Grass fed vs grain fed

[KANSAS]

I had posted earlier about where to butcher steers in Southeast Kansas. Thank you for all of your replies. I have been thinking about it more and had a few more questions I was hoping you fine folks could help me with.

-If you didnt know it could you tell the difference between grass fed and grain fed?

-I was thinking about tracking down someone that could dry age the beef. Is there really that big of a difference between wet aging and dry aging?

-On the two previous questions do any of you find the grass fed or dry aged beef less appealing to your taste buds?

I will be butchering 2 galloway and 1 longhorn steers. The longhorn I will grain feed and simply wet age and turn the majority into lean hamburger. I am thinking about the grass fed and dry aging on the Galloways only.

I know,,, I know... what is someone doing with Galloways and Longhorns... Dont ask.... kindof a long story...

Finally, what are you folks generally paying for the processing in my area, and do any of you folks know of any places that will dry age it, and what price for the aging?

Thank you all in advance,

Kansas

 

[dj]

Have you spoken to any of the butchers yet? I think you will find most all of them "dry age". How long do you want it to hang for? Isn't it tough to get a grass fed carcass with enough fat to hang long? Maybe turn it around and grain those oreos and let the longhorn do what it does best, convert grass.
Thats going to be alot of beef at one time.
I like to get them fat enough to hang 18-20 days.
I don't like wet aged meat.
Not sure I'd know the difference between grass or grained by eating.
But then our freezer usually contains a cull cow
So what would I know anyway.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Grass fed beef will have YELLOW fat.
My brother-in-law in Kansas raised grass fed organic beef. He sold the meat out of his freezer by the pound. High priced. But, the steaks were so tough, he kept all the steaks and sold the hamburg & roasts. Got tired of eating "slow cooked" tough steaks, so he quit.
Grass feeding is going to be a science. The younger the steers are when harvested, the more tender they will be. Feeding out on grass takes a lot longer, so you are getting more flavor with less tender meat. (older is usually more flavor). For this "nitch" market, I think you will need to look at small framed cattle that will finish at 850-900# - which would be discounted in the normal market (<600# and >900# carcasses are discounted - generally).
Of course, most consumers are interested in tender - not tasty. They want something they can cook quickly & be a good eating experience. They can smother it with "sauces" for flavor.

 

[bigbull338]

it really doesnt matter wich way you go.grassfed or grain fedbecause if you grass feed them they still need 30 days of grain to get some marbling on the meat.as well as tenderize the meat.you will just have to try it both ways.an see wich way you like best.