grass-fed beef

I recently watched the barefoot contessa on the food network. She mad hamburgers using grass-fed premium ground beef. Does anyone have any experience with that type of meat, and how does it differ from grain fed beef?

ive heard the grass fed is more flavorful and has a 'gamier' taste. I find most of our grain fed beef to be mostly tasteless.

CaptainJimmy wrote:

ive heard the grass fed is more flavorful and has a 'gamier' taste. I find most of our grain fed beef to be mostly tasteless.

Most grass-fed I've had (can afford) has come from Australia . Argentine is better. U.S. grain fed (at LEAST Choice or Angus) hold up against any imported grass-fed.

I have had grass fed beef ribs and I prefer the grain fed beef instead....

The grass fed beef had a gamier taste, didn't like it at all....

We have a nearby butcher with a self-serve operation who raises grass-fed beef. I find it to be not quite as tender as grain-fed, probably because it's not marbled as well. However, I think it has a "beefier" taste, not what I would call gamey. I prefer it over the store-bought variety except for the price.

I recently went through a "grass fed" side of beef and much, much, much prefer grain fed.

There was differently a different taste (I think 'gamier' is a good description) but what bothered me most was that there was a definite after taste. It was the same taste (and not a good one) no matter what I cooked so I am pretty confident it was not the chef!

Unless someone can convince me it was a "bad" cow, I will not be going grass fed again. More expensive and less enjoyable.

Craig

I think it comes down to taste.

Everyone likes different flavors to a point.

Were I use to hunt deer it was more grass and clover and the venison was a little more "gamy" and little less fat (venison fan is NOT tasty)

The area I hunt now is basically a wooded area surrounded by corn fields. The venison seems to be more tender and milder flavor.

I would think this would be the same with beef, the grass feed would be stronger flavor and less fat.

My father and I have split a side of grass-fed beef every year for 23 years now. I can understand how some folks might feel that it's a bit too "gamey" for their tastes, but I've found that ours varied from year to year, and from one farmer to the next.

Anything we bought that was purely grass-fed had a stronger flavor, but I wouldn't call it "gamey" as such. It was certainly stronger than commercial beef, but also a lot leaner. Sometimes that taste was more of what I could only call a "grassy" taste, and sometimes it was a bit more of what I would call a "liver" taste to it. The second taste may be similar to the aftertaste cbbutler experienced, and I'm pretty sure it was because the animal wasn't bled properly.

Perhaps the best comparison I could make was that the grass-fed beef I've liked the most tasted a lot like moose or bison. There was a definite "beefy" taste to it that was stronger than regular beef, but it also had a sweetness to it that was really nice.

I once contracted to computerize the operations of a breeding-stock steer ranch in New Mexico. The ranch was owned by a very rich woman here in Pennsylvania. As soon as she left, the cowboys traded in their horses for ATVs and pulled out "pellets" that were stacked, hidden, in the barn

They explained that New Mexico pasture could feed these steers for about one week out of the month (if they were lucky and got some rain.) Poor old lady had no idea about cattle ranching.

The upside of the engagement (besides a hefty billing rate) was steak for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a whole week, and all the Jack Daniels you could drink.

Anyway, whenever I see "grass-fed-western-beef" it always makes me wonder

Just like farm raised salmon, when you feed them a grain diet, the omega 6 goes up, the omega 3 goes down.

Grain fed salmon are virtually as unhealthy for you as fatty beef.

Grass fed beef is almost as healthy for you as wild caught salmon.

At least that's based on some of what I've read. How much is hype and how much is actual, I don't know. Venison is healthy for you, we know that much. It's the fat in beef that makes it so tasty. They are fed grain to fatten them up.

The salmon thing is a fact, so I'm not sure why it wouldn't be just as applicable to beef.

But I've not made too many eating decision based on what's "healthy".

phillyjazz wrote:

The upside of the engagement (besides a hefty billing rate) was steak for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a whole week, and all the Jack Daniels you could drink.

Where do I send my resume?!

nicneufeld wrote:

phillyjazz wrote:

The upside of the engagement (besides a hefty billing rate) was steak for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a whole week, and all the Jack Daniels you could drink.

Where do I send my resume?!

This was about 25 years ago. Judging from the weight and bright red complexions on all those cowboys, I'd suspect they are all long-dead ...

I tried to order chicken (for a change) one afternoon, and all these cowboys and the Count Agent looked at me like I was from mars. The Agent described a poster in his office of a chicken pecking on cow droppings with the title "Which one would you rather eat?"

I changed my order to Chicken Fried Steak.

You are correct though in talking about the Omega's. I have MS and can only eat a healthier diet if I want to keep walking, lol. My wife and I have switched over to grass fed beef, buffalo and bison. Since you all cook, I'm sure that you can give up some of the taste (just gives you a new option to add another taste to the meat via smoking or marinade or rub) if you feel you like the corn fed better. I just like each type for what they are I guess. Our bison and buffalo are very tender and not as marbled (on purpose as I have to watch my weight too). You can have a ball by smoking buffalo cubes (a less expensive cut) and adding your sauce of choice.

It's just another type of meat to play with I guess. I'm just glad it's out here so that I am able to enjoy beef still, lol.

ctsooner wrote:

You are correct though in talking about the Omega's. I have MS and can only eat a healthier diet if I want to keep walking, lol. My wife and I have switched over to grass fed beef, buffalo and bison. Since you all cook, I'm sure that you can give up some of the taste (just gives you a new option to add another taste to the meat via smoking or marinade or rub) if you feel you like the corn fed better. I just like each type for what they are I guess. Our bison and buffalo are very tender and not as marbled (on purpose as I have to watch my weight too). You can have a ball by smoking buffalo cubes (a less expensive cut) and adding your sauce of choice.

It's just another type of meat to play with I guess. I'm just glad it's out here so that I am able to enjoy beef still, lol.

Watching my weight and my health were two reasons I started eating leaner beef, and when my father found a few reliable sources of the stuff he jumped on the bandwagon too. Plus, when my sister married a guy whose hobbies included hunting, that helped me expand the choices as well - especially since I get my father's portion of venison, elk and moose because he won't touch the stuff.

But an added bonus of the grass-fed beef my father and I buy is that it's half the price of what's in the stores. And when I say that I mean the side of beef is half the price of an untrimmed, uncut side of beef from a store. Our supplier also cuts that side of beef into whatever cuts we want as a bonus, so our cost is way cheaper than the same steaks and roasts in the store.

The only thing I haven't figured out is how to get my dad to enjoy boneless rib-eyes. I'm really trying to get a couple racks of beef ribs out of our next purchase, but he keeps insisting on ordering bone-in rib-eye steaks.