For all my years, I've never really paid much attention to the type of beef I've been getting – as long as it wasn't too expensive, I just liked any steak I could get. Not anymore! I've been reading about the differences between grass-fed and grain-fed beef, and, yeah, what cows eat can really change the taste and texture of the meat we eat. But how much difference does it make in your experiences, and which one is better for what?
Grass-fed beef is supposed to have a more distinct, earthy flavor and can be leaner, while grain-fed beef often has a milder taste and tends to be more marbled with fat, which makes it juicier. But how do you know which one is better for what kind of cooking? If you guys have a preference, please tell me why!
Also, if you have any cooking tips specifically for either grass-fed or grain-fed beef, I'd love to hear those so I don't just cook them as usual on a frying pan. I'm wondering if one type is better suited for certain cooking methods like grilling or slow cooking, and I've found this site for getting the higher-quality stuff – wespeakmeat.com.
So, how do you think these feeding methods affect the quality, texture, and taste of the meat? Is there a noticeable difference in the final product, and how is each of them best cooked? Thanks!
by Xanf3rr
2 Comments
It’s more about the concept that cattle don’t eat corn naturally
A hunter friend put it this way: what an animal eats affects the taste of its meat more than what species it is. In my experience, grass-fed beef tastes more like lamb than like corn-fed beef.
This is also why people from outside the US complain that our chicken doesn’t taste like anything, and one part of the appeal of organic, less common or game meats: they haven’t been subject to the cycle of breeding and feeding for yield, which results in different flavor. However, people who are used to corn-fed beef can find grass-fed beef off-putting.
(By the way, the widespread availability of grass-fed beef (in the US, anyway) is a pretty recent phenomenon–growing a lot in the last 10 or so years–so if you weren’t paying attention, it probably was because there wasn’t anything to pay attention to.)
Personally, I like grass-fed in more beef-forward preparations, namely steaks at a lower temperature. It does apparently cook faster, but I don’t know how much of that is because of the meat itself versus that it tends to be leaner. When the beef is a substrate or mixed in with a lot of stuff, I don’t care as much about the difference.