The Health of It All...
Marbling of Meats and Tenderness
Marbling is the fat that runs through the flesh of meat. When the meat is
cooked, the fat melts, and this helps keep the meat moist as well as
flavoring the meat.
Cuts with more marbling are higher in total fat, but it is afallacy that
more marbling makes for a more tender cut of beef. For the most part, the
marbling simply adds more fat.
Where the meat comes from on the animal and how much the muscle has been used,
the type of animal, how it is raised, what it is fed and how the meat is cooked
are far more important factors than marbling. Tenderloin, for instance, has
very little marbled fat and is the most tender cut.