how to cook grass fed beef

[aliénor]

i bought a standing rib roast from a locally raised grass fed beef. now i am wondering how to properly cook it. the reason that i am hesitant to commit to cooking this piece of meat is that i have already grilled a steak from this animal and we found it very chewy, hard to slice and were disappointed at the lack of juiciness. we had hoped to get a succulent flavorful piece and instead found it lacking in most of the aspects we desire in a steak. so rather than do up the standing rib roast i will put it to you egulleters to help me make the most of this piece of meat.

i know you can help me to enjoy this locally raised meat.

thanks

[Hest88]

Grass-fed is generally more lean, which is why I tend to stick with naturally fattier cuts (such as rib-eye--okay, who am I kidding? I always choose rib eye. But the point still stands). You don't want to choose a cut that naturally lean because you'll get a chewier piece. I suspect that you won't have as much of a problem with your rib roast as you did with the grilled steak.

[Magictofu]

Totally agree with Peggy here!

I would add that sometimes grass fed beef can be a bit older than industrial beef, especially when raised on a hobby farm. This is both a blessing and a problem in that older animal tend to taste better but the meat is tougher. For stews, this is perfect but for steak less so.

Trick for better steaks when using a less tender animal:

- Very thick steaks, seared quickly and then very slowly cooked to rare or medium rare in a low oven. (I prefer a pan to a grill but I get a second pan for the oven so that the residual strong heat of the pan does not affect the slower cooking in the oven)

- Fat: do not trim the fat before cooking (after, in your plate, is way better), add butter on top of steak (e.g. blue cheese butter).

- Buy fresh since freezing breaks cell walls and release moisture

- Dry aged steak, although dryer before cooking, tend to remain quite moist

That's all I can think of. And kudos for chosing grass fed!

[Daniel]

I was going to say, leave on more fat and rest in beurre monte. Cook medium rare to blue.

Edited April 24, 2008 by Daniel (log)

[Bonnie Ruth]

I get wonderful grass fed, dry aged beef from Aldersprings Ranch in Idaho. They give some suggestions for cooking it, maybe even on their web site. The one I particularly note is that it usually requires less cooking time than feedlot beef. I have not cooked one of their roasts yet but have cooked rib eyes several times and short ribs a couple of times. With the steaks, I brown in a pan on the stove and finish in the oven, checking about every minute to make sure I don't overcook. The short ribs of course were cooked in liquid, so no problem there. Now that my husband and I have grown accustomed to the grass fed flavor, we like it better.

[rooftop1000]

If the meat isnt aged you can do that at home quite nicely

Place the meat on a cooling rack over a plate....then cover with a big bowl and refrigerate a few days, or more

tracey