WASHINGTON – A new educational video outlining for consumers the many different cuts of beef available in today’s marketplace was released May 4 by the American Meat Institute (A.M.I.). Betsy Booren, Ph.D., meat scientist and director of scientific affairs of the American Meat Institute Foundation, is featured in the video.

The intention of the video is to educate consumers as they shop for different cuts of beef at the supermarket or butcher during the start of prime grilling season and May’s National Barbeque Month.

However, not all cuts of beef can be thrown right onto the grill, Ms. Booren points out. “Some cuts are from muscles that are made up of proteins that must be strong in order to support the weight of the steer, so the meat from these muscles should be slow cooked or marinated to ensure tenderness,” she said.

To learn more about the different cuts of beef and to watch the short video, visit A.M.I.’s YouTube channel, The Meat News Network, at http://www.YouTube.com/MeatNewsNetwork. The beef-cuts video is the third installment of the new “Ask the Meat Scientist” series, and a video outlining the different cuts of pork will be released next week.

A.M.I.’s companion brochure, “A Consumer’s Guide to the Meat Case,” offers a user-friendly grid detailing various cuts, their local and fanciful names and the best cooking methods for each. The free brochure can be downloaded at http://www.meatmattersinfo.org/.

“Today’s meat case offers more choices than ever before,” Ms. Booren said. “But more choices can be overwhelming to consumers. We hope these resources will prove valuable when shopping and cooking meat products.”