or ranch steak. Lean and similar in consistency to a sirloin, the clod heart steak is sourced from the front leg of the steer and is a flavorful, inexpensive cut.

In addition to sharing details about the round primal, the presentation delves into factors influencing the overall desirability of beef and tips to best achieve them: tenderness, specific meat color, flavor and juiciness.

Dr. Belk is the Monfort Endowed Chair in Meat Science at the Center for Meat Safety & Quality, and has been a buyer for Safeway and the Colorado State Meat Extension Specialist. An associate professor, Dr. Woerner is an expert in fresh meat quality, pre-harvest management of beef for quality meat production, meat cookery, instrument assessment of meat products, fresh meat shelf life and innovative carcass fabrication.

For more inspiring beef innovation ideas, visit www.beefinnovationsgroup.com.

Taste of the Hawaiian Range and Agriculture Festival provides a venue for sustainable agricultural education, plus encouragement and support of locally produced ag products.

Parts 1-5.