big brown horse
Hoof In Mouth
Just curious, I have a good hook up for grass fed meats, from ground beef to steaks etc.
What is the rule of thumb?
What is the rule of thumb?
How do you prepare grass fed meats?
- Thread starter big brown horse
- Start date
freemotion
Food Guru
Depending on the age of the animal and how they were raised...some people label as grass-fed cattle that are confined and fed hay!...and depending on how old they are. Generally, with what I can get locally and not pay a fortune for, the meat is a bit tougher and stringier, and dark red. So we don't put a steak on the grill and expect it to be fork tender. I only cook it with long-cooking methods, like crock pot, pressure canning, long-cooked Dutch oven dishes, etc.
Sometimes I buy a big piece and cut it up into tiny bits for soups and stews and can some up for quick meals, like tacos, chili, and maybe throw some in a pan with some cream of mushroom soup for a quick sauce to serve over rice or noodles.
Sometimes I buy a big piece and cut it up into tiny bits for soups and stews and can some up for quick meals, like tacos, chili, and maybe throw some in a pan with some cream of mushroom soup for a quick sauce to serve over rice or noodles.
Farmfresh
City Biddy
I like to buy my grassfed beef younger and smaller than a normal butcher beef. This helps insure tenderness. The beef that I currently have hanging is 850 pounds live weight and a long yearling (about 18 to 20 months old).
If you get a larger beef done ask them to hang it longer (the cool chill period like we do our chickens, rabbits and such). That brings out more flavor and makes the meat more tender.
I really don't do much different when cooking. The meat IS leaner and the flavor is richer, but we like it like that.
Pastured pork is just yummier. I don't change a thing.
Of course almost ALL lamb is grass fed so business as usual.
If you get a larger beef done ask them to hang it longer (the cool chill period like we do our chickens, rabbits and such). That brings out more flavor and makes the meat more tender.
I really don't do much different when cooking. The meat IS leaner and the flavor is richer, but we like it like that.
Pastured pork is just yummier. I don't change a thing.
Of course almost ALL lamb is grass fed so business as usual.
Wildsky
Femivore
You're going to have to just dive in and figure it out.
For steaks my trick is to leave them to age in the fridge for at least a week before cooking. We also avoid cooking those steaks well done, they need to be at least pink in the middle to be tender.
I can't cook this latest cow in the crock pot or anything its way fattier than I was expecting it to be, I end up with a big fat greasy mess.
For steaks my trick is to leave them to age in the fridge for at least a week before cooking. We also avoid cooking those steaks well done, they need to be at least pink in the middle to be tender.
I can't cook this latest cow in the crock pot or anything its way fattier than I was expecting it to be, I end up with a big fat greasy mess.
me&thegals
A Major Squash & Pumpkin Lover
Assuming my venison is mostly grassfed 
, we do loins and tenderloins in super-hot pans. We sear, flip, sear again and call it good.
Roasts tend to get crockpotted. They mostly end up in gravies or BBQ sauce. Lots is made into hamburger, which is treated as usual (only needs some liquid added, as there is no fat).
Stew meat is treated as usual also.
Mainly, there is little/no fat to speak of. So, we add the fat in the form of olive or canola oil. Yum!
, we do loins and tenderloins in super-hot pans. We sear, flip, sear again and call it good. Roasts tend to get crockpotted. They mostly end up in gravies or BBQ sauce. Lots is made into hamburger, which is treated as usual (only needs some liquid added, as there is no fat).
Stew meat is treated as usual also.
Mainly, there is little/no fat to speak of. So, we add the fat in the form of olive or canola oil. Yum!
Beekissed
Mountain Sage
Deer harvested in the fall usually have plenty of mast in their system and I think this makes for a tastier meat~I love, love, love venison!!!!
I harvested one in the summer on a crop permit and could barely stand the taste of the meat! The meat was strong smelling and the flavor was just as strong.
My sis gave me some meat from her grass fed Highlands, very young steers, mind you, and it was the absolute worst meat I've ever eaten. Bar none! My other sister had the same meat and verified that it was not just my tastebuds....the meat was mouthful of crap.
After those two experiences, I'm inclined to feed grass up until a couple of weeks before processing and then feed some whole grains of some kind. Anything to get that meat sweeter!
I harvested one in the summer on a crop permit and could barely stand the taste of the meat! The meat was strong smelling and the flavor was just as strong.
My sis gave me some meat from her grass fed Highlands, very young steers, mind you, and it was the absolute worst meat I've ever eaten. Bar none! My other sister had the same meat and verified that it was not just my tastebuds....the meat was mouthful of crap.
After those two experiences, I'm inclined to feed grass up until a couple of weeks before processing and then feed some whole grains of some kind. Anything to get that meat sweeter!
SKR8PN
Late For Supper
Beef HAS to age before being sliced up, I don't care if it is grass fed or grain finished.
One week MINIMUM and two weeks is better. Even then I have been known to age my steaks another few days before cooking them.
Grass vs Grain? In my own experiences, Some of the best tasting beef I ever sunk my teeth into was strictly grass fed with very little, if any, grain supplements. Some of the most marbled and fatty I have had, were finished off on lots of grain. Still tasty, but more fat than I care for in my meat. Both were dropped, bled out and gutted right on the farm, in a mobile butchering truck. They never knew what was coming until the very last instant.
Now......the very worst tasting beef, was from an 18 month old steer, pastured with a little grain added from time to time, raised on the very same farm and pastures as thew others. The biggest difference was the fact he was transported to the processing plant and mixed in with a couple of hundred other cattle. One of two or three things happened: Either he knew what was coming and was scared for a few days before he met his end, or, careless processing(letting the entrails come into contact with the meat and not washing it) or we never got the same steer back that we took in.
We never did figure it out.
One week MINIMUM and two weeks is better. Even then I have been known to age my steaks another few days before cooking them.
Grass vs Grain? In my own experiences, Some of the best tasting beef I ever sunk my teeth into was strictly grass fed with very little, if any, grain supplements. Some of the most marbled and fatty I have had, were finished off on lots of grain. Still tasty, but more fat than I care for in my meat. Both were dropped, bled out and gutted right on the farm, in a mobile butchering truck. They never knew what was coming until the very last instant.
Now......the very worst tasting beef, was from an 18 month old steer, pastured with a little grain added from time to time, raised on the very same farm and pastures as thew others. The biggest difference was the fact he was transported to the processing plant and mixed in with a couple of hundred other cattle. One of two or three things happened: Either he knew what was coming and was scared for a few days before he met his end, or, careless processing(letting the entrails come into contact with the meat and not washing it) or we never got the same steer back that we took in.
We never did figure it out.
Farmfresh
City Biddy
Processing IS a major factor. Just like our small animals, large animals MUST have enough time to go through Rigor Mortise. Have them hang your meat some extra time. It is worth the wait.
freemotion
Food Guru
I dug some out of the freezer after this thread and put it in the crock pot. YUMMMMMMM!!!!
me&thegals
A Major Squash & Pumpkin Lover
This! The stress releases hormones or chemicals or something that makes the meat taste bad. When doing chickens, we try to keep everybody calm until their time is up. Just 2 at a time, quietly, calmly.SKR8PN said:
Our deer hang a few days, if possible. I can't remember if we aged our beef when we used to have grass-fed Belties. They were REALLY good meat, and only a few handfuls of corn just to keep life interesting for them. We had them processed at a local butcher, though--as per law--and I don't know if they aged them or not...
Bee: What is "mast?"
