Grass-fed beef for grill

[brescd01]

There have been several helpful discussions on where to find quality beef and I learned a lot about the various pools of beef available to consumers. But were I to want the "hors concours" grass-fed beef of the sort that the Argentines are famous for, where could I find it? I know that several posters have suggested RTM in the past for frozen grass-fed. RTM is difficult for me, because it is closed on weekends (?), it closes in the evening, and there is no parking. Are there other options for grass-fed beef?

Edited May 31, 2008 by brescd01 (log)

[wkl]

i'm sure the headhouse square market on sunday morning has at least a couple vendors selling grass fed beef. at least they were there last year.

[etalanian]

RTM is open on Saturdays, and some of the vendors are open on Sundays, too. Here is RTM's web site, and it gives phone numbers for most of the vendors. You should call a few of them (save yourself some footwork) and see what you can find out.

Good luck!

Eileen

[Andrew Fenton]

Livengood's and Rinner's grass-fed beef is available at the South & Passyunk farmers market on Tuesday afternoons (until 7 PM.)

Edited May 31, 2008 by Andrew Fenton (log)

[zeffer81]

RTM is open on Saturdays, and some of the vendors are open on Sundays, too. Here is RTM's web site, and it gives phone numbers for most of the vendors. You should call a few of them (save yourself some footwork) and see what you can find out.

Good luck!

Eileen

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Also, if you can't find parking, there's a lot on 12th street that it only $3 if you get it validated by one of the merchants. You have to spend $10 but that's never been a problem for me

[Holly Moore]

Main Line Prime could be another option. Hard to tell from their one page web site, but here's their phone number: 610.645.9500

[rlibkind]

As others have noted, the RTM is open on Saturdays and Sundays. Although some of the vendors don't open on Sundays, at least one who carries grass-fed beef does: the Fair Food Farmstand. Charles Giunta's Prime Shop used to handle grass-fed beef, but doesn't any more, although his beef is raised hormone-free. But it is, at the very least, finished with grain. (FWIW, I've found Giunta's steaks to be excellent, particularly the hanger, skirt, and various rib steaks sub-cuts (delmonico, "cowboy", etc.)

Livengood's, in addition to selling Saturday at the RTM and Tuesday on South Street, also sells Thursdays, 3-7 p.m., at Fairmount & 22nd Street.

The $3 parking (for two hour max; after that regular rates apply) is for the Parkway Corp. garage between 12th & 13th streets, which has entrances on 12th, Filbert, 13th, and Arch. Be sure not to use a credit card upon entering; instead, just take a ticket. Have the ticket stamped by one of the merchants (if you spend less than that at each store, show one merchant your other receipts and you can get it stamped), then use the pay station machines to bail out your car. Do not use the garage with entrances on 11th and on Arch just east of the Market over the Hilton Garden Inn; they do not participate in the market's reduced parking program.

[marinade]

I can confirm Main Line Prime, just picked up 3 half-pound filets this afternoon.

Jim

[Nipsey Russell]

i can confirm the headhouse square farmers market sundays off south street has at least 2-3 vendors

[LindaJ]

Tussock Sedge Farm is across from my CSA in Blooming Glen up here in Bucks. I haven't tried their beef yet, but hope to soon. They have some variety packs which look to be a good deal.

I can guarantee you there is plenty of free parking

Check out their web site:

http://www.tussocksedgefarm.com/

[Mano]

Tussock Sedge Farm is across from my CSA in Blooming Glen up here in Bucks.  I haven't tried their beef yet, but hope to soon.  They have some variety packs which look to be a good deal.

I can guarantee you there is plenty of free parking

Check out their web site:

http://www.tussocksedgefarm.com/

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We shared a "Variety Pack" ($195 for 30 lbs.) from Tussock Sedge and tonight grilled a T-bone and a porterhouse. I'm not a big steak eater and have never tried grass fed beef before, but the two steaks were very good. Both were well marbled and grilled to medium rare, seasoned only with course salt and cracked pepper prior to cooking. The flavor was more subtle and not quite as "beefy" as our usual steaks, purchased either at the super market or the Amish run booth at the local farmer's market.

We're in the middle of a kitchen renovation and used plastic utensils and paper plates. Both steaks were quite tender with the porterhouse "cutting like butter" even with plastic knives.

Compared to other steaks of similar cut, these had less fat around the edges, but that may have been a benefit of the butchering. The fat around the bones was somewhat gelatinous, compared to the fat found on grain fed beef.

Based on this small sample, we all agreed the grass-fed beef was superior to our usual fare. We'll try other cuts and will probably buy more to see if the quality is consistent from one cow to the next.

If the quality is consistent, we may get anywhere from a quarter to a whole steer and split it with some friends.

[LindaJ]

I'm so glad you found Tussock Sedge Farm beef to be worth trying again. If you're picking up your meat, Bolton's Market is on the same road as Tussock Sedge. They have been farm raising their Turkey, Chicken and Beef since forever.

Here's a link: http://home.comcast.net/~torriechristy/index.html

I got my turkey for Thanksgiving last year based on a rec from friends. We brined it according to Alton Brown's Good Eats recipe and method and got the BEST turkey I've ever eaten. And I'm originally from Mass, the home of massive Thanksgivings. I was very pleased.

Basically, if you have the transport and time, you can get in on a share at the Blooming Glen CSA next year for your veg, greens and some fruit; pick up your beef and poultry from Tussock Sedge and Bolton's at the same time. If you team up with another family to "share a share" as I have, you only end up going a couple times a month to shop for real home-grown food in as much time as getting the sub-par stuff from the supermarket. Anything else I need, I pick up at my local farmstand which is a mile down the road.

I love where I live

[Tim Dolan]

I can confirm Main Line Prime, just picked up 3 half-pound filets this afternoon.

Jim

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How'd they turn out?

[arazi]

i'm in search of some good, grass-fed beef chuck by saturday. anyone know of a good source in philadelphia?

[rlibkind]

Try the Fair Food Farmstand at the Reading Terminal Market. The selection of cuts is more limited than at a butcher stall, and it probably will be frozen. Dwain Livengood also sells his own beef at center court in the RTM on Saturday, frozen, though I don't know for sure if it's totally grass fed (though I suspect it is).

Giunta's Prime Shop used to handle it, but it didn't sell, so Charles been going with grain-finished beef (though of the non-hormone, non-antibiotic variety), which is very tasty and reasonably priced.

[TarteTatin]

Our favorite ground beef (I think that's all he sells at Fair Food), is Dr. Elkins Angusburger.

This stuff is so tasty, I can eat a very rare burger and actually TASTE the wonderful meat.

So tired of tasteless meat, not just beef, but lamb. There's a definite difference between lamb and mutton taste, but where is the nice lamby taste lately?

[brescd01]

I tried Whole Foods grass-fed beef @ $15/rib eye steak. I was disappointed for several reasons. First of all, I don't think it tasted that good. Kind'a gamey in a bad way. Because it is not marbled, it cooks in an entirely different way, and I barely know how to cook regular steak properly. Not what I had in Spain, that is for sure.

[piazzola]

I tried Whole Foods grass-fed beef @ $15/rib eye steak. I was disappointed for several reasons. First of all, I don't think it tasted that good. Kind'a gamey in a bad way. Because it is not marbled, it cooks in an entirely different way, and I barely know how to cook regular steak properly. Not what I had in Spain, that is for sure.

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Again the quality of beef can vary greatly from ranch to ranch and herd to herd however Argentinean beef is mainly chewy and dark meat but flavourful unlike Wagyu although the Argentines are into waygyu in a big way in the last few years.

[brescd01]

I tried Wegman's grass-fed beef. It is nicely packaged and is marginally better than any other grass-fed beef I have tried in the USA (though Noble's was very nice, I really mean "beef that I cooked myself"). But how to cook grass-fed beef? The visual cues that show the meat is done are entirely different, I think one has to use an entirely different method. They are almost resistant to searing and by the time you think they are seared, they are over-cooked.

[Andrew Fenton]

Do you have a good instant-read thermometer? The visual cues may be different, but temperature doesn't lie.

[rlibkind]

Steve Raichlen in today's Wall Street Journal had an excellent suggestion when grilling grass fed steaks.

Since it tends to be leaner with considerably less marbling, he says take some fat trimmings, make an aluminum foil cup, place the fat trimmings in it on a cooler section of the grill to melt. then top your steak with that instead of butter for a beefier taste.