Grassfed beef - I'm doing it wrong

[Guest]

So, a while back I realized that I am tired of chewing! Somewhere around there, I made the transition to eating lamb. I've also stuck with crock pot poultry and some ground meats. Where I was once excited about tri-tip roasts and steak and eggs, I simply could not chew another bite. So, I am thinking maybe I'm not so good at preparing grassfed meats. Enter all of you.

Please help me choose some of the best cuts and best preparation methods for tender grassfed beef.

[bookluvingbabe]

I tend to pan-fry my steaks in lard or clarified butter for 3-4 minutes per side in a pretty hot pan. Length of time depends on the thickness. This gets me a medium-rare steak. I go with rib-eye or chuck eye steaks. (Chuck eyes tend to be thicker.) I let it rest for a few minutes before digging in. Rib-eye tends to be more tender. You definitely can get away with cooking the grass fed beef a shorter amount of time.

[Keianna]

They tend to dry faster, so you can baste in butter while cooking and you need a shorter cooking time.

[PamH]

Rib eyes and filet mignon can cut like buttah! Expensive. I can also find top sirloin here that is not chewy at all, but it has to be cooked to medium or medium well. Eye of round is tender.

Delmonico steaks are some of the best I've ever had.

Rib eye and Delmonico on the grill, or pan seared on stove and then finished in a 500 degree oven. Let rest for 5 minutes before you cut to allow juices to redistribute into the meat (critical).

Grass fed ground beef is great. Mix it with bison meat for something fun and different. You should be able to at least find it in the freezer section if you already have access to grass fed meats.

[KitchenWitchy]

My general cooking method for steak is to heat the pan, and season the meat on both sides. When the pan is hot, put the meat in and wait 3-4 minutes (for meat an inch or more in thickness, less for thinner) before turning it over. Wait 3-4 more minutes and then move the meat to a plate. Wait 5-10 minutes before cutting.

In general, you want to avoid messing with the meat too much once it's in the pan. Depending on the pan and the amount of fat in the meat, it might stick or tear if the meat hasn't caramelized. Don't cut it open to check doneness until after it rests for a few minutes on a plate.

My big problem with cooking meats was always that I wanted to poke it and flip it a million times while it was cooking. I had to learn to leave well enough alone and be patient. Also trial and error to find preferred cooking times/temps.

Good luck!!

[Guest]

Thanks for the tips! Are there other cuts that do well cooked slowly?

[bookluvingbabe]

If you want super tender, try beef tongue. I boil it until a fork goes through it (somewhere between 2 and 3 hours), let it cool, peel off the tough outer membrane, and eat.

It is like really tender, flavorful roast beef. I like to saute it in lard until crisp and mix with salsa.

[PamH]

Thanks for the tips! Are there other cuts that do well cooked slowly?

Chuck, brisket and bottom round are good for the slow cooker, because the extra collagen will break down while cooking for some good flavor. Sear your meat on the stovetop before putting in the slow cooker to get those caramelized bits. Then, deglaze with a bit of water or broth and add that to the cooker.

[CaseyD]

I tenderize the crap out of cheaper cuts of steak/roasts with a meat tenderizer. I use something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Deni-MT45-Meat-Tenderizer-Blade/dp/B002R0FRHC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369870614&sr=8-1&keywords=meat+tenderizer

It definitely helps.

Yes, and using cooking fats with it is a great idea as well, as many have mentioned.

[Guest]

Awesome! Hubby bought some chuck roasts and some marrow bones. I stuck the bones in the crockpot hoping to get my first beef bone broth. I hope to cook the roasts in the broth and maybe add veggies like the NomNomPaleo recipe for chicken and gravy. If it works, I will have tender meat and blend the veggies into the broth.

[moggle]

Please help me choose some of the best cuts and best preparation methods for tender grassfed beef.

Adding my vote to the ribeye (aka 'scotch fillet' here in Australia) & eye fillet cuts.

In addition you ideally want a good amount of fat marbling in there. This picture shows a VERY marbled ribeye (I've never seen a steak this marbled for sale before) , and to contrast, this is a picture of a very lean steak.

If you can get something dry-aged for more than a few weeks that should be more tender. A chemical reaction takes place causing the meat to tenderize.

[Guest]

We'll splurge on the ribeyes another week. This week's splurge is our first wedding anniversary and the splurge of the summer is a new house!

A different week will be the dry-aged cuts, but I am not sure how happy the cows are that become those cuts around here.

Just realized that I didn't brown the bones before the went into the pot. Oops. Thank goodness I have a lifetime of eating ahead of me!

[moggle]

We'll splurge on the ribeyes another week. This week's splurge is our first wedding anniversary and the splurge of the summer is a new house!

A different week will be the dry-aged cuts, but I am not sure how happy the cows are that become those cuts around here.

Congratulations on your anniversary!

The TV show where I found out about dry aging (Gourmet Farmer, filmed in Tasmania, where I live) showed a butcher who only sells grass-fed meat dry-ageing the beef. But I don't know how it works elsewhere.

Back to stews, my favourite stewing cuts are 'Gravy Beef' (boneless beef shin) and chuck steak. They're the cheapest and they turn out fine every time. Gravy beef needs to be cooked half an hour longer but is worth the time because I think it holds its texture better.

And I just posted my favourite stew recipe over in recipe sharing: Beef 'Ragu'.

[Beets]

Brisket baby! I've made a brisket almost every week since my w30 in April.

I've had less luck with the GF roast beef type cuts. Those seem trickier.

In terms of steaks I also sear in a cast iron pan then transfer to a low oven and bring up to 135ish for MR. An instant read therm is handy for this. But I've only splurged on GF steak once for my husband's birthday. (Was amazing! And pricey.) Happy anniversary!

This guy has a book called Tender Grassfed Meat. It's all about traditional ways of cooking meat. It's not so helpful to me bc I don't have a yard/grill but you might find it helpful. http://www.tendergrassfedmeat.com/

[Guest]

I did it better this time! Thanks guys!

Somewhere between a pot roast and a stroganoff. I love gravy that is made from broth and veggies!

(oops. I'll figure out how to attach the pic soon.)

[gweneddk]

_{I used a grass-fed chuck roast for this recipe and it was fall-apart tender!}

_{http://paleomg.com/crockpot-ropa-vieja-cuban-style-rice/}

 

_{We also use a lot of ground beef because it is relatively cheap and easily seasoned. It doesn't tend to dry out as bad as other cuts if you keep it in crumble form.}