Tenderness?

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M.Magis

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Apr 28, 2010
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Cambridge, Ohio
Just a curious question, is tenderness something a trained eye could see in a steak? Long story short, I recently had a steer butchered and he turned out tough as nails. Not surprised with his recent personality change, but it makes me wonder what keeps meat like this from ending up in a restaurant. It tastes fine, but it’ll work the jaws.
 
I don’t think that was the issue. He started getting very “irritable” in his last few weeks. I made him spend his last night here in the corral and by the time I got him loaded the next day he was well past irritated. Then he spent the next night in the holding pen at the butcher, which I’m sure just escalated things even more.
 
So....stress?
My butcher told me that, with high cattle prices, there has been a mass exodus from the freezer beef business. It's just easier to go to the sale barn for the same money.
His business is really slow. I trust my butcher but I wonder if some guys change what they do if cash flow becomes a problem. You know what I mean.
 
M.Magis":3vbiyt3i said:
I don’t think that was the issue. He started getting very “irritable” in his last few weeks. I made him spend his last night here in the corral and by the time I got him loaded the next day he was well past irritated. Then he spent the next night in the holding pen at the butcher, which I’m sure just escalated things even more.
Click to expand...
You may have answered you own question, at least in part.
Wither a steak is tender or not can depend on only one thing or involve several things.
1. Genetics
2. Docility, which could be genetic or the way they are handled
3. Feed
4. Processing
5. The way they are cooked.
 
I do understand why it's tough, at least I'm fairly certain. I was just curious what would prevent meat like this making it's way to a restaurant, or even a grocery store? Are some people able to look at meat and judge how tender it may be? It looks fine, to me. But if I got it from a restaurant I'd send it back. If there is something that can be seen, I want to make sure to have the butcher call me next time so I can increast my burger amount.
 
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M.Magis":2m2lhzef said:
I do understand why it's tough, at least I'm fairly certain. I was just curious what would prevent meat like this making it's way to a restaurant, or even a grocery store? Are some people able to look at meat and judge how tender it may be? It looks fine, to me. But if I got it from a restaurant I'd send it back. If there is something that can be seen, I want to make sure to have the butcher call me next time so I can increast my burger amount.
Click to expand...
If you, the butcher or anyone else missed any one of the criteria I posted above then it is possible to get a tough steak. No one including a butcher can look at a steak an tell if it will be tender. Marbling will increase the odds but it certainly is no guarantee.
 
Thanks, that's what I thought but figured I would ask. Next go round I intend have some choices as far as which one to butcher. This was the only steer I had this time, so I had no choice even though I suspected he may be a problem. In hindsight, I should have shipped him and bought another as soon as I saw his personality changing.
 
M.Magis":3pu697od said:
Thanks, that's what I thought but figured I would ask. Next go round I intend have some choices as far as which one to butcher. This was the only steer I had this time, so I had no choice even though I suspected he may be a problem. In hindsight, I should have shipped him and bought another as soon as I saw his personality changing.
Click to expand...

The good new is that you are getting more observant and won't make the same mistake twice. :tiphat:
 
When I load our calves to go to the butcher, the highest strung one is the one we keep for our freezer. Don't want a customer getting that one. For this reason, when I wean the calves, I sort the cows back to the pasture and then load the calves onto the trailer to take them to the other end of the barn. Somewhere in the next year I try to make sure I load them onto the trailer at least once, depending on their attitudes, twice and take them around the mile square. I realize that with a 100 head this is not feasible, but with our 10 head of freezer beef or with the jerseys 20 head, it saves me in the long run. Had a heifer last year crawl over the pipe fence in the processing yard into a different pen. When they called I told them who it would be and that she had an inverted 7 on her hip. They found her, called me and in the meantime crawled over that fence to get closer to the door of the kill floor. The ran her in and said she was a handful. They let her hang a little longer, excellent meat but when they get their adrenaline going, it can cause the meat to darken and get tough. She was out of a shorthorn/jersey cow and a limi/angus bull.
 

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