the beef thread, as in non vegetarian.

[runninboy]

Thought about this for some time. I get sick of some of the myths perpetuated by profit in the industry. And also general misinformation.
I don't know everything and welcome input.
Not doing this to offend vegetarians. and lets leave visuals out of it please.

Firstly not to offend texans, but they are some of the worst perpetrators of Myth. former Governor Anne Richards is the only "honest" Texan i have heard in relation to their beef. She said she grew up on texas beef and she said" have you ever eaten Longhorn? I grew up on it. Scrawny. grazing on scrub brush.It was terrible beef. We had to pound the lell out of it to be able to eat it" then she proceeded to give her recipe for Chicken Fried Steak.
I should find a link for it but that is not my point here. Sure Longhorn is no longer used the way it once was. But by and large the reason there is good texas BBQ is that was the only other thing you could do with such poor meat. Cook it long, cook it slow, and let it get its flavor from the fire. If that doesn't work and you can still taste the awful flavor cover it up with thick sugary tomato BBQ sauce. So i hate to hear people brag about texas beef, you either have to pound it down to nothing, dip it in buttermilk,eggs & flour and deep fat fry it so you are primarily eating fried breading with a hint of beef flavor, or cook it a long time and cover up the flavor with smoke & sauce.
tastes good but its a way to get money for a poor quality product.
which brings me to my other pet peeve.
Rare steak. People again have been conditioned that this is the way to consume meat. However it is untrue. Most beef you get in restaurants is not of the highest quality. When you cook beef the fat, edge fat & marbling turns from a solid to a liquid and that is where a great amount of flavor, good or bad comes from. Alot of meat comes from older animals, the more the fat breaks down through cooking the stronger the taste.
Rare or under cooked steak is hard to tell the difference between good quality well marbled meat and tough old commercial grade.
So "fine" establishments will encourage the myth, barely cook the meat then season and brush with salted butter. Cooked meat has a totally different flavor/texture to under cooked meat. The overall quality of beef is much better nowadays through cooperation within the industry but it could be better. Also the the slaughtering has become more efficient and humane in the last decade or so. If you have a cow that is not killed instantly and allowed to suffer they release adrenaline and it taints the flavor of the meat. It is kind of a tangy after taste and once you know what it is it makes it very difficult to continue eating. However you would never reach this flavor if you eat your steak medium rare.
Ok i got other things to do but i will add to this when i get a chance.

 

[krebs303]

Is there much of a difference in flavor/tenderness between grass fed and grain fed beef? I know in grass fed the fat is more of a yellow color.

 

[runninboy]

Is there much of a difference in flavor/tenderness between grass fed and grain fed beef? I know in grass fed the fat is more of a yellow color.

grass fed beef does tend to be slightly tougher, the grain adds marbling which makes the meat a little more tender. However if you use slightly younger cattle their meat is more tender , which might have something to do with when they were weaned. If you wean a calf off its mother at say 6 months and it feeds on grass only for 3 months it will be more tender than a calf on grass for a year.

However the difference just in general between grass fed & grain fed is not enough in my opinion to not eat grass fed. I think most people would not notice the difference.

 

[galaxy1]

Rare or under cooked steak is hard to tell the difference between good quality well marbled meat and tough old commercial grade.

utter rubbish. it is extremely easy to tell the difference. bad beef is not even edible rare. the best stuff melts in the mouth - hence being so highly prized.

 

[scribe]

"That's not food. That's what food eats."

 

[runninboy]

utter rubbish. it is extremely easy to tell the difference. bad beef is not even edible rare. the best stuff melts in the mouth - hence being so highly prized.

We will just have to diagree. I bet if i cooked that melt in your mouth steak you might be surprised at what you are actually getting. You can tenderize the hell out of older meat, baking soda is used in some establishments. There might be a personal discrepency as to what is "bad beef" the thing is when meat is rare you are basically only tasting the flesh. flesh & the blood, i could give you horse and it might melt in your mouth as well. Once you cook meat it tightens up, so only the best melts in your mouth. And the fat turns from a solid to a liquid and flavors the meat. Any discrepancies are much more apparent the longer you cook the meat.
As a side note to cooking hamburger. When you cook hamburger you can smell if something has been added. Old Lamb for instance, was frequently added to beef hamburger when i lived in england. You couldnt tell until you starting cooking.
In the US liver and other organ meats are used in hamburger to stretch it. i always grind my own. You can buy London broil for 1.98 a lb at Safeway and run it through the grinder, versus 3.50 a lb for hamburger at the same store.
the minute you grind the hamburger it starts to lose flavor, one reason In N Out burgers were always so good they ground their own meat the day it was cooked.
Putting aside flavor, just for food safety it is easy to get ecoli contamination on preground hamburger because you are depending on the safety of the processing facility that did it.
Ecoli on a cut of meat is almost unheard of. So if you bring home a cut of London broil, rinse it off, put it through a grinder, make it into patties and cook it using normal food saftey you would have a hard time ever getting sick.

 

[rickshaw]

Australian beef

I know someone who raises show cattle. They have raised National Champs which sell at auction for $75k US. The family went to Oz to visit son for a few weeks and couldn't stand the taste of the beef there. Why do you think that would have been? (the liked the island otherwise)

 

[JeffreyPerry]

Question

Ok, I love steak and don't mind paying a hefty chunk of change for a good one. The Metropolitan Grill in Seattle, Washington has a 50 oz Long bone Ribeye that runs 99$. I had it a couple times. Awesome!
Anyway, heres a question, whats the deal with the Japanese Wagyu beef? I saw one at the above restauraunt and it was almost a translucent white color (pre cooked). The thing goes for about 50$ for a 8 oz filet and I was curious if any one had experience with this type of beef?

 

[usedtobefast]

my favorite is BBQ brisket
not an expensive cut and not easy to do well.
yummy.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Ann Richards. What a classy lady, with a heart as big as Texas itself.

I was actually in Texas not long after W had defeated her for the governorship, and how surprised a lot of people were. What a huge event that turned out to be for our country.

Sorry, feel free to go back to the beef discussion.

 

[usedtobefast]

Ann Richards. What a classy lady, with a heart as big as Texas itself.

I was actually in Texas not long after W had defeated her for the governorship, and how surprised a lot of people were. What a huge event that turned out to be for our country.

Sorry, feel free to go back to the beef discussion.

you went there. W the zombie president...