5 Easy Tips for Cooking 100% Grass-Fed Beef!
If you’ve received a delivery from me, I may have asked if you had ever cooked with our grass-fed before. This is because actual 100% grass-fed beef both cooks a little bit differently than the grain/corn fed beef that you can usually find at the grocery store.
The reason is simple: it’s all about the fat! Animals that eat grain, corn and other feed have a lot more saturated fat content than grass-fed cattle. However, less fat doesn’t mean dry or stringy. In fact, grass-fed is more flavorful and tender than feedlot beef when cooked properly. Here’s some tips on how to make the best dishes with your 100% grass-fed beef!
1. Don’t overcook it.
A simple task that is surprisingly overlooked! Every recipe online is engineered towards commonly available feedlot beef from the grocery store. Shorten your cook times by about half to start, then check on it, and incrementally increase the time until you get your desired result. I use an internal meat thermometer to check where I’m at in the cooking process rather than a timer. This ensures you end up with cuts that are perfectly done.
2. Use more oil/butter than you normally would.
Fats protect the muscle fibers while cooking so use a little bit more than the recipe or your normal cooking instincts would allow. This may sound entirely bizarre, but my go-to for searing a steak in a cast iron pan… is Hellman’s mayonnaise and brown sugar. The egg in mayo holds the oil to the meat and results in a nice carmelized exterior. It does NOT taste like mayo, I promise! We also love cooking with Kerrygold Irish butter and brown sugar.
3. Defrost it slowly!
It’s entirely fine to defrost a frozen bag in lukewarm water to speed up the process, but the texture will suffer a little bit. For best results, take the frozen cut and put in the fridge a day or two before using. Then before you’re about to cook, set it out and let it get closer to room temperature. Don’t worry germaphobes, the bags are commercially vacuum sealed, so your beef will be protected.
4. Be an overachiever and dry brine!
Putting salt, pepper and whatever spices you like (no liquid) onto a frozen cut before placing it into the fridge does some miraculous things. The salt draws out the water but then it gradually seeps back in, softening the muscle fibers and adding whatever spices deep into the beef. Be sure to rinse off the outside and pat it dry before cooking to make sure it’s not too salty!
5. When slow cooking roasts, go even lower and slower!
If you’re doing an overnight slow cook on any roast, I like to tell people to put their crock pot on the warm function instead of the low. I always sear or briefly broil a roast with the techniques above, and then pop it into some broth or water with bouillon and an onion! Also, DON’T salt heavily early on a slow cook. Add salt in towards the end. Water that’s too salty or acidic will make the meat stringy. Put the roast in before you go to bed and check on it when you wake up. It should be tender and moist! If you’re serving later in the day, pop it into the fridge and take out and put back on warm 2 hours before serving.
With these 5 tips, you should have no problem making some incredible meals. If you have any tricks up your sleeve, let us know your favorite techniques!
Eat well, live well, and don’t burn the steak!
-Max Kruemcke
Co-Owner, Bastrop Cattle Company