Beef, carcass, separable lean and fat, choice, raw

This entry represents the overall lean-and-fat composition of a raw choice-grade beef carcass, the kind of composite figure used to describe beef broadly rather than one specific cut like a steak or roast. In practical terms it reflects the mix you'd get from trim across a whole side of beef, the same balance of lean muscle and fat that ends up ground into everyday ground beef or left on roasts and steaks depending on how the carcass is broken down. Cooks encounter this balance most directly whenever they choose a cut with visible fat marbling and trim, since that fat renders during roasting or pan-searing and adds flavor and moisture to the finished dish.

Raw, it carries 291 calories per 100 g, with 35% of the Daily Value for protein and 10% for iron per 100 g, plus 24 g of fat. Sodium is naturally low at 59 mg per 100 g, typical of unseasoned raw beef before any curing, marinating, or seasoning is applied. As a protein source it is dense enough to anchor a meal on its own, with the fat content contributing much of the calorie total and needing to be accounted for by trimming, draining, or simply choosing a leaner cut if a lighter dish is the goal.