Best feed for delicious beeves

[Big Redly]

So, it is finishing time for my Black Angus', I lucked into getting a couple truly fine specimens that have really gained well and are the picture of health at 950-1,000#. I have been feeding them good brome/ timothy hay with some high quality alfalfa for additional protein, and a "heifer/ dry cow" mix from my local elevator that is a 12% sweet feed, basically. My question for all of you cattle folk is: I see a lot of discussion about cost efficiency and price per head (with good reason), but very little about "how do I make the most delicious beef possible?" I think clean fresh water in abundance would play a key role, and that they have-what else can I do to give myself the best possible outcome for what is really just beef for my immediate and extended family?
Thanks in advance for any help you may render.

 

[M.Magis]

There are actually a lot of threads on that subject, but the search function makes it a bit tough to find them. Try some searches with key words such as "finish" or "finished". I know they're out there, I've found them before. I just can't remember how.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

It depends on how you like your meat ;-) :lol2:
We have fed out a steer each year for several years now for our own personal consumption. We like our beef a little leaner, so we try not to get them too fat. The last two years, and this year, we have feed them all the way through with the bull ration Main Street Feeds produces. It has ruminson in it, to help with conversion, and they seem to finish nicely on it. We know a lot of people that feed just straight corn the last 45 days, to lay the fat down. To me, a good tasting piece of beef needs to have the ribbons of fat between the muscle layers, which takes time. I think flavor is imparted at slaughter as much as how they are fed. Animals that are stressed at kill time tend to have a flavor we do not like.
My suggestion is to feed something that has a fat content to increase the intermuscular fat, and feed them to around 1300 pounds (are the purebred angus?). Look for signs of "done ness" by looking at the cod and brisket area. Keep doing what you are doing, and have them processed by a reputable place.

 

[Big Redly]

Yes, their parents are registered. My butcher is top notch. I hope the sweet feed is working on the marbling just a little already. I will check on this Ruminson. I definitely prefer marbling, if I wanted a lean steak, I'd just eat venison, you know?

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Kick in some corn oil, and Soy meal the last month. Add fat from the corn oil, and the SBM is supposed to do something to the flavor, i could never taste the difference.

 

[dun]

Many years ago we finished a steer in top quality alfalfa. You could taste it in the meat, had a grassy taste.

 

[TexasBred]

Been eating pureblood limousin meat for the last few years. Not as tender and fatty as most as it doesn't have that much marbling even though the animals were on free choice feed for quite a while prior to slaughter but the flavor of the meat is awesome. Don't know if it's simply the Limousin or the fact that it's lean but it has a tremendous flavor.

 

[talltimber]

Idk your processing plant's plan but aging is a key part of getting good meat, imo.

 

[Big Redly]

They hang for ten days.

 

[dbrews1954]

Well IMHO I prefer grass fed, not alfalfa, i also think stress plays a big part, or lack of stress, we slaughter at the farm then drop it off at the processor, last year i slaughtered a steer ,Lowline angus) i took one side to my friends cooler for 18 days and we cut it up there, the other side i took to the processor being deer season he could only hang it 3 or 4 days, very little difference in the two, you really had to go back and forth between them cooked on the grill at the same time, so i am not really sure that the aging is worth the time and loss of product