Grass fed beef taste

[denoginnizer]

After reading all the recent discussions on grass fed beef I felt like I needed to at least eat some and see what if anything I might be missing. A friend bought several grass fed steaks from Whole Foods in Birmingham and brought them down for "reasearch". They were a little more red than cornfed and had almost no marbling. The fat was white which surprised me because I thought only corn fed had white fat. Anyway we cooked them on the grill until they were rare and dug in.
They were slightly tuff with a hint of gameness neither of which I found to be awful. There was a slight texture difference due the lack of fat. I had expected them to be terrible but they were better than expected. I give them a 6.8 on a scale of 1 to 10. Most corn fed steaks would get 8 but I occasionally get a 7 and twice I had a 10.
Is this typical of the flavor of the grass fed? Can you get grass fed in prime or choice?

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Since 2001 we have slaughtered one of our Longhorn cattle each year. We have, however, found a "secret" to getting high quality meat:

Slaughter the animal (bull, steer, heifer) between age of 12 and 18 months. Seems to make little difference if the animal is a bull or steer or heifer.

Pick one with a good BCS (not a skinny "cull"). The ones reserved for "hamburger" or other cuts (age 18 to 30 months) will also have decent Tenderloin, Ribeye, NY Strip, or Sirloin steaks. Older animals (over 30 months) only grind into hamburger or make into smoked sausages, beef sticks, or jerky. The ground beef will be naturally around 98 to 98% lean without any extra fat mixed in when grinding.

Yes, the meat is a "touch gamey" (but not near as gamey as deer meat, etc.) unlike the highly marbled other breeds. However, it doesn't have the "greasy" aftertaste that the Continental and European breed meat does. You either like the Longhorn meat or you don't...

Since there is little excess fat and marbeling, cook on low to medium heat. Cook roasts at 275 deg. F., or in a slow cooker. Sear steaks or burgers on both sides to hold juices in and then periodically flip over to finish cooking.

On a note: There will be "tough" meat from any breed and with cooking improperly.

No...you probably can't cut a Longhorn steak or roast with your fork...and, probably few other breeds/cuts too for that matter. But, it is amazing what slow cooking a LH roast will do!

Since we've been eating LH beef for 8 years, we'll never go back to eating the other breeds (foreign or domestic)...at least as long as we have access to LH beef...

 

[Jogeephus]

Its been several years since I've eaten any but we used to get a free quarter each year from a little deal I had worked out. Personally, I don't mind eating it. Does have a hint of gameiness and it is generally tougher. While I don't mind eating it, especially when its free, I am outnumbered in this deal and no longer get a quarter cause no one else in the family will eat it if given a choice.

On cooking it, I think you have to adapt you cooking techniques to accomodate the meat. For steaks, I found that searing it and then cook it at a lower temp worked pretty good for me.

 

[john250]

After reading all the recent discussions on grass fed beef I felt like I needed to at least eat some and see what if anything I might be missing. A friend bought several grass fed steaks from Whole Foods in Birmingham[/size] and brought them down for "reasearch". They were a little more red than cornfed and had almost no marbling. The fat was white which surprised me because I thought only corn fed had white fat. Anyway we cooked them on the grill until they were rare and dug in.
They were slightly tuff with a hint of gameness neither of which I found to be awful. There was a slight texture difference due the lack of fat. I had expected them to be terrible but they were better than expected. I give them a 6.8 on a scale of 1 to 10. Most corn fed steaks would get 8 but I occasionally get a 7 and twice I had a 10.
Is this typical of the flavor of the grass fed? Can you get grass fed in prime or choice?

Birmingham has a Whole Foods? My head is spinning.
Here is where they get their beef-- http://www.denverpost.com/lifestyles/ci_13440238
I took one to the processor way short of weight (corn) once. Only once. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. And, for what it costs, it had better be good.