Am I the only one who doesn't like "grass fed" beef?

[Spinaker]

Nope you are not he only one. I would take grain fed over grass fed anyway. It is not that I don't like grass fed, but I just prefer grain fed.

[Beefchop]

I thought it was just me, or maybe the farm we buy our beef from. It's local and they boast 100% grass fed, but the soup bones and suet we get from them is really greasy and has a flavor I don't like. The rest of the meat is fine, but anything with a lot of fat has that same flavor profile.

[Rod]

Tried it once and didn't care for it.

[Huskee]

Lately I am more grain fed than grass, and I like to think I have great taste.

[Porkies]

You better get some of that greener nutrition before fattening up for the 'big show'.

[FireMan]

So what was yer taste before you became lately? Just wonderin.

[Huskee]

FireMan definitely tough & stringy when I was more grass fed. Sigh...I need to get back to being healthy again so the bears won't chase me.

[Jerod Broussard]

Grass-fed tastes like someone is trying to slip me some beef liver. Grass-fed dry-aged, even worse.

[58limited]

As JoeSousa said grass fed can be hit or miss. Some ranchers just pawn off their old worn out stock as grass fed; other ranchers take it seriously and and do a good job raising healthy young cattle for market. Grass/ forage quality has a lot to do with flavor as does the weather (esp. drought conditions). Finally the processor has a big impact. My buddy with the grass fed operation used to use LaGrange Smokehouse as his processor. The beef was aged 21 days before being broken down into steaks, etc. The meat coming from that place was gamey and nasty - they didn't trim the dry pellicle off the meat and that tasted horrible - I think it was picking up bad scents/flavors from their cooler. Also, they routinely ignored processing instructions: my friend would ask for 1" thick steaks and he'd get 1/2" thick; I got a pack labeled "filet" and it was filet but in stew meat chunk form. They have shut down because of these quality problems. Before they closed, my friend left them and started using Smithville Foodlocker to process his beef (still aged 21 days) and the difference is night and day.

I love grain fed beef but one of the best steaks I've ever had was a grass fed ribeye from Smithville Foodlocker.

[MBMorgan]

Not a lover of grass fed beef. I don't hate it enough to throw it out if SWMO brings some home (where it gets earmarked for use in a dish with heavy sauce to mask the flavor) ... and I sure don't like it enough to actively seek it out at the meat counter. I'm not saying I'd rather eat a bug than grass-fed beef ... but I'd sure as heck rather eat chicken ... or pork ... or fish ... or steamed vegetables ... or a salad.

[DavidNorcross]

I really thought that I was the only one. We purchased a side of beef last year. Grass fed, great flavor but tough. In my opinion just not enough fat. Will be the last one we purchase.

[glitchy]

Growing up here, I’ll take grain fed any and every day. If I want jerky, I’ll by Jack Links.

[FireMan]

Is this another poll that’s disguised as a discussion? Huh, huh?

[USMCCrashCrew89]

I prefer at the very least grain finished. I think as a society we get so caught up in the buzz words because seemingly it removes our obligation to do the due diligence. We’re buying into the assumption that because something is labeled "xyz" that is *insert desired trait here*

I’m transitioned into almost entirely locally purchased meat. I like being able to go out and see how my future steaks and pork chops are being treated.

[Mr. Bones]

I have only tried Grass Fed a few times, from a few different sources, an I'd haveta say that I was considerably less than enamoured of th smell, or taste.

Mebbe I jus havent tried th Right Source, mebbe I'm jus a stubborn ol Farmboy who was raised on Grain Finished beef, mebbe I has me one them Genetic Thangs, I dunno...

Either, aither, or...I Vastly prefer th Grain Finshed beef...

[latenight71]

[latenight71]

I have always enjoyed the taste of Mexican cows - Corriente breed - and they eat so much plant variety that you can taste the differnt flavors. if you taste mesquite it probably wasn't cooked over mesquite but the cow ate mesquite before being slaughtered. it's certainly a different taste from grain fed.

[jfmorris]

I personally do not like grass fed beef for all the reasons already stated. I would probably consider it if it was grain finished, but not sure if its marked as grass fed at that point.

A buddy of mine bought a side of black angus local one time, which was grass fed. Like Napoleon Dynamite said, that cow got into an onion patch. His entire side of beef tasted like wild onions. He was stuck with a freezer full of it - not sure what he ever did with it. My son in law wants me to go in on a cow or side of beef with him, but not sure I want to risk it. You are paying for a LOT of meat, sight unseen, and I would much rather go to Costco or Fresh Market or Sam's and be able to see the brisket and the marbling and know what I am getting.

[DavidNorcross]

Totally agree. I am going to finish all the meat we purchased last year, but it is honestly a struggle. You can also take the same money and go to Sams and purchase the same amount of meat and get all of the cuts you want.