tough steers question

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Anonymous

Hey everyone, hopefully you can provide some insight. I just got 2 steers back from the butcher. Both natural, grain and grass.
Both taken in at about 900 lbs. One was S. Gert, one was holstein/angus
raised on 3.5 acres plenty of grass so not a lot of running around for pasture. The ground beef is great, flavor is great, but they are both on the tough side. They played a bit amongst themselves, but I was wondering if there was any reason they were tough. I did a heiffer last year, same way. took her in at 1000lb and she was tender as could be.
All have good marbling.
Any insight as to why they were tough?
 
Tenderness can be very much a genetic issue. Geneticlly tough (or less then tender) animals will alwasy be somewhat chewy. You could probably make a geneticlly tender animal tough but it would be harder to do.
 
Genetics then? I have a buddy that bought the brother of the Gert and took him in about the same weight. He said it was tough also. We were wondering if it was because of taking them in early.
He took his in because it got cut pretty good on a fence. I took both mine in because I couldnt afford to keep feeding them the grain, and had one presold so needed the $.
Any breed issues and tenderness? I know the holstein is not known for being tender, but the Gert and Angus X should have been
 
Just an opinion, but I think a lot of the breed associations are missing the boat on tenderness. Simmenthal has an EPD for Shear Force and I think everyone should have it.
 
hooknline":3o3narxs said:
Genetics then? I have a buddy that bought the brother of the Gert and took him in about the same weight. He said it was tough also. We were wondering if it was because of taking them in early.
He took his in because it got cut pretty good on a fence. I took both mine in because I couldnt afford to keep feeding them the grain, and had one presold so needed the $.
Any breed issues and tenderness? I know the holstein is not known for being tender, but the Gert and Angus X should have been

What make you think the Gert and AngusX should have been tender?
 
I did a fair bit of research on the gerts before buying. Tenderness was one of the traits. The angus/holstein( separate steer from the gert), I figured the angus would balance out the holstein, and provide a decent mix of marbling and tenderness. That steer was bought at the auction, and when young just looked like a broke down calf that needed fed. Later noticed that no matter how much it grew it was always large boned and hippy.
Im new at all this and still learning. Been a fun ride so far :cboy:
 
how long did the buther let them hang for? the longer they hang the tenderer the meat. gert breeders have been breeding for the tenderness gene for quite a while now. it would have helped some if they were completly finished. also most butchers have a tenderizing machine nowadays. our gerts & crosses are real good, but you will find all breeds have a tough one now & then. best meat i ever had was an old cow that a friend of mine buthered for us, he knew just how long to let them hang by keeping a close eye on them
 
More than likely you didn't finish them long enough and they were hung too long..Contrary to some beliefs if an animal has little fat coverage ,and is young, the longer they are hung will actually dry out the meat and make it tough..

The Holstein X should have been the most tender and well marbled ;if you didn't get it with that then I think you need to rethink how you finish and how long you have them hung..

14 days is long enough for a young animal.. An old fat cow 21 plus days min..
 
They both hung 14 days. I was there when they were brought in, quartered etc, and sent to the cooler. Done by one of the best butchers by reputation for 200 miles any direction. They age according to fat cover. Im beginning to think it was a combo of young age and genes/bad luck pickins
:frowns: who knows....maybe I have better luck and more funding on the next few
 
Im beginning to think it was a combo of young age and genes/bad luck pickins

That and finishing differently, better luck next time.. I have found lately that my finished heifers get better fat coverage and marbling than my steers..Go figure..Then why are discounted so badly.. 8)

Jogee has great tips on how to finish tough beef, go to recipe section on here,,you can turn your misfortune into tasty meals.. :)
 
funny you say that, I was thinking about finishing out heifers for the table instead of steers. :D
 
hillsdown":qz4woe9b said:
I have found lately that my finished heifers get better fat coverage and marbling than my steers..Go figure..Then why are discounted so badly..

I've wondered the same thing cause the best meat I've ever put in my mouth came from heifers. The very best steak I ever had came from a heifer that I doubt even Dun could figure out its breed composition. I just called her a mut. She was so ugly that even the guy I bought her from asked me WHY? Truth be known its was my poor eyesight and I wrote down the wrong tag number just too embarrassed to admit it. :oops:
 
I'm not sure what you call good marbling but even early maturing cattle types when on good feedout programs don't typically start to marble until about 1000lbs, and marbling affects tenderness and juciness. Heifers tend to carry a little more fat than steers, especially around the organs which makes them hang lighter on a percent basis and results in a sale barn hit from order buyers.

Heard a packer presentation last spring on premiums say there were no premiums for tenderness because there was not a quantifiable market for tenderness. That may be why adoption of tenderness EPDs is so slow. Last time I checked there were at least 2 genetic markers for tenderness that can be tested for.

Regarding hang time, its my understanding that beef will only take a certain amount of dry aging which is proportional to its fat cover thickness. Has something to do with enzyme interaction from the fat to the meat. The more/thicker cover a carcass has the longer it will TAKE/absorb aging. Beyond that time it starts to dryout. I use 7-10 days for select, 14-21 for choice, 21-27 for prime.
 
dcara":3avxvpuz said:
I'm not sure what you call good marbling but even early maturing cattle types when on good feedout programs don't typically start to marble until about 1000lbs, and marbling affects tenderness and juciness. Heifers tend to carry a little more fat than steers, especially around the organs which makes them hang lighter on a percent basis and results in a sale barn hit from order buyers.

Heard a packer presentation last spring on premiums say there were no premiums for tenderness because there was not a quantifiable market for tenderness. That may be why adoption of tenderness EPDs is so slow. Last time I checked there were at least 2 genetic markers for tenderness that can be tested for.

Regarding hang time, its my understanding that beef will only take a certain amount of dry aging which is proportional to its fat cover thickness. Has something to do with enzyme interaction from the fat to the meat. The more/thicker cover a carcass has the longer it will TAKE/absorb aging. Beyond that time it starts to dryout. I use 7-10 days for select, 14-21 for choice, 21-27 for prime.


I'm not sure I understand your last statement. Fat cover has nothing to do with whether it is select choice or prime. :?:
 
I'm not sure I understand your last statement. Fat cover has nothing to do with whether it is select choice or prime.

You must be referring to the lack of use of backfat in the USDA quality grading methods, in which case you are correct that BF has nothing to do with grading. However, the research I've read (and my own experience) identifies a positive correlation between BF thickness and relative QG once marbling is established. That is, BF is typically thicker on prime graded animals than it is on choice graded animals. Hence the hang times I mentioned previously.

However a negative correlation does exist between the BF and QG on an absolute basis. That means 2 things, 1) BF cannot be used on all animals to determine what they will grade, and 2) You cannot feed an animal enough to get them to grade if they don't have the genetic disposition to grade to start with.

If you know of data or research that contradicts any of this I would be interested in reading it.
 
dcara":sz7b53xt said:
Heifers tend to carry a little more fat than steers, especially around the organs which makes them hang lighter on a percent basis and results in a sale barn hit from order buyers.
Are you saying a heifer will dress at a substantially lower %?
 
Heifers typically dress 1.5-2% less than steers with same live weight (pregnancies not included). This coupled with the risk of pregnancy results in a hit at the sale barn from order buyers.
 
dcara":2nrg3t5c said:
Heifers typically dress 1.5-2% less than steers with same live weight (pregnancies not included). This coupled with the risk of pregnancy results in a hit at the sale barn from order buyers.
I'm sure you have the decimal in the wrong place it very very very seldom will be 1 % less.
 
Did you mention the age of the cattle? To get the best results from our fed cattle we like the 1300 pounds at 15 months of age at about 100 days on hard corn feed. Heifers 50-100 pounds less. Heifers will yield just slightly less but no difference in quality or tenderness. Aged 10-14 days.
And I don't feed animals that tend to be high headed or easily excited or I don't like for some reason.
 

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