Foodie convert to Paleo seeks tasty grassfed page 2

[springnr]

I'm enjoying Chiangus this year, pasture has an impact on end quality too.

[Lynna]

I find that the fats in some of the grass-fed beef I've had to be a little gamey. The other thing I found is that if you're going to do a crockpot stew you're better off going conventional meats unless your cooking it less than 8 hours. I made a stew with grass-fed beef and it was so dry and chewy it was awful. Luckily most of the conventional raised stew meats don't have a lot of fat, so I don't feel so guilty when I use it. On the otherhand the naturally raised pork I get becomes delish when I slow cook it, but it does carry a lot of fat.

[dancermom09]

My choices around here seem to be paying through the nose at a couple of stores to get grass fed beef, or buying at least half a cow from my choice of several ranches. No samples. We did get a quarter of a cow a few years ago when I was in a Paleo phase, and really didn't like the meat. I'm sort of waiting to see what shows up at the farmers markets in April here.

I was at Whole Foods a few days ago, and was looking at their beef grading. I noticed they had "level 1" beef that is pasture raised and finished with alfalfa and (thought he said tomatoes but surely potatoes?). The sirloin steak was $8.99 a pound, just a couple dollars more than Costco. The Level 4 completely pastured sirloin steak was $13.99. So I opted for Level 1 and it was the bomb. Pretty lean, but I watched it carefully and it was tasty. Added a little melted butter after cooking, probably didn't hurt.

[Meegeek]

Just had my first experience with gf from Whole Foods. Was pretty tasty and whoever said to watch the cook time is right. The steaks were not so much dryer as they were "denser". The taste was great, but could definitely see a problem if you tend to cook to well done. Medium rare to medium is probably the sweet spot. We cooked and slathered ours in ghee.

We just got a bulk shipment from Montana rancher and will be experimenting with the various cuts. Should be interesting.

[Dracil]

I've read with grass-fed meat you need to cook it for a little less time.

[Owly]

Slower cooking can also help. I get much better results cooking roasts at a lower temperature for longer. Also, I find using more fat in the cooking process makes a big difference. But I agree with folks above who also suggested shopping around since the quality can definitely vary.

[raney]

Honestly, I just sear my steaks on each side and leave them bloody-as-hell in the middle. I also rub each side with a saturated fat before tossing it on; tallow, butter and ghee all go well. I tend to melt the fat slightly, pour onto cold steak, rub around, and then season over the top of the fat to form a sort of crust of herby-deliciousness.

I made a steak with a side of bacon last week, and the steak was so good that I couldn't taste anything when I tried the bacon. I'd say your vendor and your preparation are faulting you.

[springnr]

Cooking grass fed beef

cooking buffalo meat

[jsa23]

Just had my first experience with gf from Whole Foods. Was pretty tasty and whoever said to watch the cook time is right. The steaks were not so much dryer as they were "denser". The taste was great, but could definitely see a problem if you tend to cook to well done. Medium rare to medium is probably the sweet spot.

In general, I've had great experiences with ribeyes and other fattier cuts of grassfed beef. For lean sirloin cuts, I've found it to be a little tricky, and they sometimes end up on the tough side. Marinades, butter, etc. do help.

[wiltondeportes]

Marinating steaks in a little red wine vinegar seems to soften the muscle tissue up a bit. Also, I've steered(heehee) myself away from previous favorites like sirloin, london broil, flank steak. Those parts of the grassfed cow just don't come out as tender as corn-poisoned feedlot cows. Le sigh. The "price" you pay.

Ya, let's not forget that those lean parts of the animal were considered the least desired before our society. I would recommend slow cooking chuck roasts or lightly baking some liver. Those have become my two favorite cuts.

Well, ribeyes are always great too, but they break my bank.