We finally got an actual butcher shop that opened near me. I went there for the first time and had a good time chatting with the owner. I was kind of hoping to develop a relationship as Meathead wisely encourages. I figured I would try the ribeyes, but noticed very little marbling. When I asked what grade they were I was told that grass fed is not graded. He also said they were American Wagyu. I read Meatheads guide and didn't see anything about grading or not grading grass fed beef. So is the butcher correct?
-
-
I believe that most "grass fed" producers do not elect to have their meat graded because it is so lean that it would not normally grade highly under the USDA grading standards. Personally, grass fed is not what I look for in a steak for the grill...-
I agree, and I can't stand it. All our meat tasted funny to me when I lived in Ireland, and I was told it was because it was all grass fed. Grass fed steaks I've had in the States tasted similarly, so I believe it. -
Right-o. It's a leaner animal, so you have to assess quality a bit differently than marbling at the nth rib. http://www.seriouseats.com/2017/05/b...ice-steak.html
I do happen to like the flavor of grass-fed. But you can't argue taste, right?
-
-
Most livestock spend the last part of their lives on a feedlot eating grain. This is where they are fattened up before slaughter. Grass fed livestock are go straight to slaughter, so don't have the marbling of grain fed animals. The marbling adds lots of flavor, so I don't have any desire to buy, cook, and eat grass fed cows. YMMV...Comment
-
I wondered about this myself. Thanks for posting the question and the answers guys!Comment
-
I have a good friend in WY who used to raise a few bison. He always picked out the ones that were going to slaughter and finished them on grain for a couple months prior to slaughter. IMO: "Grass fed" is a trendy fad of the "organic" crowd!!!Comment
-
This is on the very edge of politics. Grass fed is not a trendy fad of the organic crowd. No offense Doc Just my opinion.
​​​​​​Putting beef cattle in feedlots and feeding them grain may actually be one of the dumbest ideas in the history of western civilization.
Even if they do taste better that way. I'll flag my post now.
End of the day many grass feed producers can't get the fat they need for grading Others can.Last edited by Jon Solberg; February 8, 2018, 09:14 PM.Comment
-
What do you base this on. The fact that we have feed lots is the only reason we are able to feed beef to as many people as we can. If you are referring to the environmental impacts, well there are no benefits for grass fed. Here is one of many articles on that fact https://www.thoughtco.com/whats-wron...ed-beef-127696
Still not going vegan, that is just Indian for bad hunter.
-
-
texastweeter
Cattle (like sheep, deer and other grazing animals) are endowed with the ability to convert grasses, which we humans cannot digest, into flesh that we are able to digest. They can do this because unlike humans, who possess only one stomach, they are ruminants, which is to say that they possess a rumen, a 45 or so gallon fermentation tank in which resident bacteria convert cellulose into protein and fats.
In today’s feedlots, however, cows fed corn and other grains are eating food that humans can eat, and they are quite inefficiently converting it into meat. Since it takes anywhere from 7 to 16 pounds of grain to make a pound of feedlot beef, we actually get far less food out than we put in. It’s a protein factory in reverse.
And we do this on a massive scale, while nearly a billion people on our planet do not have enough to eat.
Just my opinion bro. Im not a hippie. It's not a hippie thing.
I'm out on this. ITS NOT A HIPPIE THING!Last edited by Jon Solberg; February 8, 2018, 09:36 PM.Comment
-
Dad and my uncle slaughter a couple calves every year. They get fed a feedlot ration, just less "lot mates." My wife can't stand buying ground meat from the store now.
I fed out a couple steers growing up. Chopped corn, rice bran, and rice straw bales. Gooooood eatin.'
Comment
-
Jon Solberg LOLOLOL, I know your not a hippie! I was just wondering your stance on this. I have researched the matter several times, and in my TOTALLY NONEXPERT opinion (other than my father in law and I raise some grass fed cattle for beef, around 50 head at a time) the most bang for your buck, and the best tasting meat comes from a feed lot or feeding them out on grain. The environmental aspect is 6, 1/2 dozen to either side. You have to take into account the amount of land required to grass feed, and the much lower kcals in grass vs corn. While humans don't eat grass, we still have to pay for it.Comment
-
texastweeter. Love to cook with you sometime! Let’s try and make that happen!
-
For what it's worth, this new butcher did choose to set up shop in an extremely trendy part of town. I knew it was going to be expensive. Based off the results of the 2 10oz ribeyes at $28lb, I think the choice Costco ones are better taste wise and obviously cost wise.Comment
-
I found this book a very good read. It may or may not help in this discussion but I found it to be both informative and funny.
Comment
Comment