Find the Silver Lining - Introducing SRF Silver® American Wagyu Beef
Find the Silver Lining - Introducing American Wagyu Silver™
If you're a Snake River Farms enthusiast, you know about our Black and Gold marbling designations. SRF Black® (also known as Black Grade) represents our standard high level of marbling for our American Wagyu beef. Those looking for our top tier marbling select products with the SRF Gold®.
A third option for Snake River Farms American Wagyu beef is SRF Silver® with marbling that falls below SRF Black®.
How to Pick the Right Grade for Your Tastes
To understand how we classify SRF beef grades, it's good to know the basics of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) beef grading. The USDA separates domestic beef into eight grades based on intramuscular fat, also known as marbling, and other qualities like tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. The two highest grades are Prime and Choice. Prime is the top grade on the USDA scale and features abundant marbling.
At Snake River Farms, we produce beef that exceeds USDA standards. To evaluate the exceptional levels of marbling and quality in our beef, we use the 12-point Beef Marbling Score (BMS)to measure intramuscular fat and identify the traits that make our beef rich, tender, and flavorful.
SRF Black® and SRF Gold® both score above USDA Prime, while SRF Silver® has marbling scores like USDA Prime:
- SRF Silver® – BMS 5. Abundant marbling equivalent to USDA Prime.
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SRF Black® – BMS 6–8. Significantly more marbling than USDA Prime.
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SRF Gold® – BMS 9–10. Dramatically more marbling than USDA Prime.
- SRF Gold Plus™ – BMS 11–12. The highest marbling available from Snake River Farms.
Much More Than Marbling
Marbling is a primary factor in determining beef quality. Other elements that affect flavor and texture are the cattle breed and how the animals are raised.
Snake River Farms American Wagyu is a cross between purebred Japanese Wagyu and high-quality American cattle. These unique animals are raised on family-owned ranches and fed a special diet over a longer period of time than commodity beef. Both factors influence the final quality of SRF beef.
The result is American Wagyu beef that has the rich marbling of Japanese Wagyu and the robust beef flavor that most folks associate with top-tier steaks and roasts.
Why Choose American Wagyu Silver™?
While the marbling of SRF American Wagyu Silver™ is very similar to USDA Prime, it has other qualities that create a superior beef-eating experience. Meat scientists (yes, there really are meat scientists!) have run comprehensive taste tests and found that American Wagyu is significantly higher in buttery aroma and flavor, juiciness, tenderness, and umami. Although the results are from a scientific test, the differences are easy to detect for anyone who enjoys a good steak.
SRF Silver® offers a new option to our full line of American Wagyu and USDA Choice and Prime beef. This new addition is a delicious option worth exploring.
