Beef Cuts | Primal
Grades of Beef
All beef is inspected for wholesomeness by the Canadian Beef Grading Agency and graded for quality and consistency. You’ve heard of Canada Prime, Canada AAA, and Canada AA grades – and Canada Prime tops the grading scale. Marbling plays a big role in quality grades.
Marbling – the little white flecks in beef – is key to flavour. The higher the amount of marbling, the higher the quality of beef. The Certified Angus Beef® brand is incredibly flavourful, tender and juicy because of the high amounts of marbling in every cut.
A: The same independent CBGA graders inspect black-hided cattle (typical of the Angus breed) and give it a grade. All beef considered for the brand must be the best Canada AAA or Canada Prime, beef – truly the top of the scale. This top-quality Angus beef is then evaluated again, using the brand's set of 10 science-based specifications for marbling, size and uniformity. If it's good enough to make the cut, then it earns the distinctive Certified Angus Beef® brand label.
A: Quality, plain and simple. Only truly elite beef surpasses the CBGA's stringent Prime standards, AND meets all 10 of the brand's quality specifications. Only 3% of beef achieves the high standards of Certified Angus Beef® brand Prime. And marbling is key to its incredible flavour and tenderness.
