Export cattle for chilled beef shipment should be reduced to a temperature of 29° F. as quickly as possible and held there until loaded in cars or on boat.
Domestic Beef.
—For domestic beef the coolers should be brought to a temperature of 34° F. in twelve hours after they are filled, not allowing the temperature to drop below that point. It is true that in extremely cold weather it can not always be avoided, and oftentimes in transit it is lower than that in the cars, but it is not well to permit beef to reach that temperature if it can be avoided. If coolers are properly handled and have a good circulation, and beef is put in at the above temperature and allowed to remain forty-eight to seventy-two hours, it will be found to be in excellent condition and the chances of “bone-sour” will be practically eliminated, although it is impossible to always prevent it.
Trimming of Beef.
—While this is an item of which little can be said, it is one which merits consideration where one is doing a large volume of business. The necks of cattle are trimmed to make them look smooth and even, cutting off the ragged ends. On large cattle there are two or three pounds of brisket fat in each animal. When oleo oil is high and beef is low it is advisable to cut this fat out; when the conditions are reversed it is profitable to leave it in.
Skirt Trimming.
—On export beef it is advisable to trim out part of the skirts as usually the skirt in the beef is the first place where moisture will accumulate. If the skirt is removed entirely, this accumulation is prevented, and mould stops.
The hanging tenderloin is supposed to be cut out on export beef, and if the man cutting it out cuts it from the kidneys, slanting toward the backbone, on a hundred cattle he can easily leave in quite an amount of weight which sells at beef price; if cut out it would be worth only sausage price.
Ribbing Beef.
—If the beef is ribbed properly it shows to the best advantage; if improperly ribbed it does not, and the buyer’s opinion of its value depends largely upon its appearance. Ribbing shows the quality of the beef to a large extent, hence it is very essential that it should be done properly. The secret of ribbing is to follow close, without uncovering, the top part of the lower rib on the plate, following down gradually between the two ribs to the point in the backbone where the vertebra is the thinnest, bringing the knife across perfectly level. Beef should hang in the proper temperature for forty-eight hours before shipment. It should not be ribbed prior to that unless absolutely necessary, as it has not sufficiently set, hence the outer layers of beef will slip and give the cut beef a bad appearance, the object being to show as much meat as possible when the beef is ribbed and as little backbone. The exact place to cut probably does not exceed one-half inch wide, hence it will be seen that it requires skill to do it rapidly and properly.