Styleforum › Forums › Lifestyle › Social Life, Food & Drink, Travel › beef: grain fed versus grass fed
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

beef: grain fed versus grass fed

post #1 of 50
7/8/08 at 5:27am
Thread Starter 
i've always thought that the best beef was grass fed like what you get from argentina or japan. my friend argues that the best beef is grain fed and he says the finest restaurants and best chefs use american grain fed. this doesn't sound right to me but he knows more about this sort of thing than i do. any thoughts?
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 50
7/8/08 at 7:46am
Grass fed beef is healthier as far as the macronutrient profile goes (that doesn't necessarily equate to taste), and there are arguments about growth hormone and steroids being unhealthy to ingest through beef but they're pretty questionable. I'm not sure what "the finest restaurants" use, because there are plenty of different options, but the circle-jerk over wagyu and American wagyu (wagyu and angus) largely relates to the fact that they are not given feed mixes, but corn, alfalfa, beer, grasses and legumes (depending on where it is, there's some other stuff) mostly without animal byproducts. The type of cut (filet mignon, porterhouse/t-bone, flank, ribeye, whatever) just has to do with where the meat comes off the cow, not the breed of cow. I'm sure it varies by restaurant.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 50
7/8/08 at 11:11am
The vast majority of American beef is corn-fed. This allows for the extensive marbling of the fat, which I love so much. It is also the indicator of "prime" vs "choice", etc, with the highest marbling being deemed "prime".

I've done a lot of experimenting with grass-fed beef over the past year, with a trip to Argentina as well (this was not the reason for my trip). I found grass fed to be tough and with less flavor compared to classic American beef. I wanted to like it because it's healthier with less "bad" fats and more omega 3 fatty acids from the grass it eats, but it's just not worth it.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 50
7/8/08 at 11:17am
Any restaurant in America that is serving grass fed beef will (in all likelihood) go out of their way to tell you, as it's overall extremely rare- growing, but still rare. I'm pretty sure only 3 restaurants in Richmond utilize it out of 100+ that serve steak nightly.

As far as whether or not it is 'best', impossible to say as it's up to each person's tastes. There is no arguing that grass is better for the animal and better for the consumer. Unfortunately, most of America grew up on corn-fed beef, so that 'taste' is now ingrained in them. For reference, I don't know anyone who has had, for example, a high quality grass fed steak and preferred it to high quality grain fed. I am in that category as well, but I'm slowly changing it.

We can only hope that one day the mass production, lot style, grain-fed way of raising cattle goes away.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 50
7/8/08 at 11:20am
Grass fed tastes much better to me. Corn-feeding is just an easier and cheaper way to raise cattle; it's used for that reason, not because it produces superior beef.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 50
7/8/08 at 11:20am
I much prefer grass-fed beef, but it may be because I grew up eating grass-fed and not corn-fed
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 50
7/8/08 at 11:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Manton View Post
Grass fed tastes much better to me. Corn-feeding is just an easier and cheaper way to raise cattle; it's used for that reason, not because it produces superior beef.

Yep, that is what my butcher tells me but I do not like the taste of grass fed and neither does he so I happily stick with prime midwest corn fed beef
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 50
7/8/08 at 11:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by edmorel View Post
Yep, that is what my butcher tells me but I do not like the taste of grass fed and neither does he so I happily stick with prime midwest corn fed beef

Well, there are trade-offs. Would I rather have a grass-fed select steak or a corn-fed prime? A wet aged grass-fed, or a dry aged corn-fed? A grass-fed filet, or a corn-fed rib steak?

Not so easy to say. Ideally, I would most often want a dry aged, grass-fed, USDA prime rib steak. I don't know where to get those.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 50
7/8/08 at 11:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Manton View Post
Well, there are trade-offs. Would I rather have a grass-fed select steak or a corn-fed prime? A wet aged grass-fed, or a dry aged corn-fed? A grass-fed filet, or a corn-fed rib steak?

Not so easy to say. Ideally, I would most often want a dry aged, grass-fed, USDA prime rib steak. I don't know where to get those.


Wet aged is crap (some NYC steakhouses do this, they should be shut down. Some also use choice beef, which is just a crime at their prices ). Filet's are for girls.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 50
7/8/08 at 11:41am
I used to have a source for grass fed, dry aged Choice and sometimes Prime New York strips. But never bone-in rib steaks.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 50
7/8/08 at 11:51am
I definitely prefer grass fed, from hamburger, to strip, to brisket. We have a butcher who sells dry aged, grass fed beef, and it has been a true revelation to me.
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 50
7/8/08 at 1:22pm
grass fed tastes different...americans are used to corn.

cows normally eat grass, and meat is more nutritious when they are fed their normal diet (cows aren't supposed to eat corn, obviously)
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 50
7/8/08 at 3:32pm
As a ruminant animal cows are intended to eat grass. Cow stomachs are not biologically intended to process grain; this unnatural process therefore leads to an unnatural taste.

If you want a more natural, ethical, and many people believe better-tasting beef, it is important to go with grass-fed.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 50
7/8/08 at 4:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Manton View Post
Well, there are trade-offs. Would I rather have a grass-fed select steak or a corn-fed prime? A wet aged grass-fed, or a dry aged corn-fed? A grass-fed filet, or a corn-fed rib steak?

Not so easy to say. Ideally, I would most often want a dry aged, grass-fed, USDA prime rib steak. I don't know where to get those.

Are there the same standards of grading grass-fed beef versus corn-fed? It would be hard to get a prime grass-fed ribeye because they inherently have less marbling.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 50
7/8/08 at 4:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HORNS View Post
Are there the same standards of grading grass-fed beef versus corn-fed? It would be hard to get a prime grass-fed ribeye because they inherently have less marbling.
You live in San Francisco, right? Just go to Prather Ranch at the Ferry Building. The meat is ten rungs better than anything else in the city, at minimum. It is grass fed, and dry aged. I don't know that it is graded, but there is only one grade available there. Awesome hot dogs, too. http://prmeatco.com/mission.html
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
Styleforum › Forums › Lifestyle › Social Life, Food & Drink, Travel › beef: grain fed versus grass fed