Some men collect stamps. Some men collect watches. Brian Still collects facts about the beef industry, and he will share them whether you asked or not.
"A kill plant has to auger about 50,000 gallons of blood a day." — Brian Still, unprompted, probably at dinner
That purple USDA inspection stamp on carcasses? It's made from food-grade vegetable dye. You could eat it. Brian wouldn't, but you could.
A 1,300-lb steer dresses out to roughly an 800-lb carcass and only about 490 lbs of boneless beef. The rest becomes everything from gelatin to crayons.
USDA graders assign Prime, Choice, or Select largely by eyeballing the ribeye between the 12th and 13th rib. One glance, whole carcass graded.
Cattle don't have four stomachs — one stomach, four compartments. The rumen alone can hold around 40 gallons and is basically a walking brewery.
Wa (Japanese) + gyu (cow). The famous marbling comes from genetics and long feeding periods — not beer massages, which are mostly legend.
The flat and the point, separated by a fat seam. They cook differently, which is why brisket arguments have ended friendships in Texas.
Roughly 40–50% of all beef consumed in the U.S. is eaten as ground beef. The hamburger is carrying this entire industry on its back.
Dry-aged beef hangs for 21–60+ days while enzymes break down muscle and the outside forms a crust that gets trimmed off. You pay extra for evaporation.
Rendering plants turn byproducts into soap, biodiesel, pet food, pharmaceuticals, and fertilizer. The industry motto: everything but the moo.
Tap or hover a primal cut — Brian narrates
This is a side of beef broken into its nine primal cuts. Every steak, roast, and burger you've ever eaten started as one of these. Brian can name them blindfolded.