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Brisket - choices - Prime Corn feed or Choice Grass Feed

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    Brisket - choices - Prime Corn feed or Choice Grass Feed

    Hi all - there is only so much money to ago around. Assuming equal price would you buy:
    51
    Prime Corn Feed Brisket
    96.08%
    49
    Choice Grass Feed Brisket
    3.92%
    2

    #2
    Not even close

    Comment


      #3
      NO grass fed/finished anything. Always wondered why I was feeding steers in the barn rather than just letting them eat grass in the pasture, then I sat down to eat them at the table.

      Comment


        #4
        If not for hipsters actually seeking it out, I doubt beef producers would even bother with grass fed cattle.

        Comment


          #5
          Oh I get it, you mean feed for the cattle.

          Comment


          • RonB
            RonB commented
            Editing a comment
            You, Sir are sometimes slow, but ya do get there...

          • FireMan
            FireMan commented
            Editing a comment
            RonB yeah, that’s the important thing, it’s like gettin the 821 thing. 🕶

          #6
          Choice is normally less tender and less juicy than Prime, and grass fed is normally less tender and less juicy that grain finished. I'm thinkin' I'll stick to choice # 1. 😛

          Comment


            #7
            I just don't like the flavor of grass fed. It is a fad that has come into being in the last few years. You do know that all cattle are grass fed up to about the last couple of weeks and then fed grain to fatten them up. The length depends on how long the feed lot wants to fatten them to.

            All beef is graded at the rib sub-primal. Prime will always be better that choice. Waygu has its own rating system. Rating also includes age. I have a paper chart at home that takes all the points into account.

            Comment


              #8
              You see sometimes, the traditional way is the right way. It’s the way things out to be done, the effort spent is returned to you in the finished product.

              Like shaving with a puck of soap a badger hair brush & a straight or safety razor. The replacement is just cheap trash replacing quality with convenience.

              Then there’s things, where the old ways are just because they couldn’t afford to feed their food ingredients needed for whiskey.

              Comment


                #9
                I like grass fed and grain finished. I don’t mind a totally grass fed animal as long as I know it was a quality pasture or good hay.
                The same goes for grain fed animals if you don’t feed quality grains then you won’t have a quality product.

                Comment


                  #10
                  I do not care for grass fed beef either .. now that being stated I live further north than most and cattle up here can maintain weight but seldomly gain weight in winter eating on hay, as there is no grass available in winter. This results in a older animal which allows the griddle in the steaks to get pretty thick. I had a guy raise a grass fed steer and keep half for himself and sell two quarters
                  ​​​​​​ He thought it was the best beef ever!! The people that bought the quarters brought all the steaks and roasts back and had them ground into hamburger because it was so tough they could not chew it.. I have also seen people buy a nice fat prime corn fed beef and complain about the yield and how fatty it was. To each their own I guess..
                  ​​​​​

                  Comment


                    #11
                    Originally posted by mountainsmoker View Post
                    I just don't like the flavor of grass fed. It is a fad that has come into being in the last few years. You do know that all cattle are grass fed up to about the last couple of weeks and then fed grain to fatten them up. The length depends on how long the feed lot wants to fatten them to.

                    All beef is graded at the rib sub-primal. Prime will always be better that choice. Waygu has its own rating system. Rating also includes age. I have a paper chart at home that takes all the points into account.
                    It's more like 4-6 months at the feedlot. I buy grass fed/finished beef because I have two farmer friends. They both say since they started grass finishing their cattle, that farming is fun and profitable again. I want to keep them both in business. I don't find the taste and tenderness to be much different than supermarket beef. Maybe they're better at it than others. https://www.pabeef.org/raising-beef/beef-lifecycle

                    Comment


                    • Backroadmeats
                      Backroadmeats commented
                      Editing a comment
                      You are correct for up here that it takes 6 monthes in the feed lot. But calves up here are given free choice grain and minerals from about 4 monthes on up.. from a butchers point of view most people prefer grain finished beef.. now farmers that sell grad finished beef get a premium price for it because they grow slower.. I also see a lot of people that buy grass fed beef come back and complain it was tough and not very flavorful.. very few complaints about grain fed..to each their own..

                    #12
                    You may grain feed your meat 4-6 months in Wisconsin, but you need to, due to the cold and lack of pasture available. Further south grain feeding 4-6 weeks or less provides a quality beef cattle, with good marbling and flavor. It really depends on the part of the country and the growth cycle of the cattle. Some are ready in 13 months others in 15 still others in 20 months.

                    I wish that all the grass fed meat eaters would taste a real grain fed steak. They would soon loose there taste for grass taste meat. I really don't understand what the fad is all about. It tastes worst, does nothing for the planet. A cattle takes in fuel and exhausts gasses. More than a modern vehicle that harvests grain and hay.

                    I have never seen a prime graded grass fed beef, and choice is rare. Most are graded select. The lowest level sold in a grocery store. Thus the comment by Backroadmeats
                    Last edited by mountainsmoker; September 20, 2019, 03:46 PM.

                    Comment


                    • Backroadmeats
                      Backroadmeats commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Some people prefer it.. I sold a guy a quarter of nice prime corn finished beef.. he told me he was only buying it cuz he didnt get a deer this year and he preferred venison to beef. Called and complained it was too fatty.. some people prefer it..not me..

                    • mountainsmoker
                      mountainsmoker commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Yea if I want grass finish beef, I will kill a deer.

                    #13
                    I'm gonna be the contrarian, and go with "It depends." If I'm cooking for guests and want the classic tender/juicy/fatty brisket that everyone will expect, then gotta go with the prime grain fed. But if I'm cooking for myself and the family - weekend meal and leftovers for the week, then I'm going with the grass fed. Yes, it might take some trial & error to get good at cooking it, but I'm okay with that. Why? There's a big nutritional difference between the 2, especially in fatty acids (omega 3/6 and CLA). Unlike some folks, I like the flavor of grass fed/finished beef. And from my experience, grass fed roasts and low/slow cuts are easier to cook than steaks, where the dry/tough reputation of grass fed is usually true.

                    The real problem from my perspective is that I've never seen choice grass fed/finished beef priced anything close to the price of prime grain fed. It's why I mostly eat grain fed even though I would prefer grass fed.

                    For the record - I'm not a hipster and I don't do fads. There are huge environmental benefits of grass over grain feeding, too, but that's not my main motivation. In general I think it's sad that "healthy" and "good" are considered opposites when it comes to food - I don't think it has to be that way, and I try to cook good food that is "mostly healthy most of the time" without being a zealot about it. I'm not saying that grain fed is bad for us - I eat plenty of it - but grass fed is definitely healthier, more humane, more sustainable, and not dependent on federal grain subsidies (which is why grain fed is cheaper, BTW.)

                    Anyway - end of soapbox. One man's view of the world. Eat what you want and enjoy it, and never let the opinions of an internet yahoo ruin a meal.

                    Comment


                      #14
                      Finishing cattle on corn for three to six months gives it the marbling we all look for. I wonder if you could even find Prime grass fed being as it probably lacks marbling. Food for thought.

                      Comment


                        #15
                        I understand there are "health benefits" from eating grass fed beef, but if I’m trying to be "that healthy" I’m probably not eating beef. Gimme the corn fed Prime!

                        Comment

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