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What is the USDA grade of beef at Crown Grill


Loreni
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Good Lord, yes! Who in the world would pay $29/pound for beef? At that price, they should come to your house and cook it for you :D.

 

I do love Costco Prime beef! I smoke their prime briskets, and they come out amazing.

 

--Mark

Seems to have 'Prime' in Vancouver B.C., which is soon snapped up.Near the airport the 'Richmond' area just out of the city Costco seems to have a better supply.

Costco 'Prime' tenderloin although very expensive is a special treat YUM,YUM.:)

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The sea bass in CG was outstanding. The steaks, however were not. My partner found the Veal rather chewy as well.

 

I avoid endangered fish (Chilean Sea Bass being one) but after doing some research, I found that it is unlikely that this is the fish that is served on Princess ships eventhough it is the name used on their menu.

 

Having tried a variety of their steaks, and being disappointed each and every time, I tried the "bass" on our last cruise and found it absolutely perfect! Just about when we thought we would no longer take advantage of the steak house, we discovered we can now give it another try. As long as I feel comfortable with the fish not being on the endangered list, I will order it.

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Seems to have 'Prime' in Vancouver B.C., which is soon snapped up.Near the airport the 'Richmond' area just out of the city Costco seems to have a better supply.

Costco 'Prime' tenderloin although very expensive is a special treat YUM,YUM.:)

Once in a blue moon I'll grab a Costco Prime tenderloin, but ALL other cuts of Costco Prime beef are BLADE TENDERIZED - even Wagyu on the rare occasion they have it! Unless you're a Medium or more done steak lover, this means you should never buy Costco steaks as they are risky to eat.

 

They do put the legally-required warning on there to cook to at least 160F but they don't say why - those blades punch surface bacteria deep into the interior so if there's any contamination at all you are guaranteed to eat it if you're a Med-Rare or less steak eater as I am.

 

I actually have much better experiences with 'lesser' grades of beef that have been well-aged compared to fresh Prime anyway - the AAA 4-week dry aged stuff in Save On Meats is usually the best value in town, especially on Thursdays (discount steak day). Urban Fare does some decent but pricey AAA dry-aged ($60/kg+) and Wagyu but they slash prices by 40%+ on occasional sales when it's well worth stocking up.

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Once in a blue moon I'll grab a Costco Prime tenderloin, but ALL other cuts of Costco Prime beef are BLADE TENDERIZED - even Wagyu on the rare occasion they have it! Unless you're a Medium or more done steak lover, this means you should never buy Costco steaks as they are risky to eat.

 

They do put the legally-required warning on there to cook to at least 160F but they don't say why - those blades punch surface bacteria deep into the interior so if there's any contamination at all you are guaranteed to eat it if you're a Med-Rare or less steak eater as I am.

 

I actually have much better experiences with 'lesser' grades of beef that have been well-aged compared to fresh Prime anyway - the AAA 4-week dry aged stuff in Save On Meats is usually the best value in town, especially on Thursdays (discount steak day). Urban Fare does some decent but pricey AAA dry-aged ($60/kg+) and Wagyu but they slash prices by 40%+ on occasional sales when it's well worth stocking up.

 

Is it Japanese Wagyu , or American Wagyu?

Edited by Kingofcool1947
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Once in a blue moon I'll grab a Costco Prime tenderloin, but ALL other cuts of Costco Prime beef are BLADE TENDERIZED - even Wagyu on the rare occasion they have it! Unless you're a Medium or more done steak lover, this means you should never buy Costco steaks as they are risky to eat.

 

They do put the legally-required warning on there to cook to at least 160F but they don't say why - those blades punch surface bacteria deep into the interior so if there's any contamination at all you are guaranteed to eat it if you're a Med-Rare or less steak eater as I am.

 

I actually have much better experiences with 'lesser' grades of beef that have been well-aged compared to fresh Prime anyway - the AAA 4-week dry aged stuff in Save On Meats is usually the best value in town, especially on Thursdays (discount steak day). Urban Fare does some decent but pricey AAA dry-aged ($60/kg+) and Wagyu but they slash prices by 40%+ on occasional sales when it's well worth stocking up.

 

Fortunately, the prime brisket I get is smoked to an internal temperature of about 203 degrees, but I am concerned about the prime steaks I sometimes buy there. Thanks for the warning, I was not aware of blade tenderizing and the resulting risk from bacteria penetration. After reviewing several articles on this issue, I will probably go back to buying steaks from a local butcher. Cost more, but better to be safe.

 

Doug

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Once in a blue moon I'll grab a Costco Prime tenderloin, but ALL other cuts of Costco Prime beef are BLADE TENDERIZED - even Wagyu on the rare occasion they have it! Unless you're a Medium or more done steak lover, this means you should never buy Costco steaks as they are risky to eat.

 

They do put the legally-required warning on there to cook to at least 160F but they don't say why - those blades punch surface bacteria deep into the interior so if there's any contamination at all you are guaranteed to eat it if you're a Med-Rare or less steak eater as I am.

 

 

I had never heard of blade tenderizing meat before you mentioned it. On my way home from work, I stopped off at my local Costco, and sure enough, every one of the steaks was labeled in faint, small legalese print that it was blade tenderized that you should cook the hell out of it.

 

What a bummer! Why would they ruin a perfectly good piece of meat?

 

At least I can keep buying my prime brisket there. With 15 hours of cooking and a final temperature of 202, I won't have to worry. Ironically, the brisket was the only cut of beef there that was NOT labeled as blade tenderized (and it is the only one that might be able to benefit from it).

 

You have done me a great service with your warning, and I thank you.

 

--Mark

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I had never heard of blade tenderizing meat before you mentioned it. On my way home from work, I stopped off at my local Costco, and sure enough, every one of the steaks was labeled in faint, small legalese print that it was blade tenderized that you should cook the hell out of it.

 

What a bummer! Why would they ruin a perfectly good piece of meat?

 

At least I can keep buying my prime brisket there. With 15 hours of cooking and a final temperature of 202, I won't have to worry. Ironically, the brisket was the only cut of beef there that was NOT labeled as blade tenderized (and it is the only one that might be able to benefit from it).

 

You have done me a great service with your warning, and I thank you.

 

--Mark

I figured folks who smoked it like you & Doug would be OK, but you're probably a very small % of the steak-buying public. Blade tenderizing is done on young meat because it does make a huge difference in producing juicy, buttery-soft meat from carcasses that have just been killed, drained & cooled. While it does nothing to concentrate the flavour, it does at least as much for texture as ~40 days of dry aging but with none of the associated loss of saleable meat so it's a huge loss-saver/profit-maker - Costco not only sell all the meat, but also don't have the delay or space requirement for aging in their supply chain.

 

It's actually a great method for cheaper cuts that get long slow cooking - basically anything like stews or casseroles that you'd expect the meat to get cooked well done means it's going to be safe to use.

 

Is it Japanese Wagyu , or American Wagyu?

Australian-raised is most common here, after that US-raised. But you're not asking the right question - even Japanese Wagyu is not the same as Kobe. There are 4 breeds of 'Wagyu' and only one of them (Tajima-gyu, verified by ancestral records over 150-400 years) when born, raised on the right diet on the right farm & slaughtered in approved facilities - all in Hyogo prefecture - that meet the minimum criteria of marbling etc. make it Kobe Beef.

 

If there isn't a 10-digit ID code on the package, traceable through the Kobe Beef Marketing & Promotions Board site here, it's not real Kobe beef... and any steakhouse claiming to sell it must produce the label on demand (it's a prerequisite of being allowed the 'privilege' of buying from them!)

 

If it's not legit Kobe beef, it's irrelevant which country it's from - much more down to the individual farm in how they feed & treat their animals, and whether they use purebreed or crossbreed (usually with Angus, another fine beef cattle breed) stock. Yet another reason to find and keep friendly with a good local butcher!

Edited by martincath
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I figured folks who smoked it like you & Doug would be OK, but you're probably a very small % of the steak-buying public.

 

According to the USDA guidelines I found, to safely consume blade tenderized medium rare beef, I would need to hold the minimum internal temperature of 135 for 36 minutes. When I smoke my steaks, I keep the smoker at around 225, so they warm up slowly, but not that slowly! The same document says that if I take the minimum internal temperature to 140 degrees (half-way between medium rare and medium), then I only need to hold it for 12 minutes. I could probably make that work.

 

To put this discussion back on topic (at least a little), does anybody know if Princess uses blade tenderized meat in the Crown Grill? (i.e., is it even safe to order a medium rare steak at the Crown Grill?)

 

--Mark

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We really loved the Bayou Cafe on the Coral. We could literally cut our meat with a fork. It was fabulous, which led us to try the Crown Grill on our Star Princess cruise. I'm sorry to say, we were disappointed. The meat was just not great. We'll probably stick to the "regular" dining venues when cruising on Princess. We may try Sabatini's in the future to give them (Princess) a fair shake, but not going to the CG again.

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According to the USDA guidelines I found, to safely consume blade tenderized medium rare beef, I would need to hold the minimum internal temperature of 135 for 36 minutes. When I smoke my steaks, I keep the smoker at around 225, so they warm up slowly, but not that slowly! The same document says that if I take the minimum internal temperature to 140 degrees (half-way between medium rare and medium), then I only need to hold it for 12 minutes. I could probably make that work.

 

To put this discussion back on topic (at least a little), does anybody know if Princess uses blade tenderized meat in the Crown Grill? (i.e., is it even safe to order a medium rare steak at the Crown Grill?)

 

--Mark

 

I have just returned from an Emerald Princess Med cruise and I had a rare fillet mignon in CG. Absolutely delicious and way better than any steak you could get in a UK restaurant and at a very cheap price.

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