Grass fed beef. How to get it to taste good. page 4

[JoanieL]

I don't notice much of a difference in muscle meat, but I'll tell you, at ~$15.00/lb for grass fed steak, I don't eat a lot. 95/5 grassfed ground beef is soooo much better than conventional ground beef that it's like another animal to me.

I like eating varied, so even just eating commonplace meats: pork, chicken, salmon, beef, liver, shell fish/squid, that leaves me one or two days for repeats or something new or a cheese day. So, even though I love beef, I don't eat a boatload of it.

I did have a great source for reasonably priced grass fed beef shanks which I think must be earth's answer to beef heaven, but they changed suppliers and haven't had them for a awhile.

[NZ primal Gwamma]

Joanie, come on over girl - we have meat coming out of our ...... ears !!!!!

[seaweed]

i've never had non grass fed beef. certain supermarkets here sell better tasting beef but it is never bland. compared to wild venison it is but beef tastes like beef in my book, even if there are subtle nuances of flavour differences. it could also be a different breed thing. meat cows i reckon taste better than dairy cows and i dont see how anything that has been processed at the meat works wont be stressed. they also put a beef bull over the dairy cows sometimes so the calves then get raised on as beef cows. i was told the feedlots where they grainfeed the beef are up canterbury way and that beef goes to the japanese market. gives them predictable flavour and marbling in the meat.

i just pan sear my steaks like gwamma does. i usually cook them in butter. grass fed of course. or ghee. sometimes i make a blue cheese sauce to go with them but usually, we just have them au naturel with some salt. beef is prob my favourite of the farmed meats.

[NZ primal Gwamma]

it could also be a different breed thing. meat cows i reckon taste better than dairy cows and i dont see how anything that has been processed at the meat works wont be stressed.

Different breeds do have different tastes. An old dairy cow is really only good for patties and sausages, However dairy/beef cross makes really nice lean cuts of meat. On the other hand an angus heifer, or rising two bull - wow.....the best meat ever !!!!!
Where the stress is concerned Seaweed, sometimes farmers beat the crap out of their stock when in the yards, run them hard around paddocks with dogs, cut feed, etc.... so by the time they are at the works the meat can be a wee bit tougher than animals bopught up with a lower stress level. Any animal trucked to the works will be under stress, however I am led to believe that it can be an accumulative thing.

But that is just what I have picked up over the years -
I think we are lucky that we live in such a beautiful natural country !!

[seaweed]

Where the stress is concerned Seaweed, sometimes farmers beat the crap out of their stock when in the yards, run them hard around paddocks with dogs, cut feed, etc.... so by the time they are at the works the meat can be a wee bit tougher than animals bopught up with a lower stress level

yes that makes sense. i've not noticed anyone around here doing anything like that. i do know it is against the organic standards here to load cattle onto trucks with cattle prods. not that organic necessarily means good animal husbandry as the most negligent cow farmers i have met were biodynamic and i know some farmers who are real good with their animals who have a scarey chemical regime.

[magnolia1973]

Does anyone buy beef at Whole Foods? They had steak- grass fed, organic at OVER $30 a lb..... For reference, you can get local grass fed here for at most $17 a lb for filet mignon at the expensive market and the awesome Wagyu I had was $33 a lb. Is the stuff at Whole Foods a different type of cow/raised like the Wagyu or is it the same thing I get from a farmer only it ate pasture that was "certified organic" vs the same damn grass, just not certified?

I would pay the premium for the Wagyu on occasion.... amazing steak. But no way in hell would I pay double for regular old grass fed.

[JoanieL]

Gwamma, as soon as I can work some things out, I'm sure I'll visit you in NZ! It's an idea that has surely been roaming around my head.

Magnolia, I pretty much buy any beef I'm going to buy at WF and I haven't seen it quite that high. I'm guessing they price it as high as they can in any given location?

Hey, I just noticed we fell back last night, so it's an hour earlier than I thought. Good stuff.

[Grokalicious]

Does anyone buy beef at Whole Foods? They had steak- grass fed, organic at OVER $30 a lb..... For reference, you can get local grass fed here for at most $17 a lb for filet mignon at the expensive market and the awesome Wagyu I had was $33 a lb. Is the stuff at Whole Foods a different type of cow/raised like the Wagyu or is it the same thing I get from a farmer only it ate pasture that was "certified organic" vs the same damn grass, just not certified?

I would pay the premium for the Wagyu on occasion.... amazing steak. But no way in hell would I pay double for regular old grass fed.

Magnolia, there was actually some controversy at my Whole Foods that their grassfed beef was finished with corn. Whole Foods is why I've not eaten a lot of grassfed meat! Too expensive. I am absolutely thrilled to have found the local CSA people. Do you have that so of thing nearby?

As for Wagyu? The most delicious I've ever had. A friend of mine serves it at his über-expensive restaurant but I get treated once in a while!

[NZ primal Gwamma]

Gwamma, as soon as I can work some things out, I'm sure I'll visit you in NZ! It's an idea that has surely been roaming around my head.

Good girl Joanie. I shall make sure that the freezer is stocked !!!!, and the cellar?

[Primal Cilla for life]

I find if I take a meat mallet and beat the seasonings even if it is only sea salt in it makes it taste better and even is easier to chew which allows you to taste it more instead of just swallowing.