Recipe for Success | Choosing Vegetables | Using Herbs & Spices Choosing Fish & Shellfish | Choosing Poultry | Choosing Beef & Veal Always buy U.S.D.A. usda.gov approved high quality beef and veal. Look for good butchering techniques, joints should follow the contours of the muscle and bone, cuts should be neat and well trimmed with little sinews. The bones should be smooth with no signs of splinters. Smooth fine grained flesh that is creamy white with pale pink tinge is generally the best. Any outer fat should be firm and white. An even marbling of fat in the meat is an indication of high quality. The outer layer of fat should be creamy white and smooth. Avoid the meats with yellow fat, which indicates that the meat is old. Always look for deep red, moist looking meat with a generous marbling of fat throughout. Though the quality of meat depends on the age of animal, its breed and diet. Look for cuts that are uniform in thickness to help even cooking, and that have a moist, freshly cut surface, avoid wet meat that is slimy to touch. For convenience, freeze cuts tightly wrapped in individual portions, use veal within 6 months and beef within 1 year. Defrost, loosely wrapped, in the refrigerator allowing 5 to 6 hours per pound.