Beef 101

About Our Beef
Buckhead Beef believes that the finest beef is raised in the corn belt of the Midwest. These cattle have the optimum flavor and desirability. All of Buckhead Beef's USDA Prime and Certified Angus Beef (CAB) is properly aged for a minimum of 21 days to bring out the optimum flavor and tenderness.

Buckhead Beef's master butchers hand cut each steak to our customer's specifications in our state-of-the-art, USDA-inspected plant. In addition to Certified Angus Beef (CAB), Buckhead Beef offers properly aged choice beef, veal, lamb, pork and specialty game items.

Certified Angus Beef — The Butcher's Breed
In 1976 the USDA lowered its beef grading standards. Older cattle and cattle with little marbling were able to qualify for Choice. Prime beef availability was also on the decline. So in 1978, Certified Angus Beef was created by the American Angus Association to bring back high standards. This USDA certified specification-branded beef was the answer to the demand for consistent, high-quality beef.

Beef must be from Angus type cattle which is known as the "Butcher's Breed". It must adhere to strict standards based on marbling, maturity and leanness. Less than one in eight Angus type cattle is eligible for the Certified Angus Beef program. USDA meat grading and certification service evaluates the Angus type carcass.

Certified Angus Beef product is distinctly different from and superior to beef marketed under the "Angus" and "Black Angus" names. Certified Angus Beef is the only Angus-type program approved and monitored by the American Angus Association.

Why Aged Beef?
Buckhead Beef has developed some new twists to an old idea. In the past, beef was aged in air because it took a week or more for the product to get from the slaughterhouse to the retail market, and it took even longer for the market to further process the sides of beef. Throughout this process the beef would age and at some point, people noticed that beef from air-aged carcasses was more tender and more flavorful. Since the introduction of vacuum packaging, the use of dry-aging has been reduced to the point where only a few prime shops and high-end restaurants continue the practice. Many steak cutting operations continue to age product in vacuum packaging, and this does have some impact on tenderness, wet-aging has never developed the beef flavor associated with dry-aging product.

The other reason large-scale dry-aging lost favor with most purveyors is that the process can involve considerable weight loss due to drying. Additional loss can occur due to less than immaculate sanitation causing mold and spoilage. At Buckhead Beef, strict sanitation and excellent temperature control has eliminated the loss due to mold and spoilage, and research has shown that the superior flavor, tenderness and juiciness is worth the wait for dry-aged product.

Buckhead Beef Philosophy
Buckhead Beef's merchandising department sources the finest quality beef in the nation, sun up to sun down. Commitment, Partnership, Satisfaction, Performance, Security and Confidence. These are qualities we demand in our supplier network and pass on to our customers. Understanding that 80% of today's beef market is controlled by a select group of packers, Buckhead Beef has developed a vertically coordinated network of packer/suppliers dedicated to premium quality beef. Buckhead Beef quality approves each packer partner.

Corn fed mid-western cattle, the most culinary consistent beef available, fill the coolers of Buckhead Beef and are available in all grade levels in sub primal and portion cut form.

At Buckhead Beef we pride ourselves on providing the highest quality products to customers nationwide. Buckhead Beef is dedicated to long term "relationships" with our packer partners. A never-ending process of plant inspection, certification, product development, pricing, delivery and performance puts Buckhead Beef on the "cutting edge" providing the right product with the correct age, on time, every time. Complete customer satisfaction equals a fair bottom line.

Many think we are in the "Center of the Plate" business but we know we are in the partner business. In the business of making you our partner because ultimately your success is our success. We focus on your programs, needs and direction. Our extensive cost control measures range from contract and spot buying to a broad support system. At your lead we can facilitate wait staff training, we can also show you how to utilize by-products to maximize margins and drive profits to your bottom line. Value-added insight to help you operate lean and mean.

Food Safety
Buckhead Beef is fanatical about food safety. Our objective is to provide the customer with wholesome products. Part of the commitment involves purchasing from the major beef packers, utilizing a HACCP program, continuing AIB approval and following USDA guidelines. The main goal of this commitment to food safety is to control and prevent the introduction of food-bourn illnesses to our customers.