What factor(s) could cause my beef from a local farm to taste & smell ‘off’ this time around?

[BritishWhiteGal]

The really crazy part is when someone is an expert and can speak to the nuances and logic involved instead of just quoting some internet article they cherry picked off of the ethernet, and people insist on "proof" as in "anything that looks official", as though they aren't being given it from the source.

Most of us here on this forum are more expert than the typical internet authority.

Agreed. Experience is invaluable.

 

[Ebenezer]

 

[salebarn junkie]

1am still waiting to hear about all the nasty stuff in feedlot beef. You can't make that statement and when called out your answer is, I don't want to fight. It's like punching someone in the face and saying I don't want to fight. Please tell us what the nasty stuff is.

 

[Ebenezer]

1am still waiting to hear about all the nasty stuff in feedlot beef. You can't make that statement and when called out your answer is, I don't want to fight. It's like punching someone in the face and saying I don't want to fight. Please tell us what the nasty stuff is.

There is more in this research report. The big differences in grain vs. grass are the %s of the types (omega 3 and omega 6) of fats and the % fat to % lean. The health type folks key in on both for grass fed: more heart healthy fat % but total lower fat due to leanness. If you want to see that I can add that when I get a chance.

 

[ClinchValley86]

What breeds are you talking about here?!?!?!? I have never, ever, had problems with my BW.
If a cow eats endophyte infected fescue grass it will smell awful and you shouldn't eat it. It doesn't harm the cow, just the meat. So check and see, does your pasture have fescue?
My grass-fed beef might smell a bit different just because it is not full of chemicals and hormones, but it tastes AMAZING and we literally cannot eat store-bought beef anymore. (Along with a lot of fellow British White breeders) Yes, it has a slightly different taste, but an awesome taste.
My biggest area of particularity is marbling lol. The BW is prized for its marbling so for me it must be perfect.... I really concentrate on calves having a stress free start. But that is the only area I have ever had problems with, and that steer was an Angus

I haven't had a problem with fescue tainted meat. Most of what I've put in others freezers were grazed on mix grass/legume/forb pastures and given corn the last 30 days. Maybe it's the diversity keeping the flavor good.

I feel it's hard to make blanket statements like that about fescue. Soo many variables.

If it was a sprayed pasture with nothing but fescue...I could see that holding some merit.

Just to be on the careful side of things, I've chosen to have grass finished animals processed in fall. Got a good mix of both warm and cool seasons growing. Probably 25+ species. I'm especially curious what the ragweed is going to do.

Have considered getting some high energy alfalfa hay to feed them the last week or two to flush em out. But then, again, I think the diversity is going to have everything diluted out.

 

[BritishWhiteGal]

I haven't had a problem with fescue tainted meat. Most of what I've put in others freezers were grazed on mix grass/legume/forb pastures and given corn the last 30 days. Maybe it's the diversity keeping the flavor good.

I feel it's hard to make blanket statements like that about fescue. Soo many variables.

If it was a sprayed pasture with nothing but fescue...I could see that holding some merit.

Just to be on the careful side of things, I've chosen to have grass finished animals processed in fall. Got a good mix of both warm and cool seasons growing. Probably 25+ species. I'm especially curious what the ragweed is going to do.

Have considered getting some high energy alfalfa hay to feed them the last week or two to flush em out. But then, again, I think the diversity is going to have everything diluted out.

I personally haven't had problems either. But it is a possibility thats why I threw it out there.

 

[tex452]

Well - this is a 3 year old thread - but -
We needed more hamburg in the freezer, so we took a cull cow that was FAT (supposed to be a fall bred, but was open). We told the butcher to pull the loin and anything he thought would work for a good steal. He called and said she was super tender and he could almost cut her up like a steer. Wow - OK.
Wellll - not so OK. Yes, steaks are super tender. But the taste is horrible. This cow has marbling more than any Choice steer we have eaten - obviously Prime.
It's the FAT. If we cut every bit of fat off before we cook it, it's do-able - definitely tender. She was strictly hay/grass fed. Butchered in April, so just getting a bit of real grass. I know all the "old timers" claim "older" steers had more flavor. Well, I sure can do without THIS flavor. I love venison - so it's not the "gamey" flavor. Of course, our venison is all grain fed with all the corn and bean fields around. LOL Ours is definitely better tasting than from Rhode Island.
AND GRASS FED BEEF IS NOT HEALTHIER. Anyone that says it is, I want to see the actual PROOF - not what joe blow claims. RESEARCH PROOF. The only real research that I know of was done by Texas A&M. Proves grain fed is slightly healthier than grass fed.

Ground beef from grass-fed and grain-fed cattle: Does it matter? - Department of Animal Science

Posted on December 7, 2013 by maggielberger By Stephen B. Smith, Ph.D.Regents Professor, Department of Animal Science The internet is awash in websites proclaiming the nutritional benefits of ground beef from grass-fed cattle. However, researchers in the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M...

animalscience.tamu.edu

The cow might have been close to coming in, I have heard it's better to butcher a bred female because they won't be cycling?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

@Ebenezer - the statement by salebarnjunkie was not meant to you.
@tex452 - might be true - but - I wouldn't be butchering her if she was pregnant - LOL