Meat judging trains young people in decision making skills related to the evaluation of wholesale and retail cuts of meat. This judging team is open to 6th thru 12th grade 4-H members. Team members learn:
- To evaluate meat quality
- To determine the lean to fat proportions of retail and wholesale cuts
- To identify retail cuts of beef, pork and lamb as to the wholesale cut name, retail cut name, type of cut and recommended cooking methods
- To develop communication skills through oral reasons
The 4-H Meat Judging Contest will consist of the following classes:
Retail Cut Identification: Depending on availability, there will be 25 – 30 retail cuts. Teams will identify species, primal (wholesale) cut, retail cut name, type of cut and cookery method.
Retail Cut Judging: There will be two – three classes selected from Beef Rib Steak, Small End (Bone-in or Boneless), Beef T-Bone or Porterhouse Steaks, Pork Loin Chops, Pork Loin Rib Chops, Pork Ham Smoked Center Slice or Lamb Leg Sirloin Chops. These cuts have similar terminology to each other (Beef T-Bone & Pork Loin chop) and to the primal cut judging.
Primal (Wholesale) cut Judging: There will be two classes selected from Beef ribs, Beef Short Loins, Pork Fresh Hams or Pork Center Cut Loins.
Please contact Dan Owen at (931) 433-1582 if you are interested in learning more about 4-H meat judging.