My first experience with grass-fed beef

[Neecy]

I've been meaning to experiment a little with grass-fed beef, because I like the sustainable nature of it plus the lack of growth hormones and antibiotics. There's a producer nearby who - unfortunately - doesn't have a retail outlet so I ordered some ribeye steaks from them online.

Cooking them was a little tricky - overcooking makes them tough, and because they have a much lower fat content than their grain-fed counterparts they have to be cooked over a lower heat. I rubbed them with a little olive oil before putting them on the grill to keep them from sticking and cooked them to medium rare, as anything above medium pretty much dries them out.

Despite the fussy nature of cooking it, I have to say it was a terrific steak. The only way to describe the flavor was beefy, which sounds strange but so many of the steaks I've gotten from the grocery store lack that big, beefy flavor. This definitely had it. It wasn't overly juicy but enough so to keep it from tasting dry.

The price wasn't bad. I got 8 14-oz ribeyes for $79, which is competitive with the price I'd pay at my local grocery store.

As much as I liked it, I wouldn't go with the grass-fed exclusively. Sometimes it's nice to just throw a steak on the grill and not have to obsess about it, but I'm going to experiment a little more with grass-fed - I think a cut I can braise would be relatively easy to keep juicy without a lot of fuss.

If anyone has cooking suggestions for grass-fed, I'm really open to trying more of it. The flavor was amazing.

[hippywife]

1. It's the only kind we ever buy.

During the winter, I marinate ribeyes and then fast sear them in a really hot cast iron skillet with butter and worchestershire sauce and then let them cook to medium or medium rare with a nice crust on them. Nice, juicy and very tasty. :hi:

[pipoman]

2. I think you would find a locally raised beef every bit as good

if it isn't exclusively grass fed. The traditional method has been to graze cattle while the grass is in season, and feeding a small amount of grain along with baled forage when grass is out of season. If corn, milo, sorghum, or other crop is raised and the stalks are fed, they have high carbs and will increase marbling. Then in the last 90 days or so the (preferably steer) is brought into confinement (not bad confinement, he is just corralled) and given larger quantities of carbs in molasses, grain, some hay and plenty of water. The meat should be well aged by the processor. The marbling, flavor, and tenderness will shock you. I honestly believe that much of what is in the grocery store either isn't aged at all or the cattle are old.

[kestrel91316]

8. I suspect that factory beef is minimally aged if at all. Aging requires

significan space to hold all those carcasses for how many days? And the refrigeration costs for them in the meantime..... So factory beef processors, ever mindful of the bottom line, have little interest in aging. Perhaps USDA prime cuts ARE aged - the good stuff for the $100+ a plate fancy restaurants.

[pipoman]

13. My processor will age for 21 days

for no additional cost. Their standard is 14 days. This is a link to the processor I use. I have been through their facility and it is very clean and well ran.

http://healthymeats.net/

[jgraz]

3. Pan-searing works best for me

Especially if you like them ultra-rare. Nothing can sear a steak better than a rocket-hot piece of steel.

Whole Foods carries great grass-fed beef, as does Berkeley Bowl and El Cerrito Market (I'm guessing your location from your avatar). You can also find them at Andronico's, but I don't like the brand they carry as well.

What producer did you order from? The price you got is great.

[Neecy]

4. Oh, I wish....

I moved from the Bay Area a couple of years ago to the midwest. Still love my A's and Raiders, though.

I ordered from Tall Grass Beef - they've been running a half price special on the 8 pack of ribeyes. Their ranch is just outside of my town and I drive by it all the time.

https://www.tallgrassbeef.com/ecommerce/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=174

[jgraz]

5. Well, here's something that may help you feel better

Whole Foods' grass fed ribeyes are selling for around $23 / pound in the Berkeley store.

[Neecy]

6. Everything's cheaper in the sticks

But then, when I walk out the door I'm not in San Francisco anymore, so life is full of little compromises :)

[hippywife]

7. Where in the sticks are you?

We have many, many farm markets here in Oklahoma. I buy grass-fed and finished for around $14-15/lb from the local producers.

Try this website to find local suppliers: www.localharvest.org

:hi:

[Neecy]

9. SE Kansas

I'm just a couple of miles from the OK border, about half an hour from Bartlesville.

[hippywife]

10. If you're near Coffeyville

it looks like you have some options for local product available:

http://www.localharvest.org/search.jsp?map=1&lat=37.039645&lon=-95.630692&scale=9&ty=-1&nm=&zip=67337

We're south of Tulsa a little ways. Howdy, neighbor. :hi:

[Neecy]

11. I'm west of Coffeyville, next county over

Hey, neighbor! I'm going to hit the Independence farmer's market on Saturday, plus there's an organic farm over in Cedar Vale I'd like to visit. Lots of good stuff around here, and since there isn't much else to do at least I can be healthy :)

I moved down here from Kansas City and now my local news stations come out of Tulsa. Interesting place - do all of the cops down there sport crew cuts? They all look really scary, the types that would just smash a baton into your face for looking at them the wrong way. It's a pretty area, though.

[hippywife]

12. I don't know about the cops.

I spend little time in town, myself. I work in South Tulsa and live in a rural area south of there. I go to work, grocery shop and them get my ass outta Fundieville, ya know? ;)

I bet you find some good stuff in Independence. Let me know how it is.