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Beef Roasts -- What is the difference between the various cuts? - Page 3

post #31 of 45
3/16/10 at 3:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by foodguy View Post
congrats on the big beef. you really need to get a book, though. names of cuts are notoriously unreliable. many things called "roasts" are anything but (chuck, 7-bone, etc). I'd recommend the lobel's meat bible, bruce aidell's complete meat cookbook or chris schlesinger's "how to cook meat".
as a general rule, the lower the cut is on the cow, the tougher it will be. generally, anything below the rib should be braised.

Is flank / skirt below the rib?

K
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post #32 of 45
3/16/10 at 4:01pm
flank is at the rib. skirt (true skirt) is the diaphragm that controls the lung. both are on the border ... they're best grilled, but they're definitely on the chewy side. the other part of that high/low split is that the higher on the cow the cut comes from, usually the less flavor it has.
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post #33 of 45
3/16/10 at 10:17pm
Ask for your money back. Grass fed beef tastes like wild game, and its popularity is being foisted on the trendy socially concious consumer by lazy, undercapitalized cattle ranchers. Beef should be corn-fed to provide good marbling and thus good flavor.
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post #34 of 45
3/16/10 at 11:16pm
dp
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post #35 of 45
3/16/10 at 11:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by A.K.A. View Post
Ask for your money back. Grass fed beef tastes like wild game, and its popularity is being foisted on the trendy socially concious consumer by lazy, undercapitalized cattle ranchers. Beef should be corn-fed to provide good marbling and thus good flavor.

Cows can't eat corn and survive without antibiotics. Grass fed beef is more natural, tastes better and you need not worry about the health effects of consuming antibiotic-laced meat.
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post #36 of 45
3/17/10 at 2:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tattersall View Post
Cows can't eat corn and survive without antibiotics. Grass fed beef is more natural, tastes better and you need not worry about the health effects of consuming antibiotic-laced meat.
well, this is factually inaccurate, but i agree with the larger point. whether you like it or not is a matter of taste. some people would say that the "gaminess" is what makes it taste better. it does need to be cooked very carefully as it is much lower in intramuscular fat and dries out quickly.
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post #37 of 45
3/17/10 at 5:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by foodguy View Post
well, this is factually inaccurate, but i agree with the larger point. whether you like it or not is a matter of taste. some people would say that the "gaminess" is what makes it taste better. it does need to be cooked very carefully as it is much lower in intramuscular fat and dries out quickly.

You probably know better than I, but which fact is inaccurate?
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post #38 of 45
3/17/10 at 5:39pm
1) cows can't live on corn without antibiotics. they're fed antibiotics to fight diseases brought on by overcrowding and also, in some cases, because cows treated with small doses of antibiotics put on weight faster. this is an appalling practice. 2) Grass fed beef is more natural. maybe just define your terms. what's "more natural" mean?
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post #39 of 45
3/17/10 at 8:08pm
They're given antibiotics to relieve the acidosis caused by a starch diet of corn. The rumen can't handle the acid on its own. The corn also leads to a bloated rumen which can lead to suffocation in the animal. I think there is ample evidence on this but I am no vet...

As for natural, sure, it comes down to preferences and what you can afford. I'm sure the trace amounts of medications won't harm anybody but I'm not exposing my family to them.
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post #40 of 45
3/17/10 at 9:20pm
i'm not a vet either, but i have done a bit of reporting in this area. in severe cases, acidosis can require treatment with antibiotics, but that's not the same as saying that all grain-finished beef requires antibiotics. At the same time, grassfed beef can also develop diseases that are treated by antibiotics. it's not cut-and-dried either way. What is clear is that some producers DO use subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics as a way to speed growth (and these are almost all grain-fed producers). this is a really serious problem, not because the antibiotics will hurt you, but because any use of antibiotics eventually encourages the development of bacteria that are resistant to that antibiotic and that can infect humans.
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post #41 of 45
3/17/10 at 10:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by foodguy View Post
congrats on the big beef. you really need to get a book, though. names of cuts are notoriously unreliable. many things called "roasts" are anything but (chuck, 7-bone, etc). I'd recommend the lobel's meat bible, bruce aidell's complete meat cookbook or chris schlesinger's "how to cook meat".
as a general rule, the lower the cut is on the cow, the tougher it will be. generally, anything below the rib should be braised.

A great choice. Very educational, but user-friendly with great recipes.
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post #42 of 45
3/17/10 at 11:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by foodguy View Post
i'm not a vet either, but i have done a bit of reporting in this area. in severe cases, acidosis can require treatment with antibiotics, but that's not the same as saying that all grain-finished beef requires antibiotics. At the same time, grassfed beef can also develop diseases that are treated by antibiotics. it's not cut-and-dried either way. What is clear is that some producers DO use subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics as a way to speed growth (and these are almost all grain-fed producers). this is a really serious problem, not because the antibiotics will hurt you, but because any use of antibiotics eventually encourages the development of bacteria that are resistant to that antibiotic and that can infect humans.

Thanks, that's very interesting. It's always good to get a balanced view and this is certainly a contentious issue.
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post #43 of 45
3/18/10 at 12:14am
see if you can get the cheeks. they're amazing braised.
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post #44 of 45
3/21/10 at 10:39am
Thread Starter 
This cow was raised entirely without antibiotics. I was unable to get the cheeks this time, but the farmer said he'll ask the butcher he uses whether this is an option next time I order.

Any suggestions on what to do with the kidneys? I have, probably, 2 lbs!
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post #45 of 45
3/22/10 at 9:01am
^ Steak & kidney pie.
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