By Brian Randall
Taste is one of the primary ways our brain interprets the quality of food. The mouth and tongue sort through many different signals at the same time to decipher how safe something is to eat, how fresh it is and its nutritional value. The tongue does this naturally, tapping into ancient wisdom to tell the body the difference between good and bad foods.
Beef is no exception. High-quality beef offers a harmonious balance of taste, texture and aroma. This balance is a combination of several important factors: genetic disposition, how the animal was raised, how the animal was fed, how the animal was processed and finally how the meat is prepared. We have always put a big emphasis on how our animals are raised and fed, but now we are turning to how it is processed and prepared to provide the very best eating experience.
Grass-fed, grass-finished beef is a different product than grain-fed beef. Because the animals grow slowly on a 100% forage diet, there is much less intramuscular fat (marbling) than their grain-fed counterparts. A good grass diet improves the fat fibers hidden deep within the animal’s body, making the meat leaner and more nutrient dense.
However you like to prepare your beef, understanding the difference between grass–fed and grain-fed is important.
This is the primary reason we have made a change to the way we are offering our beef available at the Gwenyn Hill Farmstand. We are now cutting our steaks thicker to highlight the unique traits of our beef. A thin grass–fed steak can dry out very quickly and overcook because of the lower intramuscular fat content. A thicker cut allows for a high-heat sear on the outside while maintaining a tender interior.
Our farm team had an opportunity to learn some great grass-fed beef preparation principles in February with Chef Erik Miller and farmer friend Sandy Syburg.
Taste is the biggest determining factor for choices we make in our diet. We believe high-quality grass–fed and grass-finished beef, when prepared correctly, can taste better than grain-fed beef. The tongue has a way of letting us know what foods our body needs. Unfortunately, modern food technology can manipulate taste, allowing low-nutrient dense foods to taste more attractive. More and more money and resources are being put toward this initiative, making it harder than ever to solely rely on taste as an indicator of quality. This is why we encourage everyone to know your farmer. Knowing how an animal was raised, housed, fed and slaughtered is far too complicated to capture on a label. Instead, go ask your farmer.
Want to try some grass-fed beef for yourself? You can find our beef at the Farmstand at Gwenyn Hill and on our GrazeCart site.