It absolutely does if you do a LITTLE homework. But view it anyway you wish.
It’s your life.
Kind of splitting hairs to discuss the ‘health benefits’ of eating beef!
My thoughts exactly.
After watching 60 Minutes segment last night on the Pork Industry, if I eat pork again it will only be grass fed without antibiotics.
I like grass fed / pasture raised beef for the supposed health benefits, even though I don’t think it tastes better, and might even taste a bit worse.
We are about a twice per month household. We eat either Flannery California Reserve or our local rancher’s beef. The local guy is grass fed only from his own property, which ranges from about a mile from our house right up to cows that have accidentally wandered into our back yard. We enjoy knowing these cows and know how well they are treated. In general, is it leaner and we have to be very careful with not overcooking it. For the local grass fed beef, we aim for 128 degrees, maybe 129. (Perhaps too rare for some.) This makes for good tenderness and mouth feel. It pleases us.
I am not sure what California Reserve qualifies as, but Flannery makes a great steak! We can cook it to 134 for some guests and still holed it’s tenderness and a great deep pink.
IIRC, Flannery’ CA Reserve is actually from Hereford dairy cattle, which turn out to have very good marbling.
Ah! Thank you for that!
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Hereford cattle were bred to be beef cattle. I think more recently, some dairy farmers started crossing them with their herds (eg, by getting Hereford bulls) for various genetic reasons. But, if you look at a full-grown pure Hereford, it’s clear that it’s a beef breed (beef and dairy cattle look different).
-Al
Sorry, I meant Holstein. Flannery CA Reserve is from Holstein dairy cows.
Well, that wrecks my image of Robert Mitchum “milking” a Hereford in “What a Way to Go!”
I think the Holstein line has a lot of off-shoots and they have been a dual use (dairy and meat) breed, although originally purely dairy in the US.
FWIW, I grew up on cattle ranches. We originally had almost all Herefords, later had an Angus bull, so soon had mostly crosses. The first award I recall earning was for having the best American Polled Hereford heifer in the local county fair when I was 9. I won $5, a plaque (which I still have), and my name was mentioned in the American Hereford magazine, albeit I had third billing to the sire and the cow.
As far as grass-fed vs not, the terms don’t necessarily mean much, as Yaacov stated. The tenderness and amount of marbling depends on genetics, feed, and level/type of exercise. You can have cattle that are genuinely what you would consider grass fed that have a lot of marbling. There are cattle that are called grass fed, that really aren’t.
As far as taste, it’s partly personal preference and partly what one has learned as the taste based on the beef they have eaten. In terms of quality beef, fatty, corn fed beef has become the norm and so many people prefer it. It’s not the flavor of the beef of my youth (pasture raised), although I enjoy both.
As far as health, I suspect the biggest effect of feedlot, corn fed beef is that the antibiotics that are typically used contribute to the antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.
For those who are interested, it might be worth trying to find a source for Piemontese beef. It’s naturally lean, tender, and tasty (genetics), and I think most of the Piemontese beef sold in the US is grass finished (and genuinely grass raised, for the most part).
-Al
Thanks for the informative post Al. I have been reading Franklin Steak again - and one of the points they make is that both grass fed and grain fed can taste terrible. There are many other factors that also come into play on the taste front. As I understand it grain fed tends to emphasize tenderness (the cows are fed a good deal of grain, do not move much, and thus do not develop a lot of muscle mass). The best grass fed are more “beefy” in their taste. Some might call it funky. I agree with you that on the taste front – hard to say that one is “better” than the other. It all depends on what you like. On the environmental and health front (health for the cows, the environment, and the eater), things are more complicated. I am by no means a nutritionist, or scientist, or anything along those lines, so just trying to learn from what I am currently reading. As with many things in life, figuring out the best beef/meat to consume (best on many levels) is an ongoing journey. At the moment we are exploring some of the more highly thought of grass fed meats. So far they have satisfied the taste test!
Hi, Al.
I tried a 50-day dry-aged Dutch Holstein steak (I think it was a porterhouse; but can’t be sure now) at the (deservedly short-lived) Manila branch of Akrame’s Atelier Vivanda. That steak was awfully tough. I gave up on it after a few bites and brought the uneaten portion home for my dogs. On the other hand, my experiences with Dutch veal (I don’t know what kind of cattle though) in other restaurants have been consistently good.
For those who are interested, it might be worth trying to find a source for Piemontese beef. It’s naturally lean, tender, and tasty (genetics), and I think most of the Piemontese beef sold in the US is grass finished (and genuinely grass raised, for the most part).
I’ve had Piemontese beef barely a handful of times (all ribeyes). I don’t know if they were grass fed or not; but, they were all delicious. Great stuff.
Best,
N
Hi, Noel. Sounds like the Manila place didn’t source very good meat (50 days dry aging left it tough). As you know, lots of factors affect the meat besides the genetics. I also suspect there is broader genetic variation with Holstein cattle, since they have been selected and bred in different countries for somewhat different purposes, to there are different strains. Not a Holstein expert, though.
Dairy females were much more valuable and, in the old days, the steers were either sold cheaply or used for veal. Now, a lot of dairy steers are raised for meat. I think that’s one reason some dairy farmers have started introducing some dairy/beef crosses into their herds.
Glad you’ve had the opportunity to try Piemontese beef, it’s become one of my favorite breeds for a leaner but very flavorful steak.
-Al
Here’s a photo of my heifer, I think a couple of months before she won her award. May I present Trumode Rosalie. That was her registered name, I called her Wilma. The sire was Royal Numode the Nth. I think he was like the 8th, but he was descended from a line of distinguished Royal Numodes. And, yes, we are standing on a future meal.
-Al
That’s pretty darn cool, Al. Thanks for posting.
Nice!
No one can accuse Al of being “all hat, no cattle” ever with that pic as proof!
I agree, he knew it was a girl cow!