Grilling and Cooking 100% Grass-fed Beef
Our beef is lean, but that doesn't mean it's not tasty. In fact, it's loaded with flavor, the flavor of beef. One of the first things you might notice when you fry up your first package of hamburger is that it smells different. It smells like beef instead of a manure-y smell of the feedlot. Another thing you may notice is that you're not left with a pan of grease or that half of it has evaporated.
Some people think that hamburger is cheap, but that is not the case with grass-fed beef. This meat is lean, and there is NO ADDED FAT and NO ADDED WATER and NO ADDED CHEMICALS!
The butcher evaluates each carcass and determines how much of it will make the best tasting and tenderest steaks and roasts possible. And when he takes out the miscellaneous cuts, he grinds the rest into hamburger. So, meat that in a feedlot calf might have been made into a more expensive steak is put into the hamburger.
For this reason, we do not have available every kind of steak that you might be accustomed to, but it's also the reason the hamburger is so delicous. Each grass-fed calf is a little different. Feedlots select calves that are very similar in size and weight, but grass-fed calves vary. From time to time, you may notice that steak sizes and other cuts are slightly different.
One of our favorite ways to cook is to place the steaks (rib, T-bone, sirloin or the tenderized round steak) in a baking dish. Pour some cream of mushroom soup over it. (I really like the Pacific Natural Foods brand of organic condensed soup. The Cream of Mushroom is gluten free.) Cover it and pop it into the oven for two the three hours. You might have to spoon the soup over it as it cooks. Very easy and yummy!
Crock this meat!!! So easy to do in the slow cooker. And so delicious!!! There are tons of recipes for stews and roasts on the internet. Grass-fed beef holds up wonderfully in the crock pot.
I checked with a customer of ours who grills a lot. Here is what David wrote to me:
Good Grilling
[I learned] by trial and error, Google, and a book called Good Meat. I've learned quite a bit in the last few months. I was pretty good at grilling corn fed meat, but immediately noticed a difference in the texture and cooking of grass fed beef. Specifically for grilling, I get my best results from:
1.) Bring to Temperature
2.) Marinade
3.) Tenderize
4.) Really, Really, Really high heat for a short period.
1. Before grilling any meat, I try to let it come to close to room temperature. I think there is some sort of "shock" that happens to the meat when you go from really cold to really hot all of a sudden. I've heard different scientific explanations about it, but it's been a rule of thumb for me for a while. This can take 10-20 minutes.
2. I'm not sure the best oil to use, but by property, something with a high smoke point would probably be best (peanut oil for example). However, since we use olive oil a lot in our house, I've been using it exclusively. Start with a basic Oil and White Vinegar marinade overnight. You can add spices if you like (garlic powder, cumin, pepper, etc.), but it is not absolutely necessary. Just enough oil and vinegar to coat the meat and have some drippage.... It shouldn't be swimming in it, but just enough to cover and have a bit of liquid running off so you can turn it in a bag and massage it a bit. Before putting it on the grill, I usually use fresh cracked pepper (larger chunks) and kosher salt (again, larger flakes). Powdered pepper and taqble salt just don't have the same affect.
3. I also use a meat tenderizer, like a Jaccard (http:www.jaccard.com/). Just push it through the meat...really simple to use. I do this on pretty much any meat and any cooking method. I've done it both before or after the marinade. I get good results either way and haven't really been able to tell the difference. If I were using a "flavoring" marinade with a lot of spices, before would be best.
4. Heat. Since grass-fed beef tends to be less fatty, it doesn't do well on high heat for long periods. I like my steak medium! Since the meat already has an oil in the marinade, no need to grease the grill. Just turn it on and let it (and the grates) get as hot as it can.... I mean really, really hot...like it is going to explode. I have a cheaper grill, and the thermometer only gets to about 600, but I let it go for a good 3--5 minutes solid on high before opening. Use caution, of course!!! The steaks I've had have been around 1/2 to 1 1/2 inch steaks, and I think the results will be a lot better. If the steak is too thin, you won't get the crust unless you cook it really well done...and that'll be a sad state for a nice piece of beef. :) So, I've done just around 2 minutes per side...flipping only once on the extremely high heat. Then, I turn the grill off and move the meat if there is a flame burning from fat or anything else under the steak. Then I just start testing with my finger the "give" for doneness. Again, medium to well, so you have tp be very careful. My biggest issue was unlearning the corn fed beef process, where this method would give me a pretty rare steak. But the high heat will produce the Maillard reaction and will create that tasty layer of grilly goodness. But again, too long will stiffen the meat. It will still taste great, just become too chewy.
Hopefully this helps!
Oh, the pork chops/steaks aren't nearly as difficult. I guess they have a bit more fat in them, so I just have to take them off only a bit sooner than I'm used to, but they are more forgiving!
Thank you, very much, David! I'm sure this will help!!!
A Better Way Beef
Located about halfway between Austin and Houston
Call or Text Mike
713-392-9343
[email protected]
Some people think that hamburger is cheap, but that is not the case with grass-fed beef. This meat is lean, and there is NO ADDED FAT and NO ADDED WATER and NO ADDED CHEMICALS!
The butcher evaluates each carcass and determines how much of it will make the best tasting and tenderest steaks and roasts possible. And when he takes out the miscellaneous cuts, he grinds the rest into hamburger. So, meat that in a feedlot calf might have been made into a more expensive steak is put into the hamburger.
For this reason, we do not have available every kind of steak that you might be accustomed to, but it's also the reason the hamburger is so delicous. Each grass-fed calf is a little different. Feedlots select calves that are very similar in size and weight, but grass-fed calves vary. From time to time, you may notice that steak sizes and other cuts are slightly different.
One of our favorite ways to cook is to place the steaks (rib, T-bone, sirloin or the tenderized round steak) in a baking dish. Pour some cream of mushroom soup over it. (I really like the Pacific Natural Foods brand of organic condensed soup. The Cream of Mushroom is gluten free.) Cover it and pop it into the oven for two the three hours. You might have to spoon the soup over it as it cooks. Very easy and yummy!
Crock this meat!!! So easy to do in the slow cooker. And so delicious!!! There are tons of recipes for stews and roasts on the internet. Grass-fed beef holds up wonderfully in the crock pot.
I checked with a customer of ours who grills a lot. Here is what David wrote to me:
Good Grilling
[I learned] by trial and error, Google, and a book called Good Meat. I've learned quite a bit in the last few months. I was pretty good at grilling corn fed meat, but immediately noticed a difference in the texture and cooking of grass fed beef. Specifically for grilling, I get my best results from:
1.) Bring to Temperature
2.) Marinade
3.) Tenderize
4.) Really, Really, Really high heat for a short period.
1. Before grilling any meat, I try to let it come to close to room temperature. I think there is some sort of "shock" that happens to the meat when you go from really cold to really hot all of a sudden. I've heard different scientific explanations about it, but it's been a rule of thumb for me for a while. This can take 10-20 minutes.
2. I'm not sure the best oil to use, but by property, something with a high smoke point would probably be best (peanut oil for example). However, since we use olive oil a lot in our house, I've been using it exclusively. Start with a basic Oil and White Vinegar marinade overnight. You can add spices if you like (garlic powder, cumin, pepper, etc.), but it is not absolutely necessary. Just enough oil and vinegar to coat the meat and have some drippage.... It shouldn't be swimming in it, but just enough to cover and have a bit of liquid running off so you can turn it in a bag and massage it a bit. Before putting it on the grill, I usually use fresh cracked pepper (larger chunks) and kosher salt (again, larger flakes). Powdered pepper and taqble salt just don't have the same affect.
3. I also use a meat tenderizer, like a Jaccard (http:www.jaccard.com/). Just push it through the meat...really simple to use. I do this on pretty much any meat and any cooking method. I've done it both before or after the marinade. I get good results either way and haven't really been able to tell the difference. If I were using a "flavoring" marinade with a lot of spices, before would be best.
4. Heat. Since grass-fed beef tends to be less fatty, it doesn't do well on high heat for long periods. I like my steak medium! Since the meat already has an oil in the marinade, no need to grease the grill. Just turn it on and let it (and the grates) get as hot as it can.... I mean really, really hot...like it is going to explode. I have a cheaper grill, and the thermometer only gets to about 600, but I let it go for a good 3--5 minutes solid on high before opening. Use caution, of course!!! The steaks I've had have been around 1/2 to 1 1/2 inch steaks, and I think the results will be a lot better. If the steak is too thin, you won't get the crust unless you cook it really well done...and that'll be a sad state for a nice piece of beef. :) So, I've done just around 2 minutes per side...flipping only once on the extremely high heat. Then, I turn the grill off and move the meat if there is a flame burning from fat or anything else under the steak. Then I just start testing with my finger the "give" for doneness. Again, medium to well, so you have tp be very careful. My biggest issue was unlearning the corn fed beef process, where this method would give me a pretty rare steak. But the high heat will produce the Maillard reaction and will create that tasty layer of grilly goodness. But again, too long will stiffen the meat. It will still taste great, just become too chewy.
Hopefully this helps!
Oh, the pork chops/steaks aren't nearly as difficult. I guess they have a bit more fat in them, so I just have to take them off only a bit sooner than I'm used to, but they are more forgiving!
Thank you, very much, David! I'm sure this will help!!!
A Better Way Beef
Located about halfway between Austin and Houston
Call or Text Mike
713-392-9343
[email protected]