Piedmontese

Piedmontese cattle come from the Piedmont region of northwest Italy, and they carry a specific and well-documented mutation. A change in the myostatin gene, present in the breed since around 1886, limits the protein that would otherwise cap muscle growth.

The result is double muscling: substantially more lean meat on the same frame, with very little external or intramuscular fat.

That produces a carcass with an unusually high yield of tender, lean meat, which is why Piedmontese beef is marketed to buyers who want tenderness without the fat that usually carries it.

The trade is calving and finishing. Double-muscled calves are wide through the shoulders and hips, and calving difficulty is a real and recurring problem in the breed, more so when a purebred bull is used on unsuited females. The same lack of fat means the meat is less forgiving to cook.