Rate that Ribeye!

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SirLoin

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What does everyone think? This ribeye was from an 18 mo old angus/longhorn X. I get my cattle just weaned at 6 mos of age and keep them for about 1 year. They are grass/hay fed and given 4 lbs of steer fattener for the first 9 mos. After that, they get 12-16 lbs of fattener a day and all the grass or hay they can eat for 3 months. Steaks were dry aged for 21 days.

Edit: I guess that's actually a rib steak vs a ribeye :D


DSCN0725.jpg
 
Tod Dague":j338rqsp said:
Honestly, not a lot of meat on them, and to much trim.

Sorry


Sorry for what? Giving your opinion?

That's what I asked for. ;-)
 
I'd like to see a ruler/grid thrown on that pic. The ribeye looks small and the marbling could be finer. Too much fat between the muscles. I think that steak would taste good, but from a purchaser's point of view, there would be a lot of money (fat ounces) cooked away on the grill before I had a chance to eat it. If you conditioned the steer less I would like them better.
 
SirLoin":1fx4qq01 said:
What does everyone think? This ribeye was from an 18 mo old angus/longhorn X. I get my cattle just weaned at 6 mos of age and keep them for about 1 year. They are grass/hay fed and given 4 lbs of steer fattener for the first 9 mos. After that, they get 12-16 lbs of fattener a day and all the grass or hay they can eat for 3 months. Steaks were dry aged for 21 days.

Edit: I guess that's actually a rib steak vs a ribeye :D


DSCN0725.jpg

If you want honest opinions, that looks like 12-16 lb/day of "steer fattener" did exactly that!

I could not sell meat that looked like that - at least not twice. This is ammunition for the save-the-world-by-becoming-a-vegetarian crowd. I don't mean to be critical but you asked for honest opinions. Better luck next time. Raising cattle is a lot like baseball - "we'll get 'em next year!". Jim

edit: what I have been doing lately is what is called "benchmarking". Go into a good high-end supermarket and take a look at the best steaks, roasts etc they have in the meat case. This is what we should be aiming for - or better.

Here is a link to a high end meat supplier to many famous restaurants. Take a look at the beef pictured here for a target we should be aiming for. At least in my opinion. Here is an interesting beef link:

http://www.allenbrothers.com/ribeye-steaks.html

FWIW, Jim
 
No offense Sirloin but those steaks while full of marbling are not what I would want. Also they are from opposite ends of the ribeye, as is evident by the size of the fat kernal. I agree that most consumers would leave them on the shelf as having too much waste.

Having said all that I imagine they tasted great.
 
looks like way too much fat. how much did this steer weigh when butchered ? you might want to try raising hereford or hereford cross cattle ,they will produce more meat. :cboy:
 
Thanks for all of the honest replies everyone. I posted this to get some honest feedback. I agree that these ribeyes are way too fatty, but it sure seems like my repeat customers and the people on my waiting list don't mind. The beef I sold last spring were from the same herd and were leaner and several people commented(negatively) on that, so this time I bumped their feed up. I've had no complaints from my October sales, only six return buyers placing orders for next fall, with two new buyers who tried beef I sold to one of the 6.

I glean from more than one poster that I am throwing too much grain on them in the last 3 months. I'm using a 14% protein feed with Lasalocid. It's about all they sell in this area. How much should I be giving them? Am I giving them too much during the first 9 months also? What can I do to make my product better? I dry age my beef so I need a sufficient amount of carcass fat. My neighbor give his beef (from the same herd I get mine from) very little grain, and his beef grow way slower. My beef slaughter weights are usually 1000 - 1200 lbs, this one somewhere in the middle. The medium sized ribeye was about 9.5" x 6" at it's longest and widest points. I've tried some Herford crosses, and while their steaks were meatier, they just were not the same quality as the angus crosses IMO, and my customers agreed.
 
SirLoin: Different people have different ideas about what makes good beef. If your customers are happy, that's all that matters. Good luck.
 
I'd agree the steers were probably a bit overfinished, but if you'd invite me for a steak dinner I'd gladly accept.
 
Its not exactly what i"d want but I could find my way to cut around the excess fat. For what its worth, I bought some prime ribeyes last spring from a specialty butcher for $5.00 a pound. Butcher told me he couldn't sell them cause the majority of the customers thought the little flecks of fat that dotted the steaks made them too fatty. :shock: Its hard to please everyone's eye but I think the taste test will do the trick. I'd like to see a pic of one of them cooked.
 
Jogeephus":2onob8gk said:
Its not exactly what i"d want but I could find my way to cut around the excess fat. For what its worth, I bought some prime ribeyes last spring from a specialty butcher for $5.00 a pound. Butcher told me he couldn't sell them cause the majority of the customers thought the little flecks of fat that dotted the steaks made them too fatty. :shock: Its hard to please everyone's eye but I think the taste test will do the trick. I'd like to see a pic of one of them cooked.

Only a picture and not on your plate? :p

As with all things, the price tag plays has a large say.
 
I'd only buy them off the shelf if they were discounted pretty good. There's just too much fat and not enough red meat there for me.
 
I'd have to agree with the majority of the others. A bit too much fat for me. If I got one of my steers/heifers back, and the rib steaks looked like that, I would think about adjusting how I finish them.

BUT, as some have also stated, if it were sitting on my plate, at your house for supper, no doubt I would scarf it down.

If you and your clients are happy with it, that's all that matters.

Katherine
 
The steaks have too much seam fat which I think is what most folks are objecting to. This is an industry problem. My problem with them is they need more muscling. The eye is too small. I like the amount of marbling that I saw just wanted more meat on the steak.
 

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