"maxine in ri" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 7 Jul 2005 16:20:04 -0400, " dwacon"
> > connected the dots and wrote:
>
> ~
> ~"maxine in ri" > wrote in message
> .. .
> ~
> ~> There's an article in the NYTimes today, Wednesday the 6th, about
> the
> ~> difference in fat in grain-fed and grass-fed beef.
> ~
> ~
> ~Details, please?
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/06/di...tml?oref=login
>
> In her San Francisco kitchen one afternoon, she was experimenting with
> two hefty T-bones, a barbecue grill and a hot pan. The point was to
> show the difference between a steak from a steer that was finished
> with grain and one that had eaten pasture all its life.
>
> The grain-fed steak was a good one, from Niman Ranch. The grass-fed
> beef was from Western Grasslands, a cooperative of Northern California
> ranchers.
>
> On the grill or in a hot sauté pan, the difference in performance was
> marked.
>
> The chemical composition of the fat from cows that eat no grain is
> different. The fat feels lighter in the mouth and cooks faster because
> the melting point is lower.
>
> The trick, Ms. Des Jardins said, is to cook that steak more gently.
> Don't sear the meat as hard as you might a grain-fed steak. Don't cook
> it directly over the highest heat on the grill. If you prefer to cook
> a thick steak about 10 minutes a side, cut the time to seven minutes.
> Grass-fed meat cooks in about 30 percent less time, and it can
> overcook before you know it. Those who like their meat much past
> medium will be out of luck: grass-fed beef tends to lose most of its
> moisture when beyond a pink center.
>
> Side by side, both T-bones were delicious. The more conventional,
> grain-fed steak had the beefy rich fatty taste most Americans savor in
> a steak. Grass-fed beef can be less reliable, in flavor and in
> texture. From the grill, the grass-fed T-bone had a more complex and
> subtle flavor than its grain-fed counterpart. But from the sauté pan,
> it lost some of its delicacy and tasted gamier.

I grew up eating home butchered, grass fed beef from my uncle's in
Wisconsin. No thanks. Moose was better. Commercial beef was better.
Venison from Pine county was almost as good. You yups can spend big
money for bad meat if you want. I can even hook you up with a guy that
will raise a steer for you on grass or whatever you want him to feed it,
for as long as you want to feed it. Killing and cutting can be arranged
through a place in the local small town. Of course, not much grass in
winter, so you would need to think about what kind of hay or other feed
to use. He can't do very many, so get your dibs in early.

del cecchi