Tough local organic beef

I've been inspired by Robin and his sourcing of local meats... so I've been buying beef from a local, organic ranch. Their beef seems to be very popular here and in markets in Sacramento and San Francisco. The ground beef seemed off to me as far as texture goes, it seemed like I detected ground bone. Sirloin steaks were very chewy and the flavor was lacking. Last night, I decided to try my favorite steak cut. which is rib-eye. Very tough chewing. My husband, the ex butcher and meat shop owner says the meat has not been aged. However in calling the store where I bought it, the meat guy told me the meat is aged one week when they receive it, and they age it for another week. Any thoughts?

[Robin Garr]

A couple, based on our experience in Louisville, which is kind of a locavore buzz zone, with local meats from Kentucky and Indiana farms. These aren't all based on deep research but on tasting, speculation (in company with dear Mary) and some reading and talks with other foodies:

1. Grass-fed beef simply tastes different from grain-finished. Grain finishing yields marbled flesh, streaked with delicious fat and thus more tender. We accept that because we want beef that's been (relatively) humanely treated. Yes, we know, the cow still gets killed at the end of the day, but ...

2. Breed selection. Our favorite local beef producer, Dreamcatcher Farm in Spencer County, Ky., raises an heirloom breed of cattle, Devon, that's genetically disposed to thrive on grass feeding. We think you can taste the difference in both flavor and tenderness. A lot of farmers don't take this step.

3. Farm-to-farm variation. In addition to the breed issue, it just seems that a lot of decisions in the process yield distinctions in the finished beef. Some of our local producers give us tough meat. Some give us gamy meat. We like eating humanely raised, hormone-free, local meat from farmers we can see face to face regardless, but we do notice which farmers have the best meat, and they're the ones who get our repeat business.

I read once that kids today, in taste tests, prefer artificial strawberries to the real thing because that's what they've become accustomed to. I'm thinking that similar principles apply to beef. We're rediscovering flavors and textures that our parents or grandparents thought of as normal. We've become used to feedlot-fed, artificially-fattened, hormone-pumped animals, and that meat has become our standard. Now we're getting used to the real thing again.

Or as a sign in our local coffeehouse says with a snort: "Eat Organic Food. Or as our parents called it, Food."

I have noticed that grass-fed is tougher than grain-finished (or grain-fed). While it may have to do with aging, I was able to overcome it by paying attention to cooking methods... if my 40-year-old Joy of Cooking says that a wet-cooking method is preferable, by golly, it was.

I realize this alternative is not available to most, but I opt for grain finished on the farm as we have a few local guys who do this. Good taste and the animal is still treated as humanely as possible and is not wallowing in feces at the feedlot.

Not all local organic ranches are the same. Try another, and if you don't find another that's both local and organic, try whichever is more important to you.
John

[Robin Garr]

we have a few local guys who do this.

Hmm ... stricly local as in "sells only to the neighbors," or available at farmers' markets or retailers in the region? Local to you is pretty darn near local to me, he said with some interest. I'm sort of the opinion that grass-feeding is natural for bovines and that cows don't normally eat grain, but as long as I'm not going vegetarian I'm a hypocrite anyway, so what the hell.

I realize this alternative is not available to most, but I opt for grain finished on the farm as we have a few local guys who do this. Good taste and the animal is still treated as humanely as possible and is not wallowing in feces at the feedlot.

This is basically what Niman Ranch does out here, with the exception that the grain finishing happens on a lot. They claim that these lots are not crowded and filthy, for what that's worth.

I sat in on a "seminar" conducted by the owner/lead butcher (I was going to say "head butcher" but that sounded pretty gory) of Taylor's Market a couple of months ago. They carry grass-fed local beef but his take on it was that most people won't eat it more than once or twice. As Robin said, it's not what most of us have grown up on, in terms of both taste and texture.

Very interesting, thanks all. I visited the website and under the "our beef" tab, then organic vs. natural, I found out the beef are fed grain and grass. They also have a "closed herd". http://www.pratherranch.com/page/1000/home.html?inet=aD11YnpyLXlheCZyaD1jdWJnYi10bnl5cmVsLXlheA

So what's next on your agenda?
(Nosy minds want to know!)
Having recently moved 100 miles from my previous sources of carnivorous delight, I find I'm learning more than I thought I would about buying meat.
Sonoma County is heaven for lamb lovers, and of course for the cute little lambs, too. (But they taste so good!)

John

[Robin Garr]

Posts: 1000

Hey! You win a custom rank! Where's Jenise?

Geez, I had no idea I was such a blabbermouth!

John

So what's next on your agenda?
(Nosy minds want to know!)
Having recently moved 100 miles from my previous sources of carnivorous delight, I find I'm learning more than I thought I would about buying meat.
Sonoma County is heaven for lamb lovers, and of course for the cute little lambs, too. (But they taste so good!)

John

I keep trying - there are other ranches in the area...I still think the meat was not aged properly. It was a a different color than aged meat I am used to.

I keep trying - there are other ranches in the area...I still think the meat was not aged properly. It was a a different color than aged meat I am used to.

Karen, as to color I am going to guess that the meat was a darker color than what you had been getting. This is normal for grass fed beef, as is the toughness issue. I am sure that most here understand the USDA grading system. For those that do not, it is dependent on fat marbling with Prime having the most, and Select having the least. As all will know Prime is more tender than Select, which makes true the old saying "Fat is where the flavor (not to forget tender) is" I really like what Winger is doing and may well look into something like it here in or around Lexington.

I am not one to praise "Organic" etc because while there are rules, there is little to no enforcement of those rules. I believe it is a way to bump the price by as much as 50% or even more. Having said that, I will not buy beef or pork that has some kind of enhancer in it. (I have raged on this subject before, probably to a point that some would wish I would "just shut up) Also, hormones is how the chicken (and probably turkey too) industry has increased the size of the breast. bigger but not better, nor better for me. When the term organic is strictly enforced, I will consider buying it.

I suspect Bob H is onto something. Often, small producers will not pay to have their meat graded. You nay have just purchased lower grade beef that is tough.

What ever happened to the good old days when you went to your local butcher shop, and his name was Guido, he had a big smile on his face and you pointed to a cut of meat, brought it home, cooked it and it was delicious. We never gave a thought to E coli, hormones, organic, grass or grain fed. We just knew it was aged to perfection, it would be tender and delicious.

From my experience in Uruguay I learned that range/grass fed cattle take longer to reach market weight/size, therefore the meat is from older cattle and a bit more chewy.

Later from my experience managing the family farm in Minnesota since we didn't owe any money we could take our time with the cattle. We range fed the cattle that were going to market with a little corn cob meal once a day as they grew. Then the last 100 days or so we brought them into a pen and "pushed them" increasing the grain ration. It was our belief that this put some marbling in the meat, gave them a fat cap, and also softened the muscles due to the inactivity.

Taking a market sized range fed critter directly out of the pasture leads to more chewy meat.