Buying meat directly from a butcher or farm involves terminology that most consumers have never encountered. Here is a complete glossary of the terms you will see and hear.
Beef Grading and Quality Terms
USDA Prime: The highest grade of beef, characterized by abundant marbling (intramuscular fat). Less than 10% of beef qualifies. Mostly sold to restaurants and high-end retailers.
USDA Choice: The most common grade for retail beef. Good marbling with modest variability. Most quality grocery store beef is Choice.
USDA Select: Leaner than Choice with less marbling. Budget beef category.
Ungraded beef: Custom-exempt and direct-farm beef is often not USDA-graded. This does not mean it is low quality - many excellent small farm operations opt out of the grading system, which requires USDA participation.
Grass-finished: Animal's final months on grass only, no grain. Leaner, more complex flavor.
Grain-finished: Final months on grain diet, typically corn. More marbling, milder flavor.
Pricing and Weight Terms
Hanging weight (HW): Weight of the dressed carcass before cutting, trimming, and boning. This is the common pricing basis for beef shares. Expect 35-45% less as packaged yield.
Finished weight / packaged weight / cut-and-wrap weight: The weight of meat you actually take home after butchering. Typically 55-65% of hanging weight.
Live weight: Weight of the animal before slaughter. Rarely used in consumer pricing.
Yield grade: USDA estimate of the percentage of usable meat from a carcass. Yield grades 1-5; lower numbers indicate higher meat yield.
Processing and Regulatory Terms
USDA-inspected: Processed under federal inspection. Required for any meat sold across state lines or to most commercial buyers. The USDA inspection stamp is your baseline quality and safety assurance.
State-inspected: Processed under state (not federal) inspection. This meat meets state standards but cannot be sold across state lines. Regulations vary significantly by state.
Custom-exempt: Meat processed for the owner's personal use only. A farm family processing their own animals for personal consumption is custom-exempt. This meat cannot be sold. The distinction matters when buying beef shares: the farm may use custom-exempt processing, which means the meat is technically yours from the moment it enters processing (you purchased the animal, not the meat).
Slaughter date: The date the animal was killed. Important for understanding freshness and when aging begins.
Dry aging: Holding an unpacked carcass or primal in a controlled environment (specific temperature, humidity, airflow) for 21-90+ days. Produces tenderness and flavor changes through moisture evaporation and enzymatic activity.
Wet aging: Aging meat in vacuum-sealed packaging in a refrigerated environment. Improves tenderness modestly but produces none of the flavor complexity of dry aging. Standard practice for commercial beef.
Cut Sheet Terms
Cut sheet / cutting instructions: Your written specifications for how your animal is processed. Includes steak thickness, roast sizes, how trim is used, and any special requests.
Bone-in vs. boneless: Whether certain cuts retain the bone. Bone-in generally means more flavor and less yield (bones take up freezer space). Boneless means more usable meat per pound but sometimes slightly less flavor in certain cuts.
English cut short ribs: Short ribs cut perpendicular to the ribs, producing thick pieces with the bone running lengthwise. Best braised.
Flanken cut short ribs: Short ribs cut across the ribs, producing thin strips with multiple bone cross-sections. Korean galbi style. Best marinated and grilled.
Osso buco: Cross-cut veal or beef shanks producing a round piece with marrow bone in the center. Braised low and slow.
Organ meats / offal: Liver, heart, tongue, kidney, tripe, oxtail, and other non-muscle parts. Available by request on most cut sheets. Often free or low-cost additional when ordering a beef share.
Farm and Animal Terms
Steer: A castrated male bovine. Most beef is from steers.
Heifer: A young female bovine that has not yet calved. Common for beef.
Bull: An intact male bovine. Rarely used for beef except in certain markets.
Market weight: The weight at which an animal is ready for slaughter. For beef, typically 1,100-1,400 lbs live weight for commercial cattle; lighter for some heritage and grass-only operations.
For more information on finding a butcher, farm, or processor near you: Search the Butcher Bud directory.