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As a follow-up to my last
week’s column, 1 thought I’d
try to tackle the subject of
how pork is evaluated. And,
as in beef, I am going to fall
back on the knowledge of the
National Livestock and Meat
Boad when it comes to the
why’s and wherefores.
In the past few years, the
meat industry has seen rapid
changes in the type of hogs'
selected as grand champions
at local fairs and state
livestock shows. While on the
hoof, these prize-winning
hogs reflect the judge’s
opinion on what is best, and
this is hopefully based on the
fisAl end-product that
amftal was bred for - hams,
pork chops, and bacon.
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Brief answers
to short questions
Sheila's
Shorts
By Sheila Miller
But even more important
to today’s swine than the
judge m the show ring, the
modern hog has been molded
by the consumer. Purchase
power tells the hog producer
what tne families in the U.S.
and worldwide want and
demand m the pork products
they buy.
Since most hogs are
marketed within a small
weight range, the U.S.D.A.
has been able to establish
strict standards of how long
the best slaughter hog should
be, along with the amount of
fat it carries, and the size of
chops. Actually, they
measure the area of the
longissimus dorsi muscle at
Farm Show Coliseum Harrisburg
April 26-27, 1980
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the tenth rib a rigid
criteria.
Hog breeders and com
mercial hogmen have
responded to the publics
demand for less fat and
more lean meat by trying to
raise trimmer, meatier
hogs. The leaner cuts have
become more fashionable m
our thin-conscious society,
making ham, loin, and
shoulder blade cuts most
popular.
According to NLMB’s
Meat Evaluation Handbook,
pork carcass evaluation is
based on the expected yield
of the four lean cuts ham,
loin, arm picnic, and Boston
butt. It also considers the
quality of the lean the
meat’s firmness and color,
the amount of firmness of
fat, and the meat’s marbling
and texture.
To refresh your memory,
marbling is the speck flecks,
or fat deposits m the muscle
that adds juiciness and
flavor to the meat. And
texture is the size of the fiber
bundles that make up the
muscle, either coarse or
fine.
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Reflecting the recent
trends to low-fat diets, the
NLMB reports that during
the past twelve years, tests
run by a Mid-west ex
periment station have shown
as increase of ham and loin
percentage of carcass
weight from 32.3 percent to
42.6 percent.
The 1800 barrows
measured also showed
decrease in the amount of
backfat, going from 1.64
inches thick to 1.25 inches
thick. The loin eye, or
muscle at the tenth nb,
increased m area from 3.22
square inches to 4.74.
The lean-cut yield of an
individual hog is a direct
relation to the amount of
finish or fat on the carcass.
Finish is measured by taking
the average backfat
thickness at three spots
along the hog’s back at the
first nb, last nb, and last
lumbar vertebrae.
NLMB suggests an
average backfat thickness of
about one inch to be op
timum for a hog weighing
140 pounds, dressed.
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UJU U U u
Mark Preferred Section Ist Choice X
3rd Choice XXX
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after April 1, 1980.
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After tat and percent lean
cuts available from the hog
carcass, the trained eye
should look for the curve and
bulge of the carcass.
Hopefully, it will be plump in
the nght spots, the ham,
lorn, shoulder, and belly.
NLMB points out the
length of the carcass is not
necessarily related to the
carcass value or the amount
of meat that it will produce
being increased. However,
length is used in the cer
tification standards of pork
carcasses.
Let’s take a closer look at
one of the favorite cuts in
pork, the hams. Each hog
comes equipped with two
potential Easter or
Christmas delicacies.
Whether fresh or cured,
there are certain things that
make one ham better than
another.
What does a terrific ham
look like. Well, once agam
referring to the expert
opinion of NLMB, a
desirable muscled ham is
both broad and deep with the
Class A
Grand National
Circuit Event
Entrance
n n 0
2nd Choice XX
meatiness extending toward
the hock of the hog’s leg.
This gives the consumer
more of the most preferred
ham section, the center
steaks.
And, the hams should not
be covered with an excessive
amount of fat, because in the
commercial trade, this fat is
trimmed off on the upper
two-thirds of the ham, with
the lower part left on. In
either case, it means waste.
NLMB goes on to
describe the high-quality
ham as one where the cut
lean surface is firm, fine
textured, and uniformly
bright, greyish-pink. In
cured hams, this color will
be changed slightly through
processing.
The muscle should contain
a uniform and extensive
amount of firm, white
marbling. The outside finish
should also have the firm,
white fat and it should be
dry, with smooth skin.
Variations in this high
quality ham range m color
from dark red, to almost
pure grey, or the ham could
be two-toned in color, with
the meat becoming darker
as it nears the bone. Inferior
hams also tend to have a
coarser texture and may
appear soft and watery, a
weeping ham.
Getting back to the hog
carcass as _ a whole, the
process of grading involves
all the points mentioned.
But, it differentiates bet
ween gilts and barrows, and
sows. Boars and stags are
left out of the grading
system completely.
In the gilts and barrow
category, the carcasses are
separated into two major
areas those with ac
ceptable or unacceptable
lean.
Those that are pulled off
into unacceptable row are
graded U.S. Utility. Their
bellies may be too thin for
bacon production, or they
may have soft and oily
carcasses which throw them
into Utility regardless of
other quality factors.
Acceptable carcasses are
divided into' U.S. No. 1
through No. 4. These
U.S.D.A. grades are set up to
estimate the percent of yield
of the four lean cuts, with
U.S. No. 1 yielding 53 percent
or more, U.S. No. 2 yielding
50 to 52.9 percent, U.S. No. 3
with 47 to 49.9 percent, and
U.S. No. 4 bringing up the
tail end with everything less
than 47 percent.
As m any standard, there
are variations and reasons
for them. Judgment by
Federal inspectors on the
amount of fat, lean muscle,
length, and muscling
however, will be the final
determining factor in the
grading of pork carcasses.
These grading standards
help hog producers and
consumers _ receive the
benefits in cost and payment
for the high quality pork
marketed, and encourage
producers of the inferior hog
carcasses to improve in
order to get top dollar.