Prime vs. Choice?

[hoochiemama]

Stumbled into Costco today and saw some Prime trip tip!  The price was not much more than choice so bought prime!  Not sure if psychological or what but this was the best trip tip ever!  Not sure if it was the chef (me! Is what I tell the wife) or if prime beef really makes such a difference?  Either way I'm telling the wife it was the chef;) but I want to know the real deal!?

[jcnaz]

Prime should have more marbling.

[hoochiemama]

Prime should have more marbling.

yes indeed. However I'm wondering how much better the meat really tastes. In my mind it is way tastier. But I'm wondering if it's really that much better or if it's just in my head.

[demosthenes9]

Prime should have more marbling.

yes indeed. However I'm wondering how much better the meat really tastes. In my mind it is way tastier. But I'm wondering if it's really that much better or if it's just in my head.

it can be that much better, which is one of the reasons why people are willing to pay more for it.   That said, you still have to watch it as Prime and Choice are both grade ranges.     Meat at the lower end of the Prime range is just a small step up from meat at the upper range of Choice.   Easy way to picture it is to think of a 1 - 10 scale.   Prime would be 8.5 thru 10.  Choice would be 7 through 8.4.   So, in one instance, you could have a 10.0 Prime against a 7.0 Choice and the difference would be pretty noticeable.  But another time, you could have a 8.4 Choice compared to a 8.5 Prime and the difference would be negligible.

[austin87]

I personally think you notice more of a difference between choice and prime when eating a nice marbled steak like a ribeye or strip. Those have a lot of marbling within the muscles fibers of the meat. A tri-tip doesn't have much intramuscular fat (neither does anything from the round) so I don't think it makes much of a difference.

That said, if you like it and the cost doesn't bother you, then by all means go for it