inquiry, steer verses bull for the freeze

[Daryl]

I got a great deal on 3 bulls a 1, 2 , and 4 year old need to know if the 2 yr old would be good for the freezer after graining him for 3 months worried about flavor being a bull heard conflicting stories :help:

 

[Aaron]

As long as he hasn't been exposed to cows, he'll be ok. Virgin bulls taste great...I prefer them over everything else. If they ran with cows though, their hormones will have been in overdrive and will give the meat a unpleasant taste....that's why they call them bologna bulls.

 

[Ryan]

Even if he had run with cows, would 3 months on grain be long enough for th hormones to come out of overdrive and return the meat to a quality flavor?

 

[Aaron]

Can't comment on timelines. I've just never known any person to take a mature bull and put him for steaks and roasts. Hamburger yes, but some people have told me that even bull burger tastes bad.

If you want real good meat, go to you local bull producer and make an offer on one of the yearling bulls he never could sell for breeding. Put him on feed for 90 days and then savour the flavour.

 

[dun]

I personally like the flavor of bull beef. It has tons of flavor. But there are those that don;t like venison because it tastes "gamey". The problem with anything much over 2 is that it's usually tough. That's more of an age thing then the gender.

 

[Aaron]

Next to bull beef, 3 year old cow beef is great. Fed a little longer, about 120-150 days, but another really good choice. That was in 1998 and I have only eaten one steer (18 months, and on heavy ration for 160 days) that could even compete with the quality.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Whether a bull runs with the cows or not, the meat changes after about 15 months of age. By that age, he is ejaculating, with or without a cow. Not saying the meat would be bad, just different. The fibers change (stringy??) not sure of the technical info. Toughness will be the problem at 2+ age.
Why not finish off the 1 year old. He should be around 1000# and ready for grain finishing.

 

[seth]

We have a substantial freezer beef trade and the only animals we use to supply this market are virgin Angus bulls (12 to 18 months of age). These are bulls which are unsuitable for sale as breeding bulls. In my opinion these animals, properly fed, provide the highest quality beef for our customers, bar none. The larger and older the animal used the more important aging of the carcass becomes. I must disgree with Jeanne about the meat "changing" at 15 months. Certainly older bulls will have tenderness issues but the fact that they are bulls will not affect meat quality at 15 months by my experience. We have found that our virgin bulls will marble and have tender beef but have cosiderably less waste fat.

 

[sackshowcattle]

Me personally I taste no difference. right now I have a 16 month steer and a 2 and a half year old bull in the freezer. I have actually gotten more complements on the bull meat than the steer. Went to a friends looking for some replacement heifers invited me in for some roast for lunch. When I was done and told his wife how moist and tender it was, my friend told me yea its not bad for a six year old bull that had a bad rear wheel. The only difference I see it it is harder to get the im fat in it. But in todays market that isn't bad. Look at studies bulls are leaner there for healthier than steers, with weight, heart and all the other health issues humans have I think that could be were the market is in the near future.

 

[andybob]

here is last months discussion on the same topic. http://cattletoday.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 424#394424