What Have We Learned over Twenty Years Producing Grass-Finished Beef? By Anibal Pordomingo

SANTA ROSA, Argentina:

Markets, chefs and finally consumers dictate what pasture finished beef is. Interpreting the signals is not easy. Previous experiences, expectations, culture, education introduce biases far more important than objectivity of scientific facts. Products become what they are appreciated to be or we want them to be, even if objectively they are not.

Like many, I did my search for the best piece of steak. After visiting with chefs, I realized that the best steak is not always the best looking raw steak, not even the most marbled or better aged. I found correlation with animal age to be weak, and not well correlated with breed. In addition, to my surprise every chef seems to have his own technique validated by customer satisfaction. I believe now, some have the ability to turn a doubtful piece into a tender and tasty experience. 

Conversely, others can only be successful and reliable if starting with tender well-finished beef. After watching chefs and listening to their remarks, I gathered 20 tips that I list below which could help producers to adjust their grazing systems and visions.

1. All cuts with intramuscular and outside fat are easier to grill than lean beef. Fat is easy to remove if in excess.
2. If too lean, it is easy to burn over dry pasture-finished beef. Moisture added on the outside does not solve the problem. However, chefs pointed out that marbling does.
3. Definitely there is seasonality in quality and flavor.
4. Fresh meat is always better than frozen.
5. Dry aging is preferred to avoid odd flavor, but drip loss is to be watched. Lean animals lose more moisture than fat ones during aging.
6. Pasture-finished beef is less reliable than grain-fed. Quality has to be closely watched. Many chefs value information on ori- gin, animal category, fattening pasture, age and time at harvest, aging and freezing technology.
7. Searing the meat is relevant, but too hot and fast can over burn a crust and create undesirable flavors.
8. Some suggest that slow cooking initially can help with tenderness as long as fat is not short. Be aware that slow cooking can yield dry meat.
9. Salt seems to be a must prior to grilling and seasoning too. Recipes for flavoring techniques vary with every cook.
10. Cuts with the natural protection of layers of connective tissue, such as flank, should be cooked slowly to favor tenderness. High heat at the end completes the grilling with a crisp outside layer (reverse searing). Fattening cattle without using grains is a difficult task, yet it is the core of pastured beef.
11. A visible crust but moistness is necessary. A dry outside layer is rejected.
12. Slow chilled meats tend to loose excessive water after thawing. Always use fast freezing chillers to freeze meat.
13. Steak size comes after tenderness, juiciness, flavor and color. Thickness is often more relevant.
14. Although people may know about the differences in cuts, tough meat is never appreciated. Before presenting a tough or unpredictable piece of meat, chefs advise to implement tenderiization techniques.
15. At a restaurant, the customer expects grassfed beef to be remarkable. Therefore, it has to be.
16. A good steak creates the feeling about meat. People are more inclined to acquire grassfed beef for their own cooking after a good experience at a restaurant. A good, flavorful hamburger can create the same effect.

17. Hamburger grassfed meat should not be underestimated regarding quality. A significant fraction of the carcass goes to hamburger and they need to be good. This reflects more on the cooking side than on the meat itself. Adding fat to hamburger meat to adjust flavor is difficult with extra lean carcasses.

18. Outside white fat cover is considered from younger animals and often preferred, but excessive thickness is segregated against. Consumers do not segregate against a slight yellow tint on the fat (likely from grassfed) but brightness is central.
19. Prolonged shelf display can affect perceptions of an unfamiliar product. In particular, shelf life of extra lean beef is shorter that for marbled beef. Dark red and opaque meat is always rejected.
20. Selling a farm story and environment stewardship helps to sell but does not replace a poor eating experience.

For more than 20 years, we have worked on developing forage and management plans to produce quality grassfed beef, which as most agree, has to be tender, juicy, appealing in color and texture, with fat but not fatty, and consistent. From the animal side, there is consensus that early maturing, low frame (4) easy marbling, and naturally tender genetics help to accomplish the quality target. It is also understood that harvesting at two and a half years of age or younger is likely to capture consistent tenderness. Having then the time frame restriction, the challenge is on the pasture side. Fattening cattle without using grains is a difficult task, yet it is the core of pastured beef. We can grow cattle on pastures and then decide to feedlot them. This is a financial issue more than a technical one. There is little restriction on animal growth and development. Unless severe, a feed restriction can be compensated for later. Likewise, long hauling and weather are easy to deal with if we are just backgrounding cattle. Once the animals are a year old, forages can be poor quality speculating with compensatory growth. Fattening at a young age on grass does not allow for the luxury of low gains for long periods. Marbling shortens that luxury even more. ■

Dr. Anibal Pordomingo is both a grassfed researcher, renown world-wide educator and private grass finisher in the Argentine Pampas. He has spent a lifetime perfecting production systems that allow healthful grassfed beef to compete quality-wise with grainfed beef under harsh climatic conditions.