Grilling a great steak isn’t a cookie cutter operation. Each chef puts her own personal signature on the way it’s prepared and the resulting dining experience. But she knows that consistent cut sizes equal consistent cook times. And that’s half the battle of delivering a steak that turns a customer into a regular. So she orders 12-ounce strips, fully expecting that each cut will have comparable appearance and plate coverage.

The problem with that scenario is that beef carcass weights are getting heavier. And cut sizes are getting harder to control. Sorting by weight no longer means light carcasses will yield small ribeyes. Or large ones.

So the folks with Sterling Silver^® Premium Meats decided to do something about it. Effective this February, Shamrock Foods has implemented a solution called Dimensional Sorting to help ensure that cuts of meat maintain size reliability along with premium tenderness and flavor. With this process, our USDA-approved meat plants will provide the most consistency of any beef product in the marketplace.

The Dimensional Sorting Process groups beef carcasses according to the ribeye area. In this process, carcasses are sorted into two groups: 10 to 13 square inches, the ‘downs’; and 13 to 16 square inches, the ‘ups’. This procedure focuses on finished product specs, and individual cuts get packaged and boxed based on their comparable ribeye area.

This is a revolutionary move in the beef industry. But certainly not the first. Selling whole carcasses used to be the norm and the notion of boxed beef was considered a passing phase. Likewise, changing to Dimensional Sorting instead of by weight is a big change. But the benefits to restaurateurs and their guests will make it all worthwhile: consistent thicknesses and portion sizes, and a consistent dining experience.

Shamrock Foods has been named the #1 national distributor of Sterling Silver Premium Meats—for the past three years running! Cut to order steaks, roasts and meats are available throughout our distribution area, processed in our own USDA-certified cutting facilities.