How to Cook a Grass-fed Steak

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Welcome to the delicious world of grass-fed beef. Aside from being more sustainable, grass-fed beef has been touted to be healthier than its grain-fed counterpart. Our friends at Brasstown Beef work diligently to ensure their farming operation works in symbiosis with the environment so they can raise healthy, happy animals and pass those benefits on to you.

So what is grass-fed beef? In short, it’s meat from cows that only eat grass. Pretty simple, huh? The effects of this diet are much more complex than that easy answer. After all, you are what you eat. Changing the diet of a cow changes the nutritional composition of that cow's meat. For example, grass-fed beef has been found to have as much as 92% fewer calories than the same cut of grain-fed meat.

There are a few other key differences in grass fed beef that will be helpful to keep in mind as you enjoy this week’s Pan Seared Steak.

Color

Grass-fed beef is different from grain fed in many ways, including color. Grass-fed beef tends to be browner as it thaws. This is because it is not treated with the typical chemicals that keep conventional meat looking red.

Cook Time

Grass-fed beef cooks about 30% faster than grain fed beef. Remember that meat continues to cook after you’ve removed it from the heat, so remove you beef when its 10 degrees lower than desired temperature then allow it to rest and cook the rest of the way. Grass-fed beef reaches it’s peak tenderness at rare to medium-rare temperatures. Try to avoid overcooking it. If well done is your preference, try cooking it at a lower temperature for longer.

Preheating

Always preheat your grill, pan or oven before cooking. You always want the meat to go onto a hot cooking surface

Cook Tools

Avoid puncturing meats with a fork when cooking, as this will release the moisture and flavor. Instead, use tongs or a spatula to keep flavor locked in.

Cutting

Always cut your meat against the ‘grain’ for maximum tenderness. Flank steak allows you to see the direction of the muscles. You’ll wan tot cut across these lines rather than with them.

Join the grass-fed revolution and order your pan seared steak today!

Order Your Grass-fed Steak >>