Beta-agonists? Good thing cattle don't race bikes.

I was reading an article in a trade magazine the other day which was commenting about the average carcass weight of recent beef. Beef has gotten bigger from some feedlots and the reasons for this are multiple. One is simply introducing larger breeds into the mix. This has been going on for hundreds of years and it is a natural way to increase size. For example if a breeder mixes an Angus with a larger Charolais you end up with bigger beef that should have some of the higher quality traits of the Angus. Advances in breeding and the ability to track generations have resulted in seedstock ranchers growing exactly the type of cattle they want, and for many that may mean larger cattle.

 There are other reasons why cattle have gotten larger. Feed is being managed in ways that can maximize the growth of cattle. Fermenting hay and steaming grains can bring out more nutrients so cattle can actually grow on less feed. Keeping track of the animals diet and exact ration is very important for growth.

 Another aspect is the use of steroids and hormones. Many cattle are implanted with a steroid in their ear upon arriving at the feedyard. This steroid is released for a few days and then the animal goes through a long period of feeding before it is sent to market. The steroid is, for the most part, depleted to low levels before slaughter and the end result is about a four percent gain in size. So this will explain some of the gain but most feedlots  have been using these for years.

 Why are cattle getting even bigger these days? We cut a boneless 0x1 striploin the other day that weighed 17.4 lbs! Thats big and impossible to cut into a thick 8 oz portion steak for a quality restaurant.

  Another tool being used by feedlots today is a different feed supplement called beta- agonists. Beta -agonists are used on humans for asthma relief. Are these cattle having trouble breathing?? Not exactly. Beta-agonists are used to grow muscle faster by increasing the efficiency of the feed. Here is a very good explanation and shows the different types used today. http://fyi.uwex.edu/wbic/files/2010/11/Beta-Agonists-Factsheet.pdf The gains are substantial and the real savings is in the amount of feed the animal needs to grow. The most popular brand name is zilpaterol hydrochloride (Zilmax) is produced by Merck.
  Here is a bit of text from a beef grower about the use of a beta-agonist...

Beta agonists, like ractopamine, work by activating the beta 2 receptor on the muscles of my cattle. This binds specific beta receptors in the muscle cell membranes and increases protein synthesis. What does this mean exactly?


1.As animals grow larger and get close to the time of harvest, their bodies tend to turn nutrients into fat instead of lean muscle. Ractopamine encourages or repartitions those nutrients into muscle growth through protein synthesis rather than fat deposition.

2.This allows the animal to make more lean muscle (what we want to eat), and less fatty tissue (what we do not want to eat).

3.By making more muscle and less fat from nutrients, the animal becomes a more efficient user of its food thereby reducing the total environmental footprint of its food production. http://feedyardfoodie.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/the-great-puzzle-what-role-does-a-beta-agonist-play-on-my-farm/

 

 So this explains why many cattle have gotten larger and also why they are leaner. Lean beef may have eye appeal in the super market but not in a fine steakhouse. And the beef's flavor is also effected. There seems to be less depth of flavor because it is taking less time to grow cattle so they end up in the market younger, therfore less time to develop more complex taste. But as we see drought conditions continuing in the midwest and west, we will see more and more use of beta-agonists. As feed prices soar, cattle growers want to sell faster. Everyday on feed costs them big bucks.

 Beta-agonists have been deemed safe by the FDA but here is an article that sheds more light on the discussion. http://chronicle.com/article/As-Beef-Cattle-Become/131480/  It certainly is an interesting tread of comments afterward. Some program beef processors, such as those seeking higher marbling and smaller sized cattle, have asked feedlots to not overuse the beta-agonists so the beef can fatten. Any natural beef program will not allow them.

  The size of beef has gotten larger, no doubt, and the cyclists in the Tour de France have gotten faster, they are both using similar substances to grow muscle. Beta-agonists are one of the many substances banned in professional bike racing. The use of  beta-agonists is banned from animal feed in the EU and many other countries around the world. I'm not an expert in pharmaceutical study and I don't know the long term chronic effects of the use of these substances. I'm a butcher looking for marbling and flavor and some of today's beef seems to be lacking in both. I'm also a cyclist and long time racing fan and that sport has also lost a lot of flavor in recent years.

 

 

Austrian Butcher Style

 Back in the spring I had the opportunity to visit Peter Trixner who lives near Klagenfurt, Austria. Peter and his wife Petra own a beautiful ranch on a hillside overlooking the Austrian Alps in the distance. They are raising Tajima Wagyu and Tajima - Charolais crosses. These cattle are some of the first high end Japanese genetics found in Europe. The beef from their first slaughter was a bit lean and Peter was just beginning to understand the feeding regiment that it takes to reach the high fat scores typically found in these breeds. Peter is hoping to use his beef in the hotel restaurants that he holds interest in. The Lake's hotel located in nearby Portschach am Worthersee was featuring some of Peter's beef this summer on their fun casual menu. I worked with Peter to develop a dry aging room for the beef in the hotel so he can start to feature some real steakhouse quality taste. Lake's is a resort hotel that was featuring an ecclectic menu catering to summer guests and the wagyu would be a perfect fit. www.mylakehotel.com
http://www.okamiwagyu.com/

 While I was there we broke down two beef sides at a local agricultural school. The school is for local farmers and features a state of the art slaughter room, excellent hydraulic lifts and a large cooler for aging the sides. They also have a processing room for sausage and salami making including a good size smokehouse. The butcher instructors watched as I broke down the beef in a US style which is very different from their traditional Austrian ways. We tend to make more cross cuts through muscle groups where they tend to leave muscle group intact.
 The Austrians also don't normally keep certain cuts as steak. Flank, skirt and hanger are rarely kept for dry cooking. I also took apart the sirloin into small sections for steak medallions. The cutting went on for the afternoon and we talked about our styles and the advantages for each. The outcomes were that we decided to leave some cuts whole to better dry age them and we also vacuum packed a lot of grinding meat. i think it was really important for Peter to see how much of his carcass is not going to be steak unless he hits the high marbling scores associated with Wagyu beef. Artisan butchery is much more about thinking outside of the norm and seeing another culture's style for cutting really allowed me to realize the possibilities. We cut the tenderloin out of the entire side and then cut a full loin and rib section, something none of us had ever done before. It was huge, like a giant center cut pork loin. Peter had his chef at the hotel dry age it for two weeks. I wish I could have gotten back to taste it.
  Whether its Austrian, Italian, Japanese, French or US style of cutting, there are always alternative ways to take apart a carcass.

Grass Fed Fat?

About two years ago we got in a local beef that was range fed. I wanted to show the class what a grass fed beef looked like and how it tasted. This one was a deep red color and had so little fat I thought it was an old dairy cow. It was a Scottish Highland breed which is supposed to be a great grass feeder, being small and able to eat a lot of forage. Obviously the grower didn't exactly know how to raise beef and was just tapping into the "local" marketing.

Last year I had the opportunity to see Red Devon beef that were raised outside of New Paltz, NY. The pair of stocky steer had been feeding on a lush pasture for most of the summer and looked very healthy. About three weeks later I was at Fleisher's in Kingston and they were cutting the Devons. The exterior fat was thick and the rib eyes were loaded with marbling, to the point of excess. I got to sample a small piece and the flavor was complex and delicious while the tenderness was also very good. ( View the photo below)

Last week I attended a seminar put on by the NY Beef Industry Council. It was hosted by Brookfield Farms near Hartford NY. The farm is owned by Ami Goldstein (a CIA grad!) and is managed by her daughter Jen. The seminar was wide ranging and focused on various aspects of the beef industry. But what I found interesting was the Jen had begun rotationally grazing the cattle and found that they were fattening on grass and only needed a little grain towards the end of their feeding to finish them to a very high quality.

Finally I toured one of the world's finest meat purveyors, Debragga and Spitler in NYC, where my former TA Kevin McCann is a manager. He showed me a bunch of dry aged perfect super prime beef and also some dry aged Wagyu. We were walking through one cooler and he stopped by a really well marbled carcass. "This is pure grass-fed from the Finger Lakes region" he said. It once again proved you can fatten on pure grass. ( view photo of Finger Lakes grass fed)

The preception of grass fed is that it will be very lean, tough and dry tasting with a strong gamey flavor. There have been a lot of articles written on the taste differences with chefs or tasters likes and dislikes. Its always the same, grass fed vs. grain fed but no real info on what sort of grass fed. I find grass fed varies greatly depending on how and where it was raised. You wouldn't simply compare French wine to a US wine. You would be much more specific, region, grape etc. Tasting grass fed beef is similar. You need to know what breed it is and where it came from, how was it pastured. Summertime grass or well fermented haylage can provide the nutrients needed for fattening. Breed figures into it but most of your typical meat breeds will do OK on grass ; Angus and heritage breeds that are not in the mainstream do very well. Breeds such as Red Devon, Belted Galloway, Scottish Highland all can fatten on grass. But the grass is the important part. High energy grass that is not overgrazed will yield fat cattle. With the summer season in full swing and the farmer's markets starting to rev up, look for some quality fatty grass fed. Tell those that are trying to sell the super lean stuff to make some grind.

Wagyu Woes

The other day I assigned some research for my class after reading some disturbing news reports about Wagyu beef in Japan. The assignment was basic, write about the situation in Japan and also find out about Wagyu production in Australia. Being a casual sidebar assignment I allowed a simple web source to be the citation. This is what Maxim Pettersen handed in....

What happened to Wagyu in Japan?:

Japan's prized Miyazaki beef is under threat from the country's first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease since 2000, which has spread to more than 100 frams. Foot- and- mouth disease is a highly contagious and sometimes fatal viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, and pigs, as well as antelope, bison and other wild bovids, and deer. The disease is highly transmissible and the icubation period has a range between 2- 12 days. It is characterized by high fever, blisters inside the mouth, drooling, blisters on the feet that cause lameness. The outbreak in Japan has forced the slaughtering of 49 seed bulls, leaving only six prized seed bulls that breed the tender beef from Miyazaki. Prime Minister Yukio Hatayama has pledged 100 billion yen ( $1.08 billion dollars) to assist farmers who are expected to lose 16 billion yen from slaughtering their livestock. The foot and mouth otbreak, also known as FMVD, was detected on April 20th, and has spread to 111 farms in Miyazaki, Japan's south, involving more than 85,000 cattle, and pigs. Fears are growing that it may spread beyond Miazaki. http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1259427/Foot-and-mouth-threatens-Wagyu-beef

Wagyu Production in Australia:

Australia received its first Wagyu genetics from a Wagyu female in 1990. Frozen semen and embryos have been available since 1991 and there have been numerous imports of live purebreds into Australia, and specifically in 1997, the first fullbloods came to Australia. The Australian Wagyu Association is the largest breed association outside of Japan. Both Fullblod and Wagyu Croos bred cattle are farmed in Australia for domestic and overseas markets. The Wagyu cattle represent only 100,000 of the 28.8 million cattle in Australia, however takes up 40% of the Australian feedlot space in a 12 month period. The FMVD outbreak that has banned the export of Wagyu cattle in Japan, has increased the demand for Australian Wagyu producers, and some producers hope to double their exports to overseas markets such as the U.S. http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2010/06/07/193891business-news.html

Steam Bath

The other day we were cutting beef top rounds into trimmed roasts in class. Half the class was cutting Certified Angus and the other half were using regular IBP Choice XT. XT stands for Extra Trimmed, I believe. I was asking the class to observe any differences between the two, hoping for some comments on the fat trim level or marbling scores. Instead what they noticed the most was the fact that the CAB had a discoloration on the exposed meat and the XT did not. The CAB top round was a basic untrimmed subprimal which was packaged "as is" when taken off the bone. The XT had the cap fat trimmed to 1/4 inch and the discoloration trimmed off. The grayish tint is not caused by any spoilage or pathogen, it is the result of the carcass steam cleaning process.

Steam cleaning takes place in most large beef processing plants today. It is typically a combination of whole carcass washing with water, hand held steam vacuums during evisceration, and a steam pasteurization cabinet for the whole split dressed carcass. Often carcasses are also sprayed with an organic acid to further guard against pathogens. IBP, owned by Tyson, developed the "Triple Clean" method after a huge beef recall of about 750,000 lbs in 1998. This method applied the hand held vacuum steamers and a huge car wash type steam cabinet on their line for the first time. The end result is a cleaner beef but also a sort of pre-cooked layer on some exposed cuts. The top round, flank steak, skirt and hanger steaks, and sometimes the tenderloin can be found with some slight discolorations caused by the steam. Most other cuts are protected by the exterior fat or bone coverage.

The basic reason for this extra cleaning is E. coli O157:H7 which is found in the fecal matter on the outside of the hide or in the intestinal tract. The speed of the processing and the fact that cattle often arrive with contaminated hides and intestinals makes extra cleaning a safer alternative. But all this extra cleaning is expensive and errors can be made.

Another idea is to reduce the amount of E coli before the animal leaves its feedyard. This can be done a couple of ways. First by cleaning out excessive waste so animals are cleaner and dryer when they leave. Many times, especially in rainy summer months, cattle are standing in muck. Some feedyards are a lot better about this than others and there should be a standard.

Another is to feed the cattle hay or barley a few days before slaughter. This causes a change in the intestine that helps to reduce the E. coli dramtically. This is not to say that the animal should be on pasture or not ever grain fed but simply creating a dramtic switch from a corn ration to hay for the last few days could reduce E.coli counts significantly. http://www.horizonpress.com/cimb/v/v11/67.pdf So why aren't most large processors demanding this switch to keep the cattle cleaner? Maybe its a weight loss issue or a cost that makes this impractical. But the cost of the steam cleaning must be high too.

Other interventions, such as Lactobacillus-based direct-fed microbials, vaccines and irradiation are also being suggested. Diet introduced probiotics can reduce E. coli. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12747680 There is a vaccine for it too. But both of these add extra expense. One company developed a vaccine and spent $15,000,000 in doing it ( also $50,000,000 in advertising it!) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6138682

The goal of irradiation is to "pasteurize" the carcass. This would eliminate a lot of pathogen risk and contrary to popular sentiment, it wouldn't glow in the dark. My issue with this method is when a meat is irradiated will the good flora that enables part of the flavor of a proper dry aging be destroyed? How much vitamin content will be lost? Also if the goal of irradiating is to eliminate E.coli by sterilizing it and E.coli is typically found in fecal matter then are we to accept sterilized fecal matter as a food? Not my idea of a fine dining experience.

Steam cleaning is a good idea and it has made our meat supply safer. Hay, you know that dried stuff grown in open fields, seems like a good idea too. There is no one solution but there are some that make more sense than others.

Bookbinder Makes Pastrami

My teaching assistant, Steven Bookbinder, decided to make some pastrami a few weeks ago. The process is a simple one but it requires patience and a feel for slow cooking. A good quality pastrami starts with a quality cut. My father often makes it from the plate section but it tends to be very fatty. Most places, such as Katz's Deli in NYC or Schwartz's Smoked Meats in Montreal, use the brisket. At the CIA we got in a case of Prime grade briskets so Steven was in luck!

I had confidence that Steven would make a quality product but I was pleasantly surprised when it was finished. It was one of the best pastrami I've tasted. So what went right? Well first, the Prime brisket was a great start, then a quality recipe supplied by Chef Dave Kamen was valuable. The recipe was varied slightly by Steven to test out a couple things. One was that he did not trim the brisket much, another was the fact that Steven let the briskets dry out for a day after the brining. The spice mix was applied during this time which really got the seasoning deep into the meat. Another variation was the smoking time. The brisket was cold smoked overnight like bacon rather than a hot smoke. Then the last variation was that he steamed it in an intense pressure steamer for about 30 min, until the brisket was super tender! This was no quick process and the key to all of it was patience and allowing for flavors to develop correctly.

Upon finishing it we got a loaf of fresh rye bread from our bakeshop and some Gulden's Spicy Brown mustard. I ate two large sandwiches before I realized that I was ready to explode! As you can see in the photos it was carnage in the meat room as we all enjoyed this treat.

Pastrami is not a fancy food but its hard to find a real one. Thanks to Steven for the treat!

Here's the basic recipe for 2 large briskets....

Ingredients:

Brine:

Water 3 gal.

Salt 2 lbs

Dextrose 10 oz.

TCM 7 oz. ( I've reduced it to 5 oz. before)

Garlic cloves 6 smashed

Pickling Spice 2 Tbsp.

Prime beef Briskets 2 pc.

Spice Rub:

Coriander( cracked) 4 oz.

Black Pepper ( coarse cracked) 4 oz.

Mix the brine making sure all solids are dissolved. Steven used a large, clean plastic bucket. You can pump the brisket with a few oz of brine and then place the briskets in the brine for about a week under refrigeration until thoroughly cured.

Rinse off the brisket and rub the spice mix all over the outside, deep into the fat and meat. Let stand on a rack for about two days, allowing to dry.

Cold smoke slowly for about 8 hrs, until golden brown. Cook in steamer for about 30 min until fork tender and gelatinous.

Aging 3

At the CIA I have been experimenting with aging meat for a while now. Over the years many classes have sampled the flavor of aged beef, lamb and even pork. We have compared dry to wet aging methods and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of both during our lectures. Most often we dry age a bone in 2x3 beef striploin for about 3-4 weeks and cut off all of the exposed area, conduct a yield test and then sample a few slices of steaks simply cooked in a hot black skillet. We compare this to a three week wet aged 0x1 boneless striploin cooked the same way. These are both non-program standard choice, not expensive prime or certified beef, but its not tenderness we are testing so much as the depth of flavor. Consistently the dry aged has more depth of flavor but a severe yield loss. I always try to encourage my students to think of how each would apply in the restaurant setting. A dry aged would be great for a stand alone steak where the flavor of the meat is the highlight. Wet aged might be more appropriate for a steak that is served with a rich sauce or spicy rub where the taste of the steak is lost to the seasoning.

The longest dry aged product other than cured stuff, was a leg of lamb that was aged for about two months. I thought for sure it would be spoiled but to my surprise it survived and presented a rich flavor and ultra tender texture. We also did a six week striploin over the summer break which was right on the edge of palatable. Some students didn't like it while others thought it was divine. We had some products that were wet aged too long and had a very funky "feta" cheese smell. We didn't sample those. Beef reaches maximum tenderness at 21 - 28 days after slaughter if held at normal walk-in temperatures so there is really no reason to wet age beyond that amount of time.

Many students and associates ask me if they can age in their small fridge at home. We age at the college in a large walkin with great fan circulation and good humidity control but a small fridge is a different situation. I often suggest using an extra fridge and sticking a small computer fan in it to circulate properly. Also place a small pan of water in there to keep up the humidity.

A while back we received a sample of a product named DryBag. I had read about this product on Chris Raines Penn State blog and I called DryBag. They generously offered a few for us to try. The concept is to be able to dry age beef without having to isolate the cuts in a seperate fridge. It is a water permeable bag the bonds to the meat when vacuum packaged. It dries out just like regular dry aging but without the worry of crosscontamination or air flow. It does require a quality vacuum machine and may not work with an inexpensive foodsaver, but a higher end home vacuum system will work. http://www.drybagsteak.com/

We tested all three methods to see how this technology holds up. We took one very fresh striploin that had never been in a bag, cut it into thirds and aged it three ways. So what was the result? We conducted a basic yield test, not a cut test but a simple test to see how much the meat shrank over about three and a half weeks. The wet aged lost no yield at all, the regular exposed dry aged lost about 20% and the DryBag portion also lost an almost identical amount, 20%. So we concluded it was truly water vapor permeable. The wet aged was the usual dull off red of in bag meat that soon bloomed once the air hit it. The regular dry aged had developed some exterior mold and had its usual distinct salami-esque smell. The DryBag was discolored but not to the point of the regular dry aged. It had a slight odor but not drastic. We tasted it all and the three were all different. The regular and the wet aged followed their predictable flavor profiles and the DryBag steak came in about in the middle. It definately gained some Umami flavor but not as much as the traditional dry aged. I wanted to share the tasting with another chef so I sent the three to Certified Master Chef Brad Barnes and asked for his honest opinion. I sent him trimmed 8 oz. steaks that all looked pretty much the same. Brad has judged numerous chef competitions and has a quality palate so here are his notes:

Wet;
Fragrance, none
Color, same
Flavor, mild
Normal texture

Dry Bag;
Fragrance, light
Color, same
Flavor, Mild, pleasant nutty hint
Moderately tender

Dry;
Fragrance full, pleasant
Color, same
Flavor, moderate strength, typical aged flavor
Tender

Peidmontese

No time for a long article right now but heres a beef breed to hold you over. http://www.jakobsbowl.com/jakobs_bowl/2010/02/heritage-hall-of-fame-piedmontese-beef-cattle.html
This is some of the best beef in the world. Different idea than the ultra-fat Wagyu. It is known as the "original" crossbreed.

Beef and Beer!

I knew that title would grab your attention. A lot of beer is sold through some very heavy marketing as I'm sure we will see during the Superbowl. The big players in the US are Anheuser- Busch, Miller Brewing and Coors. Samuel Adams takes a chunk of the upscale market and then there are lots and lots of midsized, small and micro- brewers. There is also a large selection of foreign beer companies that also know how to market. The big companies have national distribution and lots of advertising power, midsized companies may have national distribution but not nearly the advertising bucks. The small ones distribute regionally or even within one city and then you have the brew pubs which only sell to their customers directly. Some large companies are now international super giants like the InBev corporation that bought Anheuser- Busch back in 2008. This Belgian-Brazilian company now owns over 200 brands including such polar opposites as Rolling Rock and Spaten Brau. They own brands produced all over Europe, Canada, US, South America, China and Russia. They own Becks and St Pauli Girl, two German icons. For each brand they own they produce numerous types of beer, for example Bud lager, Bud Light, Bud American Ale, Busch, Michelob are all Anheuser Busch brands.

So what does this have to do with Beef? Well the beef industry has some similarities. You have the larger beef processors in the US such as IBP, Excel, Swift, National, and Smithfield beef. Then there are some mid-sized companies such as Creekstone Farms, Greater Omaha Beef and Aurora Angus Beef which are focused on more specialty meats. You have the really small local type meat lockers and then the local farmers who distribute directly. Just as in the beer industry you have giant multinational corporations such as the Brazilian JBS S.A. that own multiple brands that appear to compete with each other. Swift, National and Smithfield are all owned by JBS today and Tyson, the poultry giant , owns IBP's beef production. As with beer, national distribution and advertising are dramatically increased with size. Also each company has multiple brand names under its umbrella. Tyson sells regular IBP brand but then also features Star Ranch Angus, Chairmen's Reserve, Open Prairie Natural Angus branded products. The same for National Beef with ten brands including Vintage Natural, Black Canyon Angus, Certified Hereford and Naturewell Beef. Excel Beef is owned by the food giant Cargill and has Sterling Silver Beef as a brand name.

Another aspect of the beef industry is name brand ultra- quality wagyu or naturally raised beef. This small, very expensive market is like the fine India Pale Ales that I buy, with small label companies craft brewing the beer. Some of these expensive beef items have higher than Prime marbling scores and typically are hitting some high scores on the Japanese rating system. But even these are not exactly what they seem. Take Snake River Farms, a well known wagyu brand; they are actually a brand name of Agri Beef Co. which also owns Double R Ranch Beef, St. Helens Beef and Rancho El Oro Beef. They are a high quality cattle grower and focus on feed, genetics and humane practices but they are not one small ranch or farm. Another is Strube Ranch in Texas. The other day I was checking the label on a box of Strube Wagyu beef and it stated "Elkhorn Valley Packing Co.", Kansas. I am still waiting on a response from Elkhorn which is a small, high quality processor that has its own line of Angus. What I think is happening is Strube is contracting with Elkhorn to process and distribute their Wagyu beef. Niman Ranch is now owned by Chicago Natural Food Holdings which took over two years ago.

Smaller processors are selling ungraded beef either regionally or over the internet. These very small operations might not really have any distribution other than a delivery truck or the UPS man. They typically will sell heritage breed, grass fed or naturally raised without hormones or some other feature that will attract the customer. Even smaller, direct farm distribution is available at many farmers markets all over the US today. Many of these operators are seasonal and by mid-winter meats are typically no longer available in cold weather states.

So what is the point of all of this? I just thought it was an interesting comparison between two of my staples. I guess comparisons could be made for many other products and this wasn't an opinion on quality. Many of these products are very high quality but I find that consumers often have a perception of where their beer and beef are coming from and who controls the company. This week I sampled a steak from Rykowski's Farm and enjoyed a glass of Hurricane Kitty IPA, both produced within 6 miles from my house, I guess next week I'll try some Australian Wagyu and a Czech Pilsner.

Cold Weather Cows

This has been a tough winter for many areas in the US with temperatures dropping each night. Cattle need a lot more roughage and feed to keep them going and fattening is more difficult this time of year. So which cattle do best? Aberdeen Angus, being dark, absorb more sunshine and are a hearty breed to start with. Scotland has its share of cold damp weather so Angus do well in cold weather. But there is another Scottish breed that shines above all other winter cattle, Scotch Highland. The Highland have thick wooly coats and are well suited for this weather. They have been known to wander outside at temeratures well below zero and they don't mind the snow due to the oily content of their hair. They are so well protected by their double layered hair and thick hides that they minimize the need for a heavy subcutaneous fat and therefore the energy from its feed can form more marbling within the meat itself and its overall yield is higher. In warm weather they sometimes shed their thick coats. http://www.vermonthighlandcattle.com/history_4.html These cattle are excellent foragers and can be raised on grass alone but will also perform well on a hay/grain finish. They are somewhat smaller than typical crossbred meat cattle with a live weight at about 1,000 lbs meaning the end product foodservice cuts will be about 30% smaller. This is general and there are some that are allowed to grow larger, beyond the typical slaughter age of 18 months. The smaller size could be an advantage for restaurants wanting to do a high end small but flavorful beef portion. It might be ideal for a multi-course dinner or tasting menu. http://www.midwesthighlands.org/main/content/view/50/87/

Highland beef are raised in the many states with herds found in Vermont, Minnesota, but also down into Texas. The cattle are great foragers and can live on some relatively harsh pasture. Highland have a great eye appeal when out on pasture so they are a favorite among "hobby" farmers who only want a few head. But it is gaining notariety as a viable heritage meat breed. It is now found on menus and at local farmers markets. It is a difficult animal to feedlot finish due to the amount of hair and its large horns so it isn't popular with any large scale feeding operations. http://highlandcattleusa.org/ Many of the small farmers are finishing on grass when in season but this time of year they need more energy so they are fed silage and grains.

As the thermometer plummets, restaurants looking to present truly seasonal dishes this one makes sense this time of year!

On A Beef Chuck Roll

The beef side is divided into the rib and chuck between the 5th and 6th ribs. The cut is made right through a series of muscles one of which is the longissimus dorsi, otherwise known as the main muscle of the rib eye steak. In the rib it is our popular Delmonico and cowboy steaks, or "prime" rib roasts. In the chuck it becomes the chuck eye roll. This cut is actually a number of layered muscles that vary in toughness somewhat. The chuck roll is the larger section containing the chuck eye roll and is often cut for retail stores as chuck steak. It can be grilled but is not a fine dry cook steak. More typically it would be slow cooked as a pot roast or BBQ.

A few months ago we had Jeanne O'Toole from the NY Beef Council to the school to conduct a demo on the chuck roll and she showed how it can be separated into some palatable steaks. They are being marketed as the Denver Cut, Sierra Cut and the mock Delmonico. These cuts run some risk of being tough and benefit greatly by Jaccarding or marinating them. If considering them for dry cook, choose higher quality beef such as prime or CAB. If the meat is Select, low Choice, or even leaner grass fed, braise/slow cooking is probably best.

The photo here shows the typical chuck roll cross section with all of its many sections and textures. The top part would be the chuck eye which is a continuation of the rib eye and is quite tender. The bottom section is a bit tougher.

The price of the chuck roll remains a little more expensive than beef top round and shoulder clod this time of year due to buying habits. Those cuts rise in the summer when they are sold as London Broil type steaks. The chuck roll is often used for stew or braise so the price of it goes up when it gets cold out. But it remains fairly reasonable at nearly half the cost of the rib eye or striploin.

I remember back to when we used to buy whole arm chucks for our store. Some would age for about a week or so. These would always be better than the fresh beef with more flavor and tenderness. I'm thinking about aging a bone -in chuck to see the result on the chuck roll. I suspect if dry aged for about 3 -4 weeks it would roast like "prime" rib and make a great carving plate presentation. I'll keep you posted with the result once we try it.

Here is a link to the Beef innovations group web site explaining alternatives for the cut. But realize they may need some tenderizing. http://www.beefinnovationsgroup.com/chuckroll1.aspx

Grass growing time!

This time of year in the Northeast the grass is growing like crazy. For me it means mowing but for cattle it means fresh high energy food. Grass can contain all the natural nutrients beef cattle need, especially this time of year, and depending on the type of grass and its protein value cattle can gain significant weight on grass. So why do farmers feed cattle grain, primarily corn? Isn't it more expensive than simply feeding grass? There are many reasons. First cattle will gain weight faster when they are finished on grain. They will put on more weight and will be ready for market faster when they eat a high energy carbohydrate ration. Grass fed cattle will take longer to get to the same market weight. Realize no cattle are fed just plain grain, they all get a mixture of grains and roughage of some sort, typically hay or fermented silage.

Second a larger percentage of customers tend to prefer grain fed beef over grass fed. The difference is about 4 to 1 depending on the demographic. An interesting review of grass fed beef ran in the times union this spring http://www.timesunion.com/ASPStories/Story.asp?StoryID=802219&LinkFrom=RSS&TextPage=1

Another reason is the grain fed farm to market system is in place and commodity animal futures can be traded on the open markets. In other words there is no standard price or commodity structure for quality grass fed beef. Non-grain finished cattle are typically priced by small niche market processors and these prices can vary widely. Some prices are at least forty cents more per lb. for the whole carcass which is significant. Basically grass fed is often more expensive than prime beef.

So why all the talk of grass fed? Many customers feel that the health and environmental issues can easily outweigh the extra cost and stronger flavor. There is much more of a seasonality to grass fed and this time of year the cattle are just starting to reap the benifits of new grass. When is grass fed best? That all depends on where you are in the country but for most grass fed beef is best in mid to late summer into the fall. Winter time is when grass fed cattle are fed stored hay and the quality tends to dip. Much of the quality of the grass fed beef depends on the grass quality and the genetics of the beef. High quality alphalfa grass, clover and many others are important when feeding cattle. The soil also has something to do with it. Some soils are lacking in Selenium which cattle need for health. supposedly the best grass pastures are found in Kansas...go figure!

Breeds such as the Belted Galloway and the better known Angus do very well as grass fed cattle. The french Limousin has a very fine fiber and is lean normally. Grass feeders are trying to build a stock of animals that will perform well on grass but this takes time and a gauranteed market for the animals to be sold at a higher price.

The question remains if 20% of customers say they might consider grass fed beef as an alternative to grain fed, why aren't any large producers creating a brand name grass fed beef? Its not an easy answer. The beef industry runs on a very tight profit margin and in these times it is very difficult to make a major shift. But with corn prices high due to ethanol production and the grass growing in full swing you can bet on niche market producers to capitalize on grass fed. I look at it like microbrewing, there will always be the large producers like Budweiser, Miller and Coors but there are thousands of small brewers that produce high quality uniquely flavored beers. What I suspect will happen for is the Sam Adams of beef to come along, not too big, not too small, very honest and in every supermarket.