Dear Conscious Carnivore,
When we made the commitment to eat only our own grass-finished beef, from cows we birthed and raised ourselves, I thought it would be easy. I was already an experienced cook, loved to spend time in the kitchen, and assumed I could use our meat with any recipe I was used to. Especially the steaks: I imagined I could throw one on the grill and voilà, a tender, juicy steak would appear on my plate minutes later. Looking back now, I had a lot to learn!
The truth is, grass-finished steak does NOT taste the same as a steak from a corn-fed, Midwestern, factory farm. Cows raised on corn and grain have different—more—fat. That fat marbles differently and tastes different. And that’s the taste almost all of us grew-up on and are used to.
Making the switch to conscious beef consumption, and eating beef grown locally, on local Texas grass, from your local farmer, requires—I’d venture—re-learning to cook steak. Grass-finished beef doesn’t do well cooked quickly. It doesn’t tenderize as quickly. It requires a quick burst of heat, followed by longer, slower heat, to tenderize it to perfection.
After much experimentation, I’m happy to share the following recipes and methods to get you enjoying your locally-sourced, grass-finished meat in no time!
– Chef Charly (of Grass To Food)