Why Does Missouri Grass Fed Meat Taste So Surprisingly Better?

The Surprising Taste of Grass Fed Meat

The only real disagreement I have with corn-fed beef is that it's comparatively tasteless compared to grass fed meat. At least by my experience in Missouri.

Not too long ago, I was a guest of a client at an upscale St. Louis restaurant. Pretty fancy overall, but not too many forks to figure out.

$50 entrees, though. (That client was working to impress us, alright.)

I had their New York Strip steak just to see how it would taste.

It didn't.

Once you got past the heavily peppered outside, it didn't have any real distinguishing flavor. None.

Now I'm used to grass-fed steak and so I know how it can be tender or can be shoe leather. But it always has flavor.  It's own distinctive flavor.

This one, all $50 worth, didn't have any.

Because that flavor comes from the various grasses that beef consumed, particularly the last 60 days or so. What these guys got was a corn-finished beef which is fattened on corn for the last 30-60 days or so. Yes, that's the problem - corn robs the flavor from the meat.

What corn does which grass won't is to add more fat onto those animals (see What about Cholesterol and Fats?). That makes them cook quicker with a higher temperature. So you can get that "char-broiled" flavor. But what is the actual flavor? Burnt fat. Try this yourself. Cut away all the fat and what they cooked it in. Unless they marinaded it all night before (which should really be done with any beef), you won't really taste anything but texture. Because it has no scent, and most of taste is in the scent.

Marinading actually imbues the beef with some sort of juicy or alcoholic flavor, which then mostly stays in on cooking and makes the beef more tender.

Years ago, I ran into that lack of taste problem - which again, you can try for yourself - at a fast food restaurant. Buy their best seller, not their high or low end. Now take the burger out and set it to the side. Leave as much of the special sauce and everything else between the buns. Now bite in and taste. What you do get? Outside of a loss of a little texture, the taste doesn't actually change.

But that reason is also that they are buying the cheapest hamburger they can get - which isn't from Prime or Choice carcasses, you can bet on it.

Another story. We once had an old cow who had injured herself during birthing. We had to have her processed on the spot and then taken to a processor to be made into hamburger. She was anywhere from 12 to 14 years old. That hamburger went to friends and friends of friends. But you know what - they loved it. Absolutely. We even have standing orders for hamburger now from some of those people.  Should have been tough and so on - that's why we didn't risk it and it all went to 'burger.

But that cow had been on nothing but grass it's entire life. Sure, I fed it some good hay and some cob-corn pieces in her last days. Maybe a week. So that wouldn't have created that change.

I just like grass fed beef because it actually has flavor.  It's not the same as deer, which is far more flavorful but really tough unless you stew it a long time and cut it into very tiny portions.  And some people like their food so bland that they can't stand beef like that.

However, the majority of the people we have sold this to just keep coming back for more. Out of their way, in fact.

That's where the flavor is. And they know it.

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How and why to buy wholesale beef direct...

Missouri Grass Fed Meat For You to Buy - Wholesale Beef by Quarters

Of course, our beef is special. Everyone's is. But seriously, we work to constantly improve the quality of the beef we feed here in Missouri as meat to buy, based on the needs of our clients, our own "taste tests" and what is good for our resident cows and calves (and the bull, too.)

What you get with Worstell Farms beef is based on how we raise them:

• Only fresh grass and water - all they can eat.
• No growth hormones or additives. They get needed salt and minerals as supplements.
• Antibiotics only when they prescribed by a doctor (vet) to cure an illness.
• Our beef has been selectively bred to thrive on grass, not grain.
• Constant humane treatment in natural environments.

All of these, combined, result in incredibly good-tasting beef. And meanwhile, these animals are also improving the pastures they feed from, as part of the circle of life.

We sell by the wholesale beef quarter.

Meaning that we have the cow processed according to your preferences and what quarter is available for you. The processor calls you to see what cuts you want. (If you want all the best cuts, it's better to buy a half and then share it with family and guests.

The average quarter from our beef will give you about 80 lbs. of various cuts (depending on how many bones you need or want). Our grass fed, smaller-frame animals are lighter in weight, but bigger in flavor. We've found that an average freezer (stand-alone, not your typical refrigerator-freezer combo) will hold this easily and give a couple or small family enough to last them just over half a year, depending on how many parties they host. Figure with what you share with friends and family, you may need to order once or twice a year.

The reason for quarters in in the way beef is cut (and you can see the parts charts at What Beef Cuts Are). The steaks are mostly in the front half and these are the most popular cuts. Our culture has put more emphasis on cuts which can be quickly seared on a hot barbecue, so chuck roasts aren't as popular. (Very little demand for ox-tail soup these days...)

Can't I just get hamburger?

Occasionally - and very rarely - we have a demand for substantial amounts of ground beef. We'll try to partner you up with someone else with similar requests. Now note: this is some of the most flavorful ground beef you can find, since all the cuts which would have been sirloin or other steaks are now mixed with everything else.

If you partner in on half a beef, then you can request ahead to have your half all ground if you want. Your cost is the same. (Note that most processors charge extra for patties. If you make your own, you'll save...)

On other pages in this section, we go into more detail of exactly what puts the flavor into (and takes it out of ) grass fed beef, plus other factors such as stress in handling and how they are processed.

And as usual, you can contact us for any additional information.

Special Processing Requests

You are buying a partial share in a live animal as a down payment and then paying the difference in service charges. So how you get your beef cut is up to you. Again, we process for the most possible cuts, which makes for thinner steaks than those $50 ones in high-priced restaurants.

As you buy on the half or whole, you have a greater option in how you can get your beef processed. So have them cut as thick as you want - you'll get fewer, but boy will those be impressive and tasty!

Just let us know when we contact you about the processing date, so we can then pass this on to our processor.

We are currently investing in a "buyers club" option, where we will process a beef for just steaks and hamburger, and members of that club are able to purchase smaller quantities, but on a strictly first-come, first-served basis. The beef is owned by the club and so is a benefit to members only. Contact us for more details.

Update: Sorry, we're out of beef for this year - if we haven't contacted you about your order, contact us to get on next year's list.

We only process so many beef a year. Because we are a small, local farm that is more interested in delivering lots of value through our beef.

And our harvest season is in Spring, right up to June, not all year round.

As more people find out about our farm, more people want our product. Unfortunately, we can't provide our beef to everyone. And some people simply live too far away.

So we did some research and found U.S. Wellness Meats for everyone else. They are another Missouri grass fed beef producer, who also deals in other produce from local farmers nearby. And they ship next day to your front door. Well worth checking out.

(Get more info here.)

 

 

via worstellfarms.com