Best Beef

[James L]

I came across this statement in a newsletter that I read:
The beef in South Africa is shockingly good.
Does anyone have any information that would confirm, or dispute, this?

I know that the beef in Argentina has a reputation for being very tasty.

And I believe that Australian beef also has a good reputation for being more naturally raised, as opposed to feedlot finishing with grains.

[realruth]

James... Don't know about SA Beef or Argentina (although I suspect Ag is mostly grass fed from memory) Australian beef though although mainly greass fed and free roaming has over the last few years been supplemented with grain. NZ beef is still grass fed pretty much 100 %

[Mitra]

Over here the beef is largely grass fed, too (supplemented in the winter). Relative to US beef it's more tasty, not quite so tender. On another board I sometimes visit, I've heard Americans who seek out grass-fed beef because they've heard that it's better for them, complain that they don't like it.

On a similar note, a recent issue of Cook's illustrated had an article about lamb. They compared Australian, New Zealand and American lamb. The first observation was that the American legs were three times as big, and "that alone was reason enough to go domestic." :confused: They went on to say that Australian and NZ sheep eat grass, rather than grain, which gives them a "gamier" taste. From the other side of the fence, I'd say it gives them a lambier taste ;). Anyway, lest there be some lingering hint of the dreaded "gaminess," the recipe went on to remove all the sheep fat. It sounded to me as if they were trying to cook lamb to taste like American steak :rolleyes:. And their total horror of the taste of the fat was a striking contrast to a conversation I'd overheard at church just before reading this article. A couple of people (both in their 60s) were discussing how much they enjoyed bread and dripping - and both were agreed that it had to be mutton fat, and that beef dripping was far inferior. It's rare these days, but when butter was very expensive and/or rationed, and before animal fat was demonised, using the fat (and juices) from the roasting pan as a spread was quite common.

Anyway, if there was a point to this lengthy digression from cows to sheep, it's that if you're used to grain-fed meat, you might not like grass-fed (and vice versa). We don't all have the same idea of "shockingly good," when it comes to taste.

[Billie]

The first time I had grass fed beef was many years ago, in fact it was in the south and I absolutely thought the taste was zilch. Living in the meadow of agriculture, many of the beef in this part of the States are grass feed and supplemented in the winter with hay, oats or corn.

I have not had South African beef but I have dear friends who are going to SA in July so this is a conversation I will have with them--James won't do you much good though now!:D

[Gaelen]

Mitra, I don't know why Cook's Illustrated does that kind of stuff. :rolleyes: I can't imagine peeling the fat off a piece of lamb, or pork loin, or even duck. Maybe it's because my paternal grandparents came from Scotland...I can even remember gramma making a little snack of 'bread and dripping.' ;) I used to pick up CI now and then, but usually I prefer Eating Well, or even Everyday Food to CI--more culinary bang for the buck, with just as much or more information.

[James L]

Thank you all for your replies.

I have dear friends who are going to SA in July so this is a conversation I will have with them.
Great, let us know what you find out!

The quote I originally posted was from a mid-twenties male who was raised in southern California and has been in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past several years. So he is comparing the American beef that he's been eating with what he recently tasted in South Africa.

[James L]

It appears that he was talking about grainfed beef (so his evaluation would appear to be consistent with his prior experience eating beef in the U.S.). This info is from the SA Feedlot Assn Web site:
SA GRAINFED BEEF is supplied by members of the SA Feedlot Association, producers of more than 80% of all quality beef sold in this country. It is the tender meat of young animals fed on a scientifically designed grain diet. The meat has a guaranteed fat content of 13% and offers the consistency essential to restaurants, where only the best is expected at all times.

[miralin]

I happen to like the "gamier" taste -- maybe I'm weird but I like my meat to taste, um, meaty. I also happen to be a big fan of the venison, and I grew up in a family who hunted, so maybe not that weird when you think about it.

The grassfed stuff I got last grocery trip wasn't bad, and I'll probably try to get that again. It means less beef in my diet, cuz it's half again the price of the standard beef, but it might just be worth it. Protein after all, comes in many healthy forms.

[Mitra]

I don't think it's weird at all, Miralin. I did think the Cook's article was weird as they experimented to find the best way to cook your meat so as to remove its intrinsic flavour!

[mcsblues]

One of the best things to happen since my LC conversion was the rediscovery of the fattier (and because of that quite often cheaper) cuts of meat - particularly lamb and pork - I must admit if anything I don't like beef as much - fine for a curry, but it needs to be a really good (read expensive) steak for me to get excited these days.

I think its great that (most of) our American cousins just don't get the whole lamb thing (yes I read Mary's blog) - just imagine how expensive it would be here if you did!

A 'lamburger' is head and shoulders above the beefy hamburger equivalent, and slow cooked lamb shanks with roasted garlic and rosemary are to die for. But if you still aren't convinced, I think this might express it better (thanks Dave);

http://www.themainmeal.com.au/images/Afragranceforwomen.mpg

[James L]

Carri, to get the quote effect, you need to use left and right brackets (not a left paren). You also need to add [/quote] at the end of the quoted text. :)

[Carri]

Carri, to get the quote effect, you need to use left and right brackets (not a left paren). You also need to add at the end of the quoted text. ]:)[/quote][/qoute]

Hey thanks James. That's just what I was wondering about. Not sure if I'm doing it right or not though. So here goes.
Carri

[Carri]

(quote=Mitra] Over here the beef is largely grass fed, too (supplemented in the winter). Relative to US beef it's more tasty, not quite so tender. On another board I sometimes visit, I've heard Americans who seek out grass-fed beef because they've heard that it's better for them, complain that they don't like it.

Mitra,
Wow, that explains alot to me. Having lived here for almost 10 years now and coming from California where you can get yummy steaks, roasts, etc. we always complain about the tough beef here in the UK. But yet we joked that it was probably because it wasn't shot through with hormones and steroids like our U.S. meat is. I too search out organic meat and poultry sources of grass fed beef knowing it's better quality but also thinking it MUST taste better too. In fact I have an order coming tomorrow and I sure hope it's not gonna be tough. The Super Market beef joints (roasts) aren't very impressive but I have found if I go to a quality butcher I can find a much better piece of meat. But now I'm into grass fed/organic and I hope I can be happy with it. Maybe it's the cooking method I need to change. What do you think?
Carri[/quote][/quote]

[Karen J]

I've been eating typical feed-lot meats all my life. There is nothing like a prime, midwest, grain fed, steak. :( I've been very interested in perhaps buying half a grass fed, hormone & antibiotic free cow from a farm in Wisconsin. However, I tried a few Australian strip steaks from Trader Joe's and haven't been too impressed. Perhaps I am grilling them incorrectly? They seem to cook faster.
I can get a discount if I drive up to the farm and pick up the beef myself, but even then it is pretty expensive.

[realruth]

Karen....Grass fed beef is leaner (seemingly tougher) but a good steak should be at most cooked to medium on a high heat. a few minutes each side. You can actually learn to cook to the feel of how well done they are. WD...touch thumb to tip of little finger.....poke fleshy part at bottom of thumb... Med......touch thumb to bottom joint of 2nd finger...poke fleshy part of bottom of thumb Rare.. relaxed open hand...poke fleshy part again... Feel the differences..... A good grass fed beef that has been *hung* for the right time should be pretty tender as long as it wasn't stressed just before the butchering

[Viking Dan]

Here's an interesting link I ran into today:
http://www.biblelife.org/beef.htm

I find the part about Omega 3's interesting...although I'm not sure if I believe it. There are probably other advantages to grass fed, apart from fat ratios.

[Gaelen]

Here's an interesting link I ran into today:
http://www.biblelife.org/beef.htm

Interesting...and just a shade past inflammatory! :eek:
While the website writer is busy de-bunking all of the 'myths' s/he claims the site will disprove, I sure hope s/he learns in the process that:

there's no such thing as a single 'vegetarian' diet
the health problems in southern India stem from a few other factors besides diet (for instance, widespread unavailability of common immunizations like measles vaccine, and other health issues like HIV infection (Indian Pediatrics (http://www.indianpediatrics.net/jan2002/jan-106-107.htm))
there IS no 'single' menu even in that minimally localized area. ;)


Those were only the mis-statements I saw in the first half of the web page...I'd be a little cautious giving this site too much credence.

[Viking Dan]

Interesting...and just a shade past inflammatory! :eek:
While the website writer is busy de-bunking all of the 'myths' s/he claims the site will disprove, I sure hope s/he learns in the process that:
there's no such thing as a single 'vegetarian' diet
the health problems in southern India stem from a few other factors besides diet (for instance, widespread unavailability of common immunizations like measles vaccine, and other health issues like HIV infection (Indian Pediatrics (http://www.indianpediatrics.net/jan2002/jan-106-107.htm))
there IS no 'single' menu even in that minimally localized area. ;)
Those were only the mis-statements I saw in the first half of the web page...I'd be a little cautious giving this site too much credence.

Yes. The site is obviously quite Jesus-y and I take this all with a grain of salt. Some of the information seems reasonable though.

I thought most of the problems in India stem from the Ganges(sp?) river being rife with animal waste.

[Gaelen]

I thought most of the problems in India stem from the Ganges(sp?) river being rife with animal waste.

Nah...it's an issue, but there are a lot of other more pressing challenges (and only a portion of India's population actually lives near enough to the Ganges to be affected by its pollution levels.) Modern India has to contend with industrial pollution and accidents, overwhelming poverty levels among huge percentages of the population, widespread lack of child immunization, lack of medical care in many areas of the country, widespread HIV infection, the aftereffects of natural disasters on every area of the country (tsunami of 2005, earthquakes of 2004 and 2005 only a few of the issues), border disputes and ongoing war conditions in those areas...and on and on.

Vegetarian diet (which is NOT of a single type nor does it involve every population group in the country) is the least of their health issues.

[backpacker]

Viking Dan - that link is interesting, but I couldn't find another article that agreed with that article on grass vs. grain fed beef. I don't buy it. I found hundreds of articles that counter it, and do so with with numous study's and numbers.

I'll stick to my 100% organic grass fed beef. :)

[Viking Dan]

Yeah. I am a bit skeptical. I'd like to believe it though since organic/grassfed is quite a bit more expensive.

OTOH, I do take fish oil and don't really use vegetable oil or margarine so maybe its not so big a deal.

Not sure how many of you have read Neanderthin, but the fellow at biblelife.org seems to think the author(Ray Audette) is pro lowfat.

Am I crazy, or does he advocate the complete opposite?