Corn fed or grass fed?

I think I am leaning toward grass fed steak, but maybe that's a fluke ... any other opinions? i think most steak houses are corn fed ....

Hmmm last I knew corn has always been considered a grain. Shouldn't the comparison be corn fed vs grass fed.

oops, you are right. that is what i meant.

I really am curious about the difference. I buy what's offered at my local supermarket, not knowing anything about it; and for very special occasions I'll buy from Lobel's, which has been invariably wonderful. But enlightenment is nice. What are the differences in flavor? marbling? tenderness? I'd love to know more.

Prime is prime, choice is choice. I defy anyone out there to tell the difference between two identical prime cuts of beef as to whether they were fed one way or the other. I even had a "kobe-style" steak a few years ago and I couldn't say it was any better than the prime cuts I consumed. My wallet was the only thing that could tell.

Actually ALL beef starts out as grass fed---thats what Ranchers feed cattle---grass---and a few other things that grown in it--thats what all the steaks and chili's of the cowboys and vaccaros(sp)that are the beginnings of America's great"Beef--its whats for dinner!" tradition is based on----Grain fed beef is "Feed lot" beef----when the cattle drive ended up there at the railhead--those people---feedlot owners,feed cattle grains---usually corn.They fatten up quicker and "marbling" in the meat is developed---basically they pen them so they cant move around much and put them on a high carbo diet!

Alot of people never even see grass fed beef---although there is a burgoning market for it developing i think in large part to folks wanting to get organic or high quality foods. And once again---when the retailers find a market for food that is LESS processed and uses fewer middlemen,oddly enough it cost the consumer MORE!!!????Oh well--i dont have that problem as half of my nieghbors have acres of good quality grass fed beef---and this is prime time to get some freash---as a matter of fact a very good friend is rounding up a bunch this week. They usually fill the family freezers at the same time and THAT is really good grass fed beef--his are brangus. You may try to find an online source and look for a local custom butcher that could tie you to a source--its good--and if you buy it from the rancher direct he/she may actually make as much money off his beef as the grocerers do!!

If ya be wantin a good store bought steak, try to find colemans. its an organic ranch in colorado(grass fed i presume) even the flavorless filet has a very rich beefy flavor like eating a stesk for the first time.

When I was in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the restaurants that feature beef pride them selves that their beef is grass fed from the high protein blue stem grass that grows naturally on the Argentine plains.

I do not know that I would know the difference but the beef I had there was the best I had ever had.

I had steak, red wine and their potatoes ever night I was there. If I go back, I will do the same.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Back when we and eveyone else around here raised and butchered their own beef, the cattle were grass fed, but everyone brought the cattle from the pasture to the lot and grain fed them for about a week before butchering them, supposedly to "clear the grass out of their system". I don't know if that made any difference or not (and it probably didn't), but that was some fine beef. What made me think of this was reading tiki's post above. Hope he got some from the neighbor's current butchering. Everyone around here had Herford or Angus.

Also would comment that my experience with and opinion of Argentine beef agrees with Sundancer. And I'd forgotten about that blue stem grass everyone down there talked about.

quote:

Originally posted by tiki
[Alot of people never even see grass fed beef---although there is a burgoning market for it developing i think in large part to folks wanting to get organic or high quality foods. And once again---when the retailers find a market for food that is LESS processed and uses fewer middlemen,oddly enough it cost the consumer MORE!!!????Oh well--i dont have that problem as half of my nieghbors have acres of good quality grass fed beef---and this is prime time to get some freash---as a matter of fact a very good friend is rounding up a bunch this week. They usually fill the family freezers at the same time and THAT is really good grass fed beef--his are brangus. You may try to find an online source and look for a local custom butcher that could tie you to a source--its good--and if you buy it from the rancher direct he/she may actually make as much money off his beef as the grocerers do!!

I prefer grass fed. I am lucky enough to have a relationship with a neighbor that raises cattle as a hobby (he did it for a living along with training thoroughbreds for about 40 years) and he raises them in some gorgeous grass. Their feed is supplemented slightly with grain from the Abita Brewery (that's how I met him, I gave him the grain for years). A couple of times a year he lets us have a cow to slaughter, as long as I am willing to let him buy one or two more at auction (I pay for the calfs). It is a great arrangement and I really don't have to do anything except open and close gates when he is out of town and go out to the butcher and tell him how I want it after it has been hanging for a couple of weeks. It's a great deal and I enjoy the personal relationship I have with the guy, do the beef is just a bonus.

He also has a championship quality catfish pond. It's just about as easy to get 3 or 4 good size cats as it is to go to the market and buy them, and a whole lot more fun.

When the young kids I teach mention chocolate milk, I tell them it comes from cows that have been fed chocolate bars. Works for a while.

quote:

Originally posted by rumbelly

When the young kids I teach mention chocolate milk, I tell them it comes from cows that have been fed chocolate bars. Works for a while.

My grandfather used to tell me that different teats on the cows udders gave different milk and that the one in the back was orange juice--thats why its sold in mmilk cartons in the dairy section!I think i believed him too!

quote:

Originally posted by Mayhaw Man

I prefer grass fed. I am lucky enough to have a relationship with a neighbor that raises cattle as a hobby (he did it for a living along with training thoroughbreds for about 40 years) and he raises them in some gorgeous grass. Their feed is supplemented slightly with grain from the Abita Brewery (that's how I met him, I gave him the grain for years). A couple of times a year he lets us have a cow to slaughter, as long as I am willing to let him buy one or two more at auction (I pay for the calfs). It is a great arrangement and I really don't have to do anything except open and close gates when he is out of town and go out to the butcher and tell him how I want it after it has been hanging for a couple of weeks. It's a great deal and I enjoy the personal relationship I have with the guy, do the beef is just a bonus.

He also has a championship quality catfish pond. It's just about as easy to get 3 or 4 good size cats as it is to go to the market and buy them, and a whole lot more fun.

Working on much the same deal with my friend here--who also has three nice unfished farm ponds with catfish crappie and bass----offered their use to me as they dont fish them. Glad they dont--doesnt take long to get dinner for 2!

We keep 25-35 cows on our place in South Texas, and all they eat is grass (mainly coastal) and there are usually some oats planted as well. During dry spells we burn prickly pear, which the cows adore.

We supplement with cubes, kind of a "cow candy". All it takes is a rattle of a bucket of cubes from the back of a pickup and they will follow at a trot anywhere you want them to go!

My husbands uncle has a butcher shop in town where all the meat is processed so I keep our freezer full.

A few weeks ago we ran out (will get more this weekend when husband and kids go hunting), and I bought some hamburger at the grocery store. I thought it smelled strange as I was cooking it and did not like the taste either!

Most beef bought in the USA starts out as grass fed and in the end are taken to a feed lot where they are fed huge amounts of grain where they can gain several hundred pounds. I have driven past some of the in Texas and Colarado and they are huge with many thousands of animals being fed basically all they can eat. Then at a prescribed time they are slaughtered. This is done under controlled conditions.

Argentine beef is mostly totally raised on blue stem grass. They are not feed lot cattle.

I have had both types and my preference is Argentine beef. It may be just a preference with me and it is totally my opinion.

The best beef I have ever had in my life was in Buenos Aires.

It is my understanding that chemicals are not used anywhere near as much as they are in the USA because of the conditions which they are raised.. Animals in feed lots are in very crowded conditions and extremely unsantitary conditions although approved by USDA. You can judge for yourself if you drive past one. Feces and urine soaks the ground and the animals sleep in it. It invites disease and infection. It has to be controlled by antibiotics. When cattle come off the farm enroute to the feed lot, they are generally in very good contitions cause the cattle farmers graze them in the fields. It is suggested that the problems come when they reach the feed lots.

Just another point to consider where your purchase your favorite cut of whatever.

Paul E. Smith
knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by Lone Star

We keep 25-35 cows on our place in South Texas, and all they eat is grass (mainly coastal) and there are usually some oats planted as well. During dry spells we burn prickly pear, which the cows adore.

We supplement with cubes, kind of a "cow candy". All it takes is a rattle of a bucket of cubes from the back of a pickup and they will follow at a trot anywhere you want them to go!

My husbands uncle has a butcher shop in town where all the meat is processed so I keep our freezer full.

A few weeks ago we ran out (will get more this weekend when husband and kids go hunting), and I bought some hamburger at the grocery store. I thought it smelled strange as I was cooking it and did not like the taste either!

Any tips (sirloin) on how/where to buy grass fed beef at a reasonable price??

One of the most melt in your mouth, tastiest, cow's my Dad ever raised was grass fed with about a half bucket of ground Oat and corn every day. She was very unstressed,which also makes a big difference.
I had a friend in the Air Force who's family raised beef for the "Prime" market and they alway's fed a ration of soy in the ground feed. Must be that tofu works for cattle, too.

WELL finally, something I know about! We raise beef cattle out here, and there are many feedlots also. Grass fed beef is more flavorful. Feedlot cattle spend most of their life standing in a pen full of manure eating. Which would you choose

Nebraska Woman

Feeding grain to steers to get them ready for market is nothing new. Remember the "fatted calf" from the Bible?

Sorry, I thought opinions were welcome!

quote:

Originally posted by EatBeef

WELL finally, something I know about! We raise beef cattle out here, and there are many feedlots also. Grass fed beef is more flavorful. Feedlot cattle spend most of their life standing in a pen full of manure eating. Which would you choose

Nebraska Woman

Bout says it all!

quote:

Originally posted by EatBeef

Sorry, I thought opinions were welcome!

They are, nothing for you to be sorry for.

Thanks tiki!

I have read all these posts and still am not sure what's going on.

Grass Fed
Kobe
Angus
Free Range

I know a good steak medium rare.
Other than that I have no clue.
Do any of the above terms mean much or are they all marketing ploys.

Kay

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11999

http://www.wolfesneckfarm.org/

http://www.laurasleanbeef.com/

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11061

I have tried both of the meat from each link.
The beef was far superior tasting and looking. I try to go "organic/natural" when buying beef now.
These links tell lots about the why's and wherefore's ... Do some research and a taste test. You can tell the quality. I didnt think I could, but it was overwhelming.
I particularly like the Wolfes Neck, but it is not available here in South Carolina.
http://www.natural-beef.com/
There is another brand, which is not available here either, but I am still doing research on the grass fed beef.

Kay
You are digging back into history, aren't you.

1. Free Range- Terms used for cows that have the freedom to move around a field or pasture, or open land to graze as the mood hits them.
2. Grass fed- A grass-eating cow. These are the ones you may see in a field chewing on bales of hay set out for them by the farmer/rancher. They may be barn-kept also.
3. Kobe- Originally this was a Japanese process for specialized feeding and treatment of cattle. It included beer mash and by-products of the brewing of beer as a major food source for the cows. The cows were pampered by the farmers in that they received physical rub-downs and massages to assist their muscular development. The beef from this process was very scarce and extremely expensive. In the U S A this is often called Kobe-Style Beef. It demands premium prices and the amount of the Kobe Process may vary greatly. In many cases it is probably more of a marketing ploy than a real "Kobe Beef" process.
4. Angus- is a breed of cattle with many subsets and cross-breeding off of the original Angus breed. Many times the term in the finished beef products are just a marketing label with no real connection to the breed of cow that donated the actual beef in the package.

Hope that helped...and I invite anyone with more knowledge than me (and that would be a lot of you) to add or correct my outline.

My brother inlaw use to raise white faced herfords, his choice because of disposition,quality and beef per pound. Always grass fead and the last 30 to 45 days on the combination of grain and silage. The silage he use to get from the Budwiser brewery a biproduct of making the beer at one time it was free now you have to pay for it. His hogs loved it also, on occasion they would break out of the pen and you would know where to find them, they were happy as a pig in whatever. When butchered, his beef was outstanding, great marbeling and the fat was almost a deep yellow color. He also slaughtered his own, it wouldn't be unuseuall to go vist him and he would have something hanging from the chain fall with his young children running around. I sure do miss his farm products he is now raseing a good crop of condos. Thats progress. Chow Jim

The cattle we raise in Nevada, are for the most part range cattle, that is, we lease land from the BLM, Bureau of Land Management, and move out cattle twice a year from our pastures, land which we own, and where the cattle eat primarily alfalfa and then they are moved to the open range where they eat scrub grass and sage brush. We then bring them home, think old timey cattle drives. Although we also use trucks to haul some of them home. It is a cheaper and more efficient way to do it, but certainly not as much fun Most of them are then again pastured and fed a diet of alfalfa,which we grow, or purchase in cubes. For our own eating, we fast feed them for 45 days on corn, and a couple of bottles of beer a day. It fattens them up with a well marbled mass. I prefer corn fed cattle, as range and alfalfa fed cattle taste like grass to me. As a kid growing up in the Midwest all the beef raised was corn fed, and I prefer that taste. However many of my customers, and their customers prefer alfalfa fed beef, so I give them what they want. We also fatten our pigs and sheep with a primary diet of corn. To me it just taste better.

I was in the Pampas area of Argentinia a few years ago. As I understand it, this is one of the most fertile areas on earth. Their cattle grazes entirely a variety of blue stem grass. I think it is very high in protein.

It was explained to me that they do not finish their cattle off with corn.

I guess there are arguments on both sides but in my opinion, the Argentine beef is hard to beat.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Blue Stem Grass is very high in protein. It also has higher sugar content then most other grasses, which makes it a very unique feed source. This combination makes for a feed that makes for a well marbled mass. We did an exchange program with some Argentinian cattle ranchers through the Department of Agriculture several years ago, and I have to agree that their beef is of a very high quality, tender, well flavored and cooks up very nice. Our climate in Nevada is not conducive to the growing of Blue Stem, not enough moisture. On my scale of good, I would rate true Kobe as the best beef hands down, American corn fed beef with a 3 to 5 week hang time second, Argentinian beef 3rd, and suprisingly enough UK beef ( which is all grass fed )4th. However, Paul is right it is all amatter oftaste.

The few times I'd eaten a steak in Florida, I found it lacking to those back home. I was told that was because Florida cattle are grass fed while the Midwest serves corn fed. That was enough for me, but then for the last 20 years or so I've only eaten seafood when I'm in a seafood serving part of the country. As long as it's still bloody, I can probably eat any kind.

I buy most of my beef from these folks:

http://www.rossfarm.com/

Definitely NOT finished on corn. Raised on grass constantly fed with organic compost tea.

Some people on this forum have argued that there is not much difference in taste. Maybe not that much, but I believe it's healthier. And frankly, I like the extra "chewiness" of the meat. It tastes "full", and it's not tough if you cook it right.

Plus, you're supporting local farmers.

I was reading just the other day that there is a move afoot to ban exports of Argentine beef because the home market is upset by higher prices. We never got much here in the USA, but if you vacationed in the Caribbean, and ate a steak, it usually came from Argentina. I remember reading about Argentina for Econ 101 back in college. The teacher told us to watch that country and the Philippines to see how bad government can ruin a country that has everything going for it.

quote:

Originally posted by Bushie


Some people on this forum have argued that there is not much difference in taste. Maybe not that much, but I believe it's healthier. And frankly, I like the extra "chewiness" of the meat. It tastes "full", and it's not tough if you cook it right.

Plus, you're supporting local farmers.

Here Here!--me too--i get my beef from from my neighbors---raised on grass fertilized by the beef they raise!

Hello All,
We would buy a couple of cows in the spring and let them eat grass all summer long, with a meal of corn and molasses grain
in the morning and evening. If there was a drought and the grass was of poor quality or gone, we'd feed them more grain.
By late September, early October, we'd put them in area where we fattened them up with grain. We made sure the grain was
not full of drugs and steroids. They'd be butchered and it was the best meat we had. We could trust eating the liver, etc.,
knowing what we had feed them.
Take Care,
Fieldthistle

basically all beef is raised on grass but finished on either grass or grain. we finish our beef on beer and grass.

Big difference by the way.

quote:

Originally posted by V960

basically all beef is raised on grass but finished on either grass or grain. we finish our beef on beer and grass.

Big difference by the way.

When they see the keg rolled out I wonder if they sense the end is near?

My kids joke about the work ahead when they see the keg in the barn. Making liver mush (from the pigs) and sausage is a true pain but only takes one day a year. Rendering the lard is also right up there w/ a PIA.

quote:

Originally posted by V960

My kids joke about the work ahead when they see the keg in the barn. Making liver mush (from the pigs) and sausage is a true pain but only takes one day a year. Rendering the lard is also right up there w/ a PIA.

Gotta agree with you about the rendering thing, I just did a whole bunch 25lbs. I must do it the old fashion way the next time, outside. My house still stinks but some of my old cast iron pans never looked better. Any storage hints on the finnished product? I know a number of years ago the just stored it in pails,I'm worried about the shelf life. Chow Jim

I store my rendered fat in 1 gal tin buckets in the freezer. Caul fat we keep in very small packages.

Some breeds of cattle do better on grass alone. Back in the late 70s and early 80s, lots of "exotic" cattle were imported to the USA from around the world. I tried out some Gelbvieh from Germany. They were supposed to fatten well on silage. The one we ate ourselves was not that good, and we sold the others off. They were hard to keep in, but of the beef cattle we kept I liked the Angus best.

A few years ago we went ot the trouble to raise Charolais steers and finish them on a type of sugar beets (mangrels). The meat was almost purple and very good. Compared w/ polled shorthorns they were mean as snakes and the mangrel field still grows a few each year.

I'll stick w/ shorthorns...sweet tempered...good meat and I can actually walk in my field w/o worrying about being attacked.

LOL.....I had considered Charolais once upon a time. None of the breeders that I talked to bothered to mention the mean streak. My angus were very peaceful unless you tried to catch them, at which time they too became mean. I think that I liked the Gurnseys the best of all, but they are milk cows, and milk cows in general like people. I think the worst may have been some Jersey x Angus. They have both the Jersey skittish nature combined with the angus wanderlust.

A Charolais will run to make trouble...kinda makes sense when you consider it is a French breed. They throw a small calf as opposed to the huge thing an Angus throws. We have had very good results buying Gurnseys and fixing them. The milk guys almost give them away and our pastures are very rich. The last month of beer doesn't hurt either. But to me the Shorthorn has the best taste.

Once upon a time, Charolais were known for large calves and Angus for small. That goes to show what selective breeding can do. In the 60s we sold some Angus bulls to daiymen to use on heifers so that the first calf would be small. In those days an Angus calf was not much bigger than a cat. When I came out of the service, the "new" fast gaining, tall, long legged Angus were all the rage, and via A. I. we bred my old fashon cows to some of the very top bulls in the country. Within just a single generation, my cows were dropping 100 lb calves.

To get back on topic, I think that the "new" Angus (and Angus x) may not perform the same on grass as did the older style. American farmers are very good at seeing what way the market is going. They will always produce whatever the public is willing to pay for.

Tmiles,
You're right and I was wrong. Charolais threw small claves and
Angus threw the large ones. We now keep only Polled Shorthorns (college roomie has about 400 so this works out well) or dairly cast offs.

But you were correct.

quote:

Originally posted by MilwFoodlovers

The few times I'd eaten a steak in Florida, I found it lacking to those back home. I was told that was because Florida cattle are grass fed while the Midwest serves corn fed. That was enough for me, but then for the last 20 years or so I've only eaten seafood when I'm in a seafood serving part of the country. As long as it's still bloody, I can probably eat any kind.

I've had the same experience. The beef in the Chicago area was much tastier. Than we have here on Hilton Head, SC. We don't order steak very often any more, we do prepare it at home, usually a tenderloin filet. Even these don't have the same taste. The prime rib seems less rich and grainier. When ever we go back to the Chicago area, we always eat at Al's Steak house in Joliet. Char broiled yum!!

It's not just about "grass fed vs. corn fed." It's much more complex.
When huge amounts of cattle are kept in huge feed lots huge problems exist. These feed lots are barren mud or dust filled enclosures with little room for the cattle to move around. The one's I've seen in OK, TX, MO contain hundreds, maybe thousands of cattle. If you packed them all in at one end, they would still fill up a third or so of the space. The biggest problem this presents is disease. To combat that, they barrage these cows with antibiotics. Do you want large doses of antibiotics in your meat?
These cattle producers work on slim margins. They use every trick in the book to produce big fat ladened cattle. That includes the use of growth enhancing drugs including hormones. Do you want growth hormones in your meat?
The corn that these cattle are fed is another story. Corn producers basically run corn factories. You can buy 50# of corn at the feed store for $6-7. The feed lots pay a lot less. Do you know how much it would cost to produce 50# of dried corn in your backyard? Imagine the regiment of fertilization, weed control, pesticides, fungicides,etc. these corn factories employ. Do you want this chemical cocktail finding it's way into your meat via the food the cattle are fed?

Managed pasture fed beef has none of the nasty stuff that goes into your supermarket beef, including the after processing additives that some use to increase shelf life.
Managed pasture beef is pure unaltered meat.
It's not as fat and marbled as feed lot beef. It also doesn't have the corn fed taste that Americans are used to and consider a positive thing.
It just tastes better and is sooooo much better for you.

There is lots of info on the internet. Do a search if you're interested.
WV(pasturefedbeeffarm)Hillbilly

Oh, and those "happy cows" from California. BS. Most dairy operations in the central valley of CA are feed lot operations where conditions exactly as described above exist.

Many of my neighbors raise gurnsey and jersey steers. There is a local market for the lean beef they produce.
It used to be cheap to buy them, but these days, they're right up there with generic beef cattle. . . latest market prices around here are about 80-90 cents per vs. $1.30 for angus black beefs.
I may get a couple in the fall, but dang them things look skinny in the field.

I will put on my green hat. Cattle are ruminants, grain is basically high powered poison to them. That is why they are also fed antibiotics at the same time. It marbles the meat, makes it more tender and is MUCH easier to feed to them in a confined feedlot.

One item that should be known is that all beef is started on grass and then either finished on grain or beer or grass. Finished is the key. Best beef I have ever had was a steer that was finished on beer and sweet feed for ninety plus days. Wasn't done on purpose, we were in the reserves and had a call up we had to answer.

recently was pointed out to me that it has been proven that grass fed beef really is healthier---cant remember all the details of what i heard--(on NPR--Diane Reem Show)--but it was pointed out that beef cattle do NOT eat grains naturally-but-like our last post says- are strictly ruminents that eat grass exclusively. I have no problem believing that adding anything other then that to thier diet will affect the meat---so--i will stick to grass fed when i can get it--which is fairly easy to do here in Oklahoma.

quote:

Originally posted by V960

I will put on my green hat. Cattle are ruminants, grain is basically high powered poison to them. That is why they are also fed antibiotics at the same time. It marbles the meat, makes it more tender and is MUCH easier to feed to them in a confined feedlot.

One item that should be known is that all beef is started on grass and then either finished on grain or beer or grass. Finished is the key. Best beef I have ever had was a steer that was finished on beer and sweet feed for ninety plus days. Wasn't done on purpose, we were in the reserves and had a call up we had to answer.

As I understand it, Argentine beef is grass fed off of the ubiquitous blue stem grass that is prevalent in that area. I have spent quite a bit of time in Buenos Aires, Argentina and I have experienced the tasty beef in that area.

I have also noted that in Germany, many of the restaurants advertise that the beef they serve is Argentine beef.

I am not sure that there will ever be enough grasslands available in the USA to supply the needs of the population in the USA. My guess is the majority of the corn grown in the Midwest is targeted to animal feed. I have observed what I guess is millions of acres devoted for animal feed. I use to believe that the corn grown in the midwest was for human use. I was advised that in a way it was but not in the way I thought. It was for animal consumption which was used for human consumption. My guess is that 95% of the beef consumed is in someway, cornfed.

I am sure that grass fed is better but the practicality of that methodology may not be able to supply the demand?

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

This mix may change. Ethanol from the corn and beef from the grass???

What I keep hearing is that corn fed means why-bother-with-a-knife tender. I can get that with the cheapest (which also imples lowest fat) cut of beef or pork in the store now. I just dump it in my slow cooker and turn that puppy on low for 8 to 10 hours.

My favorite recipe is: a three pound boneless beef roast, an 18 oz bottle of barbecue sauce. Slow cook for 8 hours WITHOUT ADDING ANY WATER (which is the usual modus operandi for slow cooking). After the 8 hours, take 2 forks and pull the beef apart. It's a labor intensive, but simple way to make a barbecue sandwich filling. One day I'll try it with pork or chicken breasts, but it's killer with beef.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Ugly Mich

What I keep hearing is that corn fed means why-bother-with-a-knife tender. I can get that with the cheapest (which also imples lowest fat) cut of beef or pork in the store now. I just dump it in my slow cooker and turn that puppy on low for 8 to 10 hours.

My favorite recipe is: a three pound boneless beef roast, an 18 oz bottle of barbecue sauce. Slow cook for 8 hours WITHOUT ADDING ANY WATER (which is the usual modus operandi for slow cooking). After the 8 hours, take 2 forks and pull the beef apart. It's a labor intensive, but simple way to make a barbecue sandwich filling. One day I'll try it with pork or chicken breasts, but it's killer with beef.

BUM: I agree with you that slow cooked with low temp is the best way. Very tender, tasty and moist.

I do that with beef, pork and chicken.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Interesting posts all. Personally I prefer grass fed and grass finished beef. I do not have it all the time because it is rather expensive...for me it is an occasional treat. I really do wish I could get natural beef in the supermarket at a reasonable price.

I do remember the days when the beef industry first touted "corn fed beef" It was so corn fed that the primary taste in the beef was corn; it blotted out all the beef flavor. Either my taste buds have retreated a bit or the beef producers got wise and decided corn was not the taste of beef after all and reduced the corn content a bit.

I think the actual issue here has very little to do with beef production. The larger issue is that we are becoming a one crop nation. Almost all of the corn in the US is now GMO corn and the US food industries depend on it. Could Coke or Pepsi exist without corn syrup? Could most processed food industries exist without it? I doubt it.

We are rapidly becoming a one crop nation. Sooner or later mother nature will find a way to destroy these feeble crops created by a food industry overly concerned with propriety rights.
Sounds like another Irish potato famine in the making to me.

quote:

Originally posted by Greyghost

.
Sounds like another Irish potato famine in the making to me.

You are so right. Five or six varieties of apples, four of onions, two of brocolli and one of green pepper in the grocery store. I raise ten times that number of varieties on a p**s A** little crappy soil farm in NC. The pigs and chickens are contributing to the soil on a daily basis however.

Do wish the purple and fingerling potatoes had done better this year. Limas are doing ok. Disappointing thing is the sunflowers we cut for the birds in the winter are our best crop. I love the birds but would really have loved a great corn crop...miserable failure.

Back to th subject. Grass finished beef is much better for the human body. Just as eggs from truely free ranged hens are actually good for you grass finished more resembles wild game than regular beef in its content. Omega 3 fatty acids are actually present.

I will now step down from my soap box. Natural foods are good for you. Farms like Peaceful Pastures in Hickman, Tennessee are worth finding. No implants, no antibiotics and grass finished meat. Lamb, pork and chicken. Disclaimer...no relationship, I just think the world of Jenny and Darrin for the battles they have fought w/ narrow minded civil servants. "I'm sorry this isn't unpasturized milk it's pet food"

fyi http://www.peacefulpastures.com/

Just got a newsletter from ATTRA which stated that 100,000 steers are grass finished each year. Thirty million are grain finished.