Grass fed beef

[Vian]

Alright, I'm looking into buying a 1/4 cow from a local farm. I emailed them and asked some questions and they said that the cows are pastured and eat 100% grass in the summer and then eat grass, alfalfa, oat, or barley hay in the winter. They have a butcher come out and slaughter and gut the animals, then they hang in a refrigerator for 10-14 days before being butchered.

 

Now, my family bought a 1/4 cow a few years ago and the ground beef and roasts were great, but the steaks were very tough and almost inedible. I know that some steaks bought in the grocery store are aged to make them more tender and flavorful. Is there some way to make grass-fed steaks more tender like conventionally raised ones? 

[Tom Denham]

You have to be careful cooking grass-fed steaks because they are often leaner than corn-fed beef. Rare is much better than well done. I frequently sear grass-fed steaks 4 or 5 minutes on each side in a really hot skillet and call it done. You might also want to marinate grass-fed meat overnight in the refrigerator to tenderize it before cooking. I put the meat in a one-gallon ziploc bag with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and a variety of spices like salt, garlic powder, cinnamon, or Chinese five-spice powder.

[Boykinbaby]

That and don't forget to let your steak rest so juices can redistribute through the meat.

[pjena]

Thanks for asking this question.  My husband (who would rather get conventional beef, but lets me get grass fed because it's important to me) was very unhappy with the sirloin steaks we had last night.  They were probably med-rare, but were still tough.  I will try marinating next time to see if that helps.

[Vian]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm planning to get mostly ground beef and roasts, but my dad insists on getting some new york steaks. I'm excited though, I cleaned out our 6 cubic foot freezer yesterday so it's totally empty and waiting to be filled with beef! And it's only $3.19 a pound including butcher's fees. Cheaper than ground beef at the grocery store.

[Randy R]

You should also make sure they are Grass-Finished! This is much more important that Grass-Fed.

 

Farmers/Butchers/Stores can call the Beef 100% Grass Fed as long as it received a 100% grass based diet prior to grain finishing or if it was raised on a pasture but was butchered while still in an immature stage. If it is grass fed but grain finished it is still just as bad as a conventional feed lot animal. Those butchered in an immature stage are very lean with little fat on them.

 

Grass Finished animals were animals that were fed a 100% grass based diet through maturity and were allowed to develop exterior and intramuscular fat so it will be healthier and taste so much better.

 

Grass fed/grain finished typically takes 18-20 months vs grass fed / grass finished taking 24 to 36 months, so to the farmer paying his bills with your money grass fed / grain finished allows a lot faster turn around to get paid but still allows for the 100% Grass-Fed sticker. Not saying they all think this way but make sure you do you research when looking into local farms.

[Vian]

I asked the farmer if the cows were fed grain, corn, or soy at any point (even during finishing) and he replied that they get occasional handfuls of grain as a bribe when he wants the cows to follow him, like to move them from one pasture to another, but not as a staple in their diet at all. They are grass fed and finished. That's why i chose this farmer, the price was cheaper than anyone else, and many of the other people said right in their CL post "grass fed and finished with grain the last 2 months" or something to that effect.

[carolinaBlue]

Exclusively grass fed beef should have yellow colored fat, not white. It's a very obvious yellow color and it's especially noticeable when the meat is compared to grain fed or grain finished beef. If the meat hangs for a couple of weeks before butchering it's considered dry aged which helps develop the flavor. Maybe look for some recipes for bison or venison since these are also very lean...Tom's method sounds delicious, too!

[NMG]

As well as the cooking tips, the longer the meat hangs the more tender it will be.

[carolinaBlue]

As well as the cooking tips, the longer the meat hangs the more tender it will be.

 

This is very true! If I recall correctly, our 1/2 steer always hung for around 30 days...I've never had conventionally raised beef that tasted anything like it

[Renee Lee]

Grass fed/grain finished is NOT as bad as beef fed a conventional feedlot diet. They a) are usually treated better than their feedlot counterparts and the health benefits, while not as great as 100% grass fed, are still better than the alternative.

[Kim]

Sorry your steaks haven't been good. The animal may have been finished improperly (if they are not actively gaining weight when slaughtered, they can be tough). More likely, though, is that cooking with too high of heat and past medium is the biggest part of the problem. Aging is less important in grass-fed beef than grain-fed. If it hung for 7-10 days, that is good enough.

 

If a label on a piece of beef says 'grass-fed', please rest assured that it received no grain (other than perhaps training treats)! The USDA is really bringing the hammer down on this and if it says grass-fed OR grass-finished, it's what you're looking for. Otherwise, talking to the farmer should be sufficient. Farmers are almost always proud of how we choose to raise our animals and will be truthful.

BTW, age to finish is largely dependent on breed. Grassy Angus, Hereford, Devon, etc., most cross-breeds will finish at 18-20 months. Other breeds (especially heritage breeds... Scottish Highland, Galloway) will take up to 30 months. And often, those slow growing breeds end up slaughtered before they are "finished".

[Kim]

Oh and I meant to add that the yellow fat is only if they are on GREEN grass for several months before slaughter! If you get one that is slaughtered in the spring after being on hay all winter, the fat will be fairly white.

[wtienken]

I just started buying my meat from Whole Foods (WF) and got the literature on their Animal Welfare program.  It looks like their Level 4 cattle (pasture centered) lives "at least 3/4 of life on range/pasture". Does that mean it isn't grass-finished?  Also, it says "at least 50% vegetative cover on range/pasture".  What's the other 50%?

[NMG]

I just started buying my meat from Whole Foods (WF) and got the literature on their Animal Welfare program.  It looks like their Level 4 cattle (pasture centered) lives "at least 3/4 of life on range/pasture". Does that mean it isn't grass-finished?  Also, it says "at least 50% vegetative cover on range/pasture".  What's the other 50%?

 

You'd have to make further enquiries I think.

My guesses depends a lot on weather conditions. Young stock may be sheltered indoors for their first winter (or a hot summer?), or the oldest may be fattened up indoors. The percentage cover may refer to arid desert-type plains (thinking some remote Western ranch with tumbleweed and rocks). Or there may be a mixture of pasture and concrete/hard standing/deep wood chips to avoid the cattle churning up the ground near water troughs?

They still need to make a profit, so they will pop a few extra cattle in the same space if they can.

[Lhasa mama]

I have read if an animal was grain finished at least 4 months before the slaughter, no matter what its diet was before, it ends up being same as a grain fed animal.