There are choices, when it comes to beef. Some swear by grass-fed beef, relishing its leanness and extolling its nutritional value. Others prefer their beef with a pale network of fat marbled throughout, adding flavor and succulence. Still others prefer a truly luxurious beef experience like Wagyu beef, my favorite, with glistening veins of pure fat.
There is a cut of beef for every palate.
Angus Beef
Marbled and flavorful Angus beef comes from cattle raised by a cooperative of ranchers committed to strict protocols of humane animal husbandry.
Just imagine if you could raise steer in your own backyard, eating grass and locally-grown alfalfa hay, barley, and corn for a few months. That’s exactly what these ranchers do, but in a 10,000-acre backyard.
No antibiotics, hormones, or steroids are ever used, which means the cattle take a little longer to come to market. A stress-free lifestyle produces tasty results.
Many fans of beef have found that once they try pasture-raised and grain-finished beef they simply cannot eat any other beef. Explore Angus beef cuts at yor butcher and find a new favorite.
Grass-Fed Beef
A few Top butcher shops feature 100% grass-fed beef from Australia, where the cattle graze on pastures in remote areas. The stress-free, pristine environment and clean air contribute to the flavor and quality of the beef.
Raised without the use of antibiotics or growth promotants, this beef is Certified Humane and the ranches are fully committed to sustainable and ethical practices.
The cattle all have Angus lineage and are selected for genetics to produce consistent high-quality beef with rich, full flavor and lush texture. They age on the hoof, eating nothing but grass, and are grown out for at least 5 yrs, that is 2X as long as the average cattle.
Wagyu Beef
Wagyu cattle are an extraordinary breed, native to Japan, where they developed in isolation with a unique genetic propensity to high marbling. The Japanese have evolved special feeding programs for these cattle to put fat in all the right places.
Top Tier US butcher shops work with ranchers who raise Wagyu cattle in the Midwest and Texas, combining Western ranching know-how with traditional Japanese techniques. The emphasis of the program is humane treatment and a low-stress environment for the cattle throughout their lives.
The cattle begin on pasture and are then introduced to a gradual feeding system in the Japanese style, with 7 different feed variations, which include grain, rice plant, and corn, free-choice minerals, and fresh water.
Like their Japanese cousins, the strictly followed diet rotation is the secret to the development of the characteristic marbling, delicate texture, and superb flavor. Raised until the age of 30 months, the cattle are fully monitored at every stage of their growth.
Japanese Wagyu Beef
For yrs it was impossible to get authentic Japanese Wagyu beef in the US. But now this extraordinary beef can now imported in limited amounts for beef connoisseurs to enjoy.
A5 Wagyu beef is raised by a network of farms in southern Japan using traditional methods. Many of the farmers raise just 4 Black Kuroge cattle at a time to exacting specifications. These Japanese beef masters have developed protocols which, like many things in Japan, have been taken to the level of Art.
The farmers provide a stress-free environment, and never use antibiotics, hormones, or growth stimulants. The cattle are humanely raised for close to three years, first on grass and then on a proprietary diet devised by the individual farmers, with incremental amounts of barley, vegetables, greens, and silage. The diet builds on the breed’s natural propensity to complex and abundant marbling.
A5-graded Wagyu beef is the result, the Best of the Best. My source for A5Wagyu beef is D’Artagnan when it is available.
Eat healthy. Be healthy, Live lively
