"Economy" grade whole boneless ribeye

You don't tell us where you are,so we might guess some local ,non gov't grades,.

The first guess would be ungraded,so it should be ground for burgers.

Give us more help,we can guess better.

No such grade, someone is making them up now. I could be wrong, be below is what I know of beef grades.

Probably more a marketing term than a grading term.

They are from best to worst:

Prime
Choice
Select
Standard
Commercial
Utility

I don't use ANYthing below select

It probably meants it's an old cow and probably little/no marbling.

Here's from the USGov:
Quality Grades:

Prime grade is produced from young, well-fed beef cattle. It has abundant marbling and is generally sold in restaurants and hotels. Prime roasts and steaks are excellent for dry-heat cooking (broiling, roasting, or grilling).


Choice grade is high quality, but has less marbling than Prime. Choice roasts and steaks from the loin and rib will be very tender, juicy, and flavorful and are, like Prime, suited to dry-heat cooking. Many of the less tender cuts, such as those from the rump, round, and blade chuck, can also be cooked with dry heat if not overcooked. Such cuts will be most tender if "braised" — roasted, or simmered with a small amount of liquid in a tightly covered pan.


Select grade is very uniform in quality and normally leaner than the higher grades. It is fairly tender, but, because it has less marbling, it may lack some of the juiciness and flavor of the higher grades. Only the tender cuts (loin, rib, sirloin) should be cooked with dry heat. Other cuts should be marinated before cooking or braised to obtain maximum tenderness and flavor.


Standard and Commercial grades – are frequently sold as ungraded or as "store brand" meat.


Utility, Cutter, and Canner grades are seldom, if ever, sold at retail but are used instead to make ground beef and processed products.

I am in Pensacola, Florida. The package doesn't have a brand on it ie... EXCEL. It does have a USDA inspection on the cryovac pack but other than that it is a very plain label.

There's no USDA "economy" grade meat. Chances are, it's a "no roll" (ungraded). It will be edible but will have extremely scare marbling.

You might ask the "butcher" for further elaboration.

I just seen some briskets at my local Price Chopper store. They usually carry select,but I have seen some choice there before. These were just as you descibed USDA logo ,but nothing else.

By looking at them I would have said they were select AND I'm pretty sure if they were choice they would have been more than happy to have printed this.

thanks to all for input! I'll let you know how it turns out!

Linda,who is selling them?

Could be an Excel select,which should be a standard/commercial in other brands-IMO.

its a small local discount grocery called "Cash and Carry". Another small local chain "Greers Food Tiger" carries a ribeye they call economy grade. I'm gonna try to get time to drive out to Greers as they have a butcher who may enlighten me more. The Cash & Carry just sells prepackaged meats ... no butcher.

well ... the meat was cheap for a reason. We smoked 1/2 of the ribeye (5 lbs) for 5 hrs @ 200. We used Weber Canadian Steak Seasoning for the rub. The rub was VERY salty. Anyway ... the meat was very flavorful but was tough. There was very little marbling. We will slice the leftovers for sandwiches for lunch next week. The question is ... we still have the other half of the ribeye to cook. Should we smoke it for a few hours & foil it with some liquid to help moisture content OR would it be better to foil it for the first few hours & open it up to finish it? Or does someone have a better suggestion??

With no marbling, I'd dice it and throw it in a pot with some celery and a couple of chopped onions. Stew until tender, then serve over mashed potatoes.

If you have a jar of Cookshack's great chili mix,dice into 3/8 in and make a good" bowl of red" to go with today and tomorrow's storms blowing in off the gulf.

Another option,I'm doing today,slice into 1/2 in slices,pound out with the meat hammer to 1/4 in,flour up and make chicken fried steak.

Add Todd's mashed potatoes,cream gravy,a side of beans,buttermilk biscuits and a tossed salad.

Eat this Sunday dinner with "storebought" teeth.

One more option:
If you have access to a meat slicer, freeze it (if not already frozen) As it's partially frozen (or thawed) slice it thinly and use for Philly Steak Sandwiches.