So I bought 2 bone in grass fed ribeyes at this new butcher that opened near us.
Not being sure I've ever eaten grass fed beef before I am going to taste the difference between that and grain fed?
The owner was telling its much healthier i.e. no hormones, antibiotics, etc. than grain fed.
Price was comparable to grain fed.
Just curious what others think. I plan to grill them over real charcoal not propane.
The flavor is also different in grass fed vs grain fed -- it's a more gamey taste
Cows are grass eaters. Their stomachs allow them to eat grass and convert it to protein. They have four stomachs so that the chewed grass (cud) can be fermented and processed. In a natural environment, cows have the enzymes and bacteria to digest grass. When cows are converted to grain feed, they can suffer from acidosis. They are given anti-biotics to kill off the bacteria that digests grass and given bacteria to digest grain. They are not natural grain eaters. They also have to be given medication for the acidosis. They are also given hormones to grow faster so they can be slaughtered earlier.
Grass fed cows are not 'converted'. They spend all of their lives eating grass until they are slaughtered. Make sure you get grass fed beef that is also 'grass finished'. Since all cows start out on milk then grass.
The real advantage to grass fed beef is the composition of fatty acids and other nutrients. Here is a brief run down:
Saturated and monounsaturated: Grass-fed beef has either similar, or slightly less, saturated and monounsaturated fats.
Omega-6 Polyunsaturated Fats: Grass-fed and grain-fed beef contain very similar amounts of Omega-6 fatty acids.
Omega-3s: This is where grass-fed really makes a major difference, containing up to 5 times as much Omega-3.
Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA): Grass-fed beef contains about twice as much CLA as grain-fed beef. This fatty acid is associated with reduced body fat and some other beneficial effects (4).
Vitamin A: Grass-fed beef contains carotenoid precursors to Vitamin A, such as beta-carotene.
Vitamin E: This is an antioxidant that sits in your cell membranes and protects them from oxidation. Grass-fed beef contains more.
Micronutrients: Grass-fed beef also contains more Potassium, Iron, Zinc, Phosphorus and Sodium.
So in addition to not having the hormones, antibiotics you have more and better nutrients. Plus these cows are not factory farmed. It can be difficult and expensive to get grass fed beef, but when you see the advantageous, it's worth it.
It does have a different taste than grain-fed beef, which is sweeter. It is generally much leaner. I like it, particularly when you consider how healthy it is and you can eat it frequently if you want without feeling guilty (just the opposite).
It is best to have a bone-in cut for the most flavor (like any steak). Let it set to get to room temperature, right before cooking, sprinkle a liberal amount of kosher salt and cracked pepper. You can coat it with a bit of olive oil too. Sear it at high temps to get good caramelization on both sides. Then turn the temperature down to like 350 in grill (covered) or in oven for 10-15 minutes depending on the doneness. Don't overcook.
We will saute some chopped garlic in a bunch of olive oil (until the garlic is nice and brown) and use it as a sauce/dressing. My kids love it.
The US meat industry is disgusting. Buying grass fed gives me some measure of hope that I'm not eating pure crap, because I am what I eat eats.
I am lucky, I have a local butcher here (http://mallerysgrazinmeats.com/)
and we buy a ton of our beef and pork from them.
Freshly ground hamburger alone is a revelation.
I also usually buy 1/8th of a cow from Philly cow share but would love to find some local BBI'ers who want to pool our resources, save some money and split a cow among us.
https://www.phillycowshare.com/
Cows are not supposed to eat corn.
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Lot of a New Age "wisdom" here. Show a cow a pile of grain and a pasture and they will go for the grain every time. they don't need to be "converted." They get antibiotics to kill infections, especially when they are young- cows can get diseases like any other animal. So enjoy that grass fed, non antibiotic cow that is probably carrying a cocktail of infectious diseases. Watch your temperature because you don't what's being carried in the cool red center you like.
Cows that are crammed into a feedlot do get tons of infectious diseases cows that are raised on pasture are healthier and more nutritious.
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The US meat industry is disgusting. Buying grass fed gives me some measure of hope that I'm not eating pure crap, because I am what I eat eats.
And you are what you eat eats...
I don't eat corn or any grains, and I don't want to eat animals that eat them. At least not exclusively.
Lot of a New Age "wisdom" here. Show a cow a pile of grain and a pasture and they will go for the grain every time. they don't need to be "converted." They get antibiotics to kill infections, especially when they are young- cows can get diseases like any other animal. So enjoy that grass fed, non antibiotic cow that is probably carrying a cocktail of infectious diseases. Watch your temperature because you don't what's being carried in the cool red center you like.
Of course, just like a kid will eat jelly beans instead of broccoli. But that doesn't mean that food is good for them. And the cows don't have infectious diseases, they get antibiotics to kill off the bacteria that digests grass so the bacteria that can digest corn can flourish. It's unnatural and unhealthy. And it makes the cow more likely to have ecoli. And factory slaughtering makes ecoli more likely to be in the grain fed ground beef in the supermarket.
That's just horrible. I'd rather just end it all. I'm a very happy, overweight carnivore thank you.
Eating plants: yuck! That's for rabbits.
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Great lifestyle and the animals survive.
That's just horrible. I'd rather just end it all. I'm a very happy, overweight carnivore thank you.
Eating plants: yuck! That's for rabbits.
Rabbits are very tasty!
Maybe I will cook them on the gas grill but I love the flavor real charcoal adds.
Maybe I will cook them on the gas grill but I love the flavor real charcoal adds.
Not to be a dick (I already have won that award) but charcoal is odorless and tasteless. It's the wonderful taste & smell of lighter fluid we have come to enjoy.
heat oven to 275
liberally salt+pepper your meat, add a probe-thermometer and cook in the oven until about 125 (for medium-rare). This typically takes 40 minutes or so but varies based on thickness of the cut
Remove from the oven and let rest 15 minutes.
After resting - add to HOT grill or sear-pan. This will give you the crust that's so lovely
After "crusting", serve.
Yes...serve. No more resting. No waiting. Eat HOT steak right off the grill!
There's a great video on YT that demonstrates this but I'm too lazy to find a link.
Enjoy
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thanks.
Maybe I will cook them on the gas grill but I love the flavor real charcoal adds.
Not to be a dick (I already have won that award) but charcoal is odorless and tasteless. It's the wonderful taste & smell of lighter fluid we have come to enjoy.
Real men grill on charcoal with no lighter fluid and yes, it does taste different.
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thanks.
Maybe I will cook them on the gas grill but I love the flavor real charcoal adds.
Not to be a dick (I already have won that award) but charcoal is odorless and tasteless. It's the wonderful taste & smell of lighter fluid we have come to enjoy.
I thought someone couldn't be more wrong than Gene on this thread. Then, I read your post.
Nice. I'm still working on getting leg of lamb right. I have a tendency to over cook it.
Buford, Food.com has a nice marinade and smocking recipe for this.
Nothing like a good old grilled Soylent Green burger
I use a mix of Brickford Competition and Brickford Hickory briquets -- My favorite cooking medium!
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And it was out of this world. 6 hours of marinade and 3 of cooking made it real easy also
Nice. I'm still working on getting leg of lamb right. I have a tendency to over cook it.
I've been having a lot of success in my Barrel Cooker with lamb ribs (breast)
Anyway, we cooked a variety of meats, chicken, chorizo, carne asada, burgers. The burgers we made were outstanding - had a real great "smokey" flavor and we put them on buns with nothing but fresh guacamole. YUM!
Anyone ever use this kind of charcoal?
On my family's farm, like most others in the area that have herds in the 100-1000 head range, we feed barley when in corrals (winter, calving, fattening up) and the rest of the time they are put to pasture and have "grass" (green cereal crops, wild grass, alfalfa, timothy, etc...) So the mother cow eats feed grains for Nov. to Mar. then is put out to pasture with the calf. The calf is then weaned usually in October and put onto grain feed (no corn) until ready to be slaughtered. Now I don't know how beef gets the prestigious "grass fed" stamp of approval but I would question whether people know anything about what grass their food was fed and if it ever had corn or other grains in its diet. I would hazard a guess a "grass fed" animal is just as likely as corn or grain fed animal to not be free range and just be fed cut grass hay or silage hay in a squalid cramped pen.
On a side note -
Not all farms (or even most in my first hand experience) pump antibioitics into cattle around the clock or force animals into squalid cramped conditions.
Anyway, we cooked a variety of meats, chicken, chorizo, carne asada, burgers. The burgers we made were outstanding - had a real great "smokey" flavor and we put them on buns with nothing but fresh guacamole. YUM!
Anyone ever use this kind of charcoal?
I always use lump charcoal. A brand i really like is Cowboy Lump Charcoal. It does add excellent flavor in our Green Egg
Another good burning lump wood charcoal is Harris Teeter's own brand, FWIW.
In Idaho, the nearest Whole Foods is 150 miles away in Boise, but next time I'm there I'll pick up some of the other.
Harder to light but worth it, imo.
We actually had some extra people show up several hours after the grills were done and had to relight one for some more cooking. We threw down a half dozen briquets (Kingsford I think) and got them going then covered them with the lump charcoal and waited until it was crackling/smoking to cook. TBH I tasted one of those and it was just the same as the ones done only with the lump.
Whatever brand you get though, Lump is the way to go
NYKAllDay?
It colder climates, you obviously have to supplement with grain. But if the cows are slaughtered at the end of summer, then they could be considered grass fed and finished.
Will definitely get them again and cook them over hardwood next time.
I don't eat much beef, but when I do, its only PRIME.
If you have a good butcher, he'll show it to you.
All the other stuff is marketing BS, but hey, if it makes you feel better....
Grass fed/finished has healthy fats and is both better for the planet and for your health. Period.
Prime/choice is just different ratings for standard beef. Most restaurants get the prime.
BASICALLY NO DIFFERENCE
Omega-6 Polyunsaturated Fats: Grass-fed and grain-fed beef contain very similar amounts of Omega-6 fatty acids
BASICALLY NO DIFFERENCE
Omega-3s: This is where grass-fed really makes a major difference, containing up to 5 times as much Omega-3.
Five times almost nothing isn't much. Salmon has ~3grams of Omega-3 per 100 grams of meat. Grass fed beef as ~20 milligrams of Omega-3 per 100 grams of meat. Even if you still believe that Omega-3's are a wonder drug, the amount you're talking about isn't going to make any difference in your diet unless you eat beef every day. (and even then it isn't much of a difference.)
Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA): Grass-fed beef contains about twice as much CLA as grain-fed beef. This fatty acid is associated with reduced body fat and some other beneficial effects (4).
Experiments in humans have not been able to show a significant effect on body weight, body composition or weight regain related to either of the CLA isomers. In fact, some studies suggest a tendency towards a decrease in body fat mass and an increase in body lean mass, while some others raise concern about the possibility of deleterious effects of trans-10,cis-12 CLA on lipid profile, glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity.
CONCLUSIONS:
Evidence regarding effectiveness of CLA in humans is not concluding.
Vitamin A: Grass-fed beef contains carotenoid precursors to Vitamin A, such as beta-carotene.
Vitamin E: This is an antioxidant that sits in your cell membranes and protects them from oxidation. Grass-fed beef contains more.
Micronutrients: Grass-fed beef also contains more Potassium, Iron, Zinc, Phosphorus and Sodium.
Again, there isn't a whole lot there to even be concerned with in the first place. You'd need to eat around 5lbs 14oz of grass fed beef to get ~1200 micrograms of beta carotene. Eating one sweet potato will get you ~19,218 micrograms of Vitamin A. Or eat a carrot- that will get you ~17,033 micrograms.
See bold.
The health benefits are way overblown, IMO.
Personally, I stopped buying beef about a year ago. When I did buy beef, I would buy a half a cow locally and it usually lasted us about a year. I know the guy I bought it from and his farm is much like Patrick described above.
From what I could tell, my buddy's cows tasted about the same as grass fed, and definitely different than store bought.
Grass fed/finished has healthy fats and is both better for the planet and for your health. Period.
Prime/choice is just different ratings for standard beef. Most restaurants get the prime.
How is it better for the planet?
That being said, I am a little guilty of hyperbole here as I am overselling it because I like it, and can afford it. And ask anyone who lives downwind of a large scale organization what they think of the smell.
I get a little angry when people say it's just new age BS, that's all. I think most people here would not be delighted if they saw first hand where their beef was coming from, that's all.
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That being said, I am a little guilty of hyperbole here as I am overselling it because I like it, and can afford it. And ask anyone who lives downwind of a large scale organization what they think of the smell.
I get a little angry when people say it's just new age BS, that's all. I think most people here would not be delighted if they saw first hand where their beef was coming from, that's all. Link - ( New Window )
No problem. I definitely agree about the small farms being better for the environment. That's part of why I bought my beef locally (plus when you buy 1/2 at a time it's cheaper). The problem is that you're not going to feed 350million people beef that way.
As an argument as to why individually you like it better, I'm in full agreement with you.
I think I just mistakenly read into some of the comments that people are advocating replacing 'meat factories' with all grass fed beef. That's really just not possible.
As an aside- supporting local farmers is always a good thing, IMO if you can do it. It's admittedly easier for me since I live in the middle of nowhere.