When you walk into your favorite grocery store or local butcher shop, chances are you will come across the flat iron steak in the beef case. This popular but previously overlooked cut of meat is tender and flavorful, and it adds value for beef producers and processors to the beef carcass.
Chris Calkins’ team at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln teamed up with the University of Florida to help the Beef Checkoff, through the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, discover higher-value cuts of beef.
“Cattle prices were going down,” said Calkins, UNL emeritus professor of fresh meats. “NCBA data showed that the value of the loin and the rib over a five-year period had held steady. In contrast, the value on the chuck and the round dropped by 25% over that same five-year period. That’s a profound economic hit.”…