Beef eaters: Grass or grain fed?

[leahgoogle]

I used to purchase all forms grass-fed beef, but since prices have risen so much, we get grass-fed ground beef, but conventional steaks and roasts.

 

[DLgal]

Grass fed is a lot healthier than grain fed. I don't notice a difference in taste, really. I buy grass fed ground beef, mostly. I eat whatever in restaurants/steakhouses. I don't eat enough beef overall to really care one way or another. I eat it once a week or less.

 

[_19disnA]

Not sure I could tell the difference if two cuts of beef were placed side-by-side. I think there is also another term something like 'grass finished' which is some sort of combination of both. Whether any of these makes any difference in the taste/nutrition vs. just another marketing pitch I have no idea.

 

[bcla]

Best beef we ever had was when we'd buy half a cow from a farmer who would finish the cattle with corn. Miss those cows!

I remember a scene from the Star Trek style parody Galaxy Quest. They had some generally meek aliens who were technologically advanced but otherwise were not a warrior culture where they had seen this Star Trek like program and thought it was some sort of documentary.

But they were somehow able to synthesize something that looked and tasted like beef. And the Captain (played by Tim Allen) said "I'm really enjoying it. This is like corn fed Iowa beef". While another guy is fed some sort of ticks that move.

 

[bcla]

Not sure I could tell the difference if two cuts of beef were placed side-by-side. I think there is also another term something like 'grass finished' which is some sort of combination of both. Whether any of these makes any difference in the taste/nutrition vs. just another marketing pitch I have no idea.

Again - all beef cattle graze on grass. It would be too expensive and they would likely die if they weren't allowed to feed on grass.

It's really grain-finished vs grass-finished. Grain-finished means being fed some corn or other non-grass feed which will fatten them up. That's what will give some steaks noticeable marbling. It's possible to get marbling with grass-finished cattle, but apparently more difficult than by feeding corn. This article mentions that some cattle breeds inherently produce more marbling, such as Angus or Akaushi (Japanese Brown).

https://onpasture.com/2019/11/18/why-grass-finished-beef-marbling-is-difficult/

 

[WLSILVERCREEKSPRINGS]

Don't eat much beef, but we buy from a local farm, the beef is grass fed and grass finished. We also buy chicken and eggs there. We prefer to know more about the food we eat and believe it's important to support local farms that have a passion for what they do.

 

[Micca]

Best beef we ever had was when we'd buy half a cow from a farmer who would finish the cattle with corn.

So it was...lean beef?

 

[_19disnA]

And isn't 'marbling' just a fancy name for 'fat'?..........LOL. I think people tend to eat less beef now then 50 years ago since they are looking for healthier alternatives.

 

[TLSnell1981]

And isn't 'marbling' just a fancy name for 'fat'?..........LOL. I think people tend to eat less beef now then 50 years ago since they are looking for healthier alternatives.

Yeah but it give meat a better flavor.

 

[Moliphino]

And isn't 'marbling' just a fancy name for 'fat'?..........LOL. I think people tend to eat less beef now then 50 years ago since they are looking for healthier alternatives.

It's well distributed fat, though, that adds a lot of flavor. Not a big chunk of gristle that you need to cut off.

 

[bcla]

And isn't 'marbling' just a fancy name for 'fat'?..........LOL. I think people tend to eat less beef now then 50 years ago since they are looking for healthier alternatives.

The claim is that beef fat isn't as bad as other forms of animal fat. I will say beef fat drippings on my hand are a lot easier to remove than pork fat (like bacon) and definitely easier than lamb fat. Lamb fat is just ridiculously hard to remove. It's almost like removing wax.

 

[easyas123]

We eat red meat in the form of venison on average of 4 times per month, and what they eat varies a lot by region & time of year...but 3 or 4 times a year we get a decent beef fillet, grain finished.