Texas Grass Fed Beef

[Tani]

Reading the news reports about the mad cow found in Washington State, and the mention that contaminated feed spreads BSE, spurred me to google on grass fed beef. I've never had any; has anyone heard of/tried this Texas source for grass fed beef, lamb, and other products?

Slanker's Grass-Fed Meats

Have you eaten grass fed beef? Could you tell? Was it worth the extra expense?

PS. These people get a bonus point for their "because they're real food" comment. I say that all the time (well, not really, only when I get into a butter-margarine debate!)

[tryska]

i've had grass-fed beef. I liked it. it's a little leaner, and less tender than the grain-finished stuff, but it still tasted like beef, and it certainly helped to knwo i was eating something clean. i would definitely eat it again, i just need to find freezer space and a local source.

[joiei]

I have had some grass fed beef from a private ranch near Dustin, OK. It was pretty tasty. THe hamburger patties did not shrink any, the fat levels was that low.

The tenderloin was tasty, i did have to season it a little more than before and take care to not overcook it. Hopefully, i will be able to get more this week.

[Mabelline]

When a rancher providing certified grass-fed brings their animals to an older age, there's usually more flavor and perhaps more fat. But a small producer is more or less penalized for trying to bring cattle up right, not fast. There are also certain characteristics carried by certain breeds,such as the furor over wagyu. This has happened before, it'll happen again. Breeds such as Simmental, Beefmaster, Santa Gertrudis, Brangus all exhibit the big frame, heavy muscle feedlot candidate. Up here folks tend to Angus, Hereford, and Black Baldies (an F1 cross), old breeds that are hardy and don't exhibit the problems of the so-called exotics. There are so many variables that you really need to establish a relationship with a good meat provider. Ask questions. Read up. Google Cattle Breeds and start there.

[fifi]

Mabelline, you are an invaluable resource. Thanks for that information.

[Lone Star]

We get our beef from my husband's family ranch down in South Texas. The beef is processed at his Uncle's meat market in Devine and our freezer is always full. Our cows mainly eat coastal, with the occasional bucket of cubes (cow candy) to get them to move where you want.

I have run out of our beef several times, and have bought ground beef at the store, and I am always amazed at the amount of water and fat in the store-bought. It is terrible.

The beef we use is so lean I have to add a touch of oil to the pan when cooking burgers to keep the meat from sticking.

I had never really thought much about it til all of the mad cow business, as we have always had this beef.

I suppose finding a local or small rancher and butcher would be the best bet.

Hmmm...gives me an idea for some business !

[Lone Star]

I don't know if I agree with the statement "cows don't eat grain naturally" though. They will if they can get it!

I saw one eat a bag of marshmallows left out by a fire ring once.

In times of drought etc... we burn pear for them.

[fifi]

I had dinner at Churrascos (Houston) last night. I had the 8 oz Churrasco. This is supposed to be butterflied tenderloin, marinated and grilled then served with chimichurie (sp?) which is garlic, olive oil and lots of parsley. I read somewhere that they use grass fed beef because this is a South American dish and they typically use grass fed beef. I don't know if that is true. I checked out a bunch of restaurant reviews and couldn't confirm it. I will say that it was absolutely excellent, as always, and had a beefy taste that was not really like an aged, corn fed steak. Does anyone know if they use grass fed beef?

[ExtraMSG]

I believe that's true, fifi. I think Argentinians are proud of their grass fed beef from what I've read.

btw, Lone Star, why would you want lean hamburger? If it were me, I'd be adding fat back into that ground beef when it's ground like is done with game animals and most sausages.

[fifi]

Yeah... What I don't know is if the restaurant is using grass fed beef and, if so, where they get it. I may have to call them and track this down. Damn. That was some good steak. Tender, juicy, lots of beef flavor, not overwhelmed by the sauce, drooling on my keyboarl7r gu65o 7 0958f7tioalaj. OOPS!

edit to add: Their potato chip crusted calamari was incredible. I normally consider calamari only marginally edible and don't normally order it but we ordered one of those appetizer towers that included the calamari. This was amazing. Even the tentacles were meltingly tender and not a hint of greasiness.

[Lone Star]

I believe that's true, fifi. I think Argentinians are proud of their grass fed beef from what I've read.

btw, Lone Star, why would you want lean hamburger? If it were me, I'd be adding fat back into that ground beef when it's ground like is done with game animals and most sausages.

There is some fat to the ground beef, just not in the amounts of the watery greasy stuff from the ground beef I have bought at the grocery store.

The only time I have to add a little oil - just a touch - is to kept patties from sticking to the skillet.

[sparrowgrass]

Burning pear = scorching the prickles off the prickly pear cactus so the cattle can eat the pads.

Just FYI for the Yankee city folk.

[jess mebane]

There was a recent article about this particular subject in the Austin Daily Planet--they cited ranches in the foothills of the Ft. Davis Mountains, and there are slabs to be had at People's Pharmacy on Westbank. There was also a local chef who served it and had a testimonial on their website. Wish I could recall the finer details, so sorry.