8 hours ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:Another way to get tough beef is to run cattle around before slaughter. Feed lots, where they stand around eating and pooping, creates more tender beef. So if you buy a whole cow from some producer, make sure it didn't get chased through the pasture for an hour before they caught it.
Not really. If feedlot steers (we rarely eat cows) don't move, it is because they don't have enough room to do so and they are young: generally Angus breed around 24 months or younger. Feedlot beef represents about 97% of US beef production and while most of it will qualify as "tender" it is more a result of young animals whose musculature is not fully developed, having been quickly and somewhat artificially brought to market weight (1200lbs or so) by finishing them with corn, which they enjoy but don't know that they are not designed to properly digest it (it makes them sick). The corn is heavily subsidized, reliant on pesticides which flow into the ground or downstream to the Gulf of Mexico (killing lots of fish) and generates beef that is nutritionally deficient compared to 100% grass-fed. Corn-fed feedlot beef is terrible for the animals and terrible for the environment. It (and other CAFO's) is the scourge of meat production and highlights an American affinity for abundant crap over quality and integrity.
