Which of these eggs just doesn’t belong here? Can you guess which is a store-bought organic egg and which are freerange pastured eggs?
So, I’ve seen a few articles about the benefits of grassfed beef and such and I thought that maybe some of you might be interested in finding out where to find/buy some. To find grassfed meats and dairy in your area go to eatwild.com. (Maybe this has been posted before but my search found nothing and I’m new here.)
Personally, because I’m from Texas and a red-meat kinda girl (chicken’s alright, fish is okay, but give me a steak anyday), I’m fond of the grassfed longhorn from Bandera Grassland. The longhorn is naturally lean, and lower in cholesterol and fat than even turkey, and is higher in protein content. It’s got a good omega3:6 ratio of about 3-4:1 and a higher CLA content than your average store-bought meats. Plus it’s tasty, no strange ‘foreign’ or gamey taste like you might find from buffalo.
If you’re in the Austin area you might try visiting one of the local farmer’s markets, I believe the bigger one is the Sunset Valley farmer’s market which is where those eggs up there are from (Bradshaw farms). Heck I thought it was worth it to drive the hour and a half up there to get my weekly supplies of meats, eggs, veggies and even dairy.
Of course, eatwild.com will have local producers from all over the country and you can get in contact with them to find out about shipping or markets where you can find grassfed products. Hope this is useful for y’all.
Thanks hooter, what a great little website! Not only do I have like 4 farms within a half hour, there is one that is like 5 minutes away that I drive by all the time.
This is a great topic. I don’t have a lot of experience with grassfed cattle, but I’ve been getting grassfed buffaloe for a few years now. The first thing I noticed after picking the meat up from the butcher was that the fat is yellow. Very yellow. My father-in-law, who has been a cowboy and rancher his whole life, explained that it was do to the grass feeding. Apparently, the feedlot diet makes the fat white, like most people are so used to seeing in the grocery store.
I just wish I could get longhorn around the Tucson area. That’s good quality meat.
Nearly every beef farmer in America has primarily grassfed cows. They take them to the stock yards to sell mostly to the feed lot farmers. They fatten up on grain based feed and are sold primarily to the meat processors.
You can go directly to the farmer. There are also places that will process your cow into cuts of beef. Better have a big freezer because you will need it.
[quote]tall tom wrote:
Nearly every beef farmer in America has primarily grassfed cows. They take them to the stock yards to sell mostly to the feed lot farmers. They fatten up on grain based feed and are sold primarily to the meat processors.
You can go directly to the farmer. There are also places that will process your cow into cuts of beef. Better have a big freezer because you will need it.[/quote]
That scenario is a very rare occurance anymore. Feedlots are huge operations - 30 - 150 thousand head operations. If you want to buy direct from a producer, you have to buy the heifer/steer when they weigh around 600 pounds. Any heavier and the producer has already taken them to the sale barn.
At 600 pounds - the beef is too young and too lean to make good meat. You would have to feed the animal out yourself which would take over a year on decent hay and no growth stimulants.
It’s way easier to just go to a certified grass-fed/range-fed beef seller and buy it from him. Unless you have the land and the time to invest in feeding your own.
I’m travelling to Dallas (Allen, specifically) this weekend. I will try to find a place and buy my friends some free range grass fed beef for Monday.
I love Texas. I almost moved there 2 years ago when I was unemployed but then I suddenly got a job, so now I’m still here in Chicago.
[quote]tall tom wrote:
There are also places that will process your cow into cuts of beef. Better have a big freezer because you will need it.[/quote]
Like that one Lucy episode where she ordered “two sides of beef” thinking she’d get a few steaks. She ended up putting them in the boiler room for some reason. Then the smell of cooked steaks started wafting through the vents.
[quote]tall tom wrote:
Nearly every beef farmer in America has primarily grassfed cows. They take them to the stock yards to sell mostly to the feed lot farmers. They fatten up on grain based feed and are sold primarily to the meat processors.
You can go directly to the farmer. There are also places that will process your cow into cuts of beef. Better have a big freezer because you will need it.[/quote]
this is a great way to go. and if the farmer won’t sell less than a side he’ll prolly offer to call ya when he finds someone else who wants a 1/4 or just put up a sign at the gym.
[quote]rainjack wrote:
Buffalo is better for you than beef.
I don’t think chickens eat grass. They are not ruminants. [/quote]
Chickens get up to 15% of their diet from grasses and bugs, the rest of course is grain. What’s important is that chickens be Pastured… the equivalent of grassfed when it comes to beef. Just look at the difference in the eggs up there… in person the difference is even more pronounced. The pastured eggs are deep tangerine orange and the organic grocery store egg is a pale yellow.
Also, yeah buffalo is better but some people, like moi, can’t get used to the very strong, different flavor of it. So longhorn is the next best thing. Also, you could try the longhorn-buffalo mix: beefalo… i’ve heard it’s good but have been unable to find any myself.
Also, just in case some of you don’t know, organic doesn’t hold a candle to grassfed. Once you feed the cattle grain their whole fatty acid balance and CLA content goes outta wack.
For those of you interested in bulk longhorn, Bandera grassland will ship to anywhere in the US, its just best that you order a good bit of beef because refrigerated shipping is kinda pricey. Their website for those who are interested is www.banderagrassland.com and I believe their phone number is 830-562-beef. Talk to either Don or Debbie Davis… very nice, knowledgable people. Now that I’m no longer in the Austin area I’ll be ordering in bulk from them.
I’ve had both. In my opinion, grain fed has better flavor than than grass fed. But I’m not slamming the grass fed.
I think the problem with mass produced beef is not so much what they eat (given a choice between grass and cotton seed - cattle always eat the cotton seed first)as it is the additives in the feed, the ungodly amounts of anti-biotics, and the growth stimulants.
[quote]rainjack wrote:
I think the problem with mass produced beef is not so much what they eat (given a choice between grass and cotton seed - cattle always eat the cotton seed first
[/quote]
We are not cows of course but I imagine that there are similar negative effects just as if we were to get all our carbs from grains. Given a choice between vegetables and grains, we eat the grains first as well. Doesn’t mean that it’s good or immaterial.
Though you are right there are many other bad things in there.
I have never had grass fed beef. Is it gamey at all? I know I don’t like buffalo. Though I do like free range chicken eggs much more than other eggs.
I have never noticed the differences in beef.It may be that I have always had it from the same feed. The big difference around here is the Black Angus, but I guess that is just the breeding.
I do like that wild game taste though. The deer around here eat everything but the kitchen sink. Their diets range from apples and nuts to ornamental shrubs and flowers. They definitely taste realy good. I kinda wish we could just shoot them from right out the window, but I live in a residential area, and that makes people nervous.
