Yes, you can judge meat competitively

And not just to send it back to the kitchen for being undercooked. Intercollegiate Meat Judging has been around since 1926, when the first event was hosted at the International Livestock Exposition in Chicago. In 1996, the American Meat Science Association took over the competitions.

What are we looking at here? Competitors throw on hard hats and white lab coats to mosey on into a giant cooler before you’ve even gotten out of bed. There are a range of specialized divisions, but the basic premise is that teams evaluate the quality of beef, lamb, and pork carcasses dangling from the ceiling. Competitors determine factors like weight and fat thickness all just by looking at the carcass, and use their observations to determine the meat’s yield grade. Each student is only allowed to compete for one calendar year.

The meat judging dynasty. The final event of the year, November’s international competition in Dakota City, NE, has been dominated by Texas universities over the last decade. Texas A&M won last year’s national title, but Texas Tech had a pretty impressive run from 2019 to 2021.

The original goal of this “sport” was to train students for jobs in the meat and livestock industry. Many do end up sticking with meat: A Texas Tech Meat Judging alum helped invent Oscar Mayer Lunchables.—MM