Tips for Dining, Eating, and Food Shopping in the Greater Los Angeles Area (including Orange & Ventura Counties and SW San Bernardino County)
Start New ThreadI live in West LA- what is the cheapest source of grass fed beef? So far I've seen it at Whole Foods for about 9$ a pound.-no chemicals, organic, free range is good!
By Iateitup
on May 4, 2007 03:45 PM
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What cut? Ground beef? Filet Mignon?
Thx
Roy
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Trader Joe's only has a few cuts but it's almost certainly the cheapest. The hamburger is good.
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Yup. Got the TJ's Grass fed Angus beef patties last night for dinner. It was great! Had it with the TJ focacia (sp) buns, grilled onions, avocado, swiss cheese, etc. It's $6.99/lb. There were 4 patties and total was about 1.35 lbs.
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I know it may not be grass fed, but the Costco Marina del Rey has organic ground beef for $3.99 per lb.
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I'm mainly looking for ground beef but might be open to other cuts.
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try open space meats. You can order online and it's less than Whole FOods, including shipping. They are located in the central valley area of Calif. Very tasty steaks. The ground beef was okay. I liked it, but my kids didn't like the texture. I may have cooked it too long.
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link, please?
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http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=open+space+m...
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Yo Serv. Gelsons(Van nuys blvd. Sherman Oaks). I always hit up this Gelsons since, it is in my hood, a few times a week right when they open and cruise over to their discounted meats section. Just this morning that's where I found a nice grass-feed rib eye and two thick, gorgeous, prime fillet Mignon that are not grass-feed which, I prefer.
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Haha! I KNEW that's what I would get! I was feeling lazy and lounge-y this afternoon...=)
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also try getting meat from Organic Pastures (hub in Atwater on Saturdays or at SM farmers markets). They are a dairy that will slaughter a cow that doesn't produce or "accept" bulls. All cows are pasture fed.
www.oragnicpastures.com
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Typo in bakerybae's link... should be www.organicpastures.com
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www.openspacemeats.com
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I love open space meats and have been ordering beef exclusively from them the past 6 months.
It's far superior to the grass fed meat you'll find at Whole Foods, Gelsons,Trader Joe's, etc and the price is very reasonable. You can buy a small 20lb sampler of ground beef, stew meat, roasts and steaks and the total cost comes out to $8/lb.
Keep in mind cooking grass fed beef is a little tricky at first since the meat is much leaner and cooks quicker than corn fed.
The link for organic pastures looks interesting as well and even better priced than open space meats. Might give them a try too.
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I checked TJ's yesterday and the packaging read (something close to):100% vegetable diet Angus beef. Is that what's being referred to here? Corn is a vegetable. Or does TJ's also sell "Grass fed Angus beef" or 100% grass fed?
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100% vegetable feed means slightly higher quality without the nastiest but it doesn't mean grass fed.
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it is not grass-fed.
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The best deal for any cut of grass fed beef is at Grassland Beef. They're online and have free shipping. I just looked and they have 75% lean ground beef for $5.62/lb and 87% lean for $6.71/lb (including shipping!). That's super cheap. I've ordered from them for about 2 years and have been really happy with them.
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In my experience, the appeal varies a lot based on diet. We've had good luck from mail order from Eight 0'Clock Ranch. They are based in New York, so not local. Excellent quality and well priced.
Also, Slow Food Los Angeles is starting a meat share or CSA program. You can find details here: http://scmeat.ning.com/ and more information on their website www.slowfoodla.com.
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Check out J&J Rangeland beef at the Pico and Cloverfield Farmer's market, or Culver City on Tuesday's from 2-7.
Great stuff, raised in CA, and 100% grass-fed. And family owned.
Also on Wed and Sat in Santa Monica on Arizona Ave is Rocky Canyon which is slightly more is expensive, but also delicioius.
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why not order directly from a local farmer (in Paso Robles)? Coco Collelmo of Fair Oaks Ranch offers it at about $8 per lb.--you'll have to order in bulk (I think 1/8 of a steer is the smallest), but it's fun to come home to a freezer full of grass-fed beef! I started buying from Coco a few years ago to keep my husband from those "manager's special" steaks at Ralphs, and we've not looked back since. Coco makes regular deliveries to the LA area, too: www.forbeef.com
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I only eat grassfed beef and here's where I go:
- I second LibraryTom. J&& meat is really good. I always have a few pounds of their ground beef at home. I think it's $5/lb. I also like their flatiron steak a lot. It has great flavor and comes out nice and juicy and costs about $12/lb.
- I also enjoy Estancia beef which is raised in Uruguay and sold to some of the best restaurants in California. You can get it at Bob's Market in Santa Monica (Ribeye is 17/lb) or at the co-op in SM as well.
- The co-op in Santa Monica carries Estancia, Organic Pastures and a third brand which is certified organic grassfed. I think the co-op is a little bit more expensive but I like their smaller cuts (about 8-10ounces) sometimes.
- The last one I could think of for now is Lindner grassfed Bison meat. Their ground beef is great, makes for a tasty tartare. I think they go to the Saturday SM market and the Hollywood one but you may want to doublecheck first.
Someone asked about TJ's. Im actually pretty disappointed in them. THey used to carry grassfed beef but discontinued (for now) to sell it due to some quality issues w/ the supplier. And when packaging says "100% vegetable diet" that doesn't mean 100% grassfed.
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Anyone know if Lindner bison shows up at the Culver City farmer's market? (Or for that matter, where else available on the west side?
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I won't buy supermarket grassfed beef, I just don't trust it. "Grassfed" can refer to many things other than 100% grassfed. That said, I buy from Organic Pastures at the HW Farmer's Market on sunday. It's super tasty and they sell steaks in the $7/lb range. I also buy from Lindner, but that's Bison and a little stronger tasting (which I like). The Healthy Family Farms stand is now selling beef as well. Then there's the farmer who's not always there but offers pork (some of the best I've had, better than Kurobuta) and beef. That's 4 places I know at the HW farmer's market that sell free range/grassfed/local beef or bison.
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I just thought I would add that I think that Lindner bison is tastier than an awful lot of grass fed beef. A lot of farmer's are still working on getting good breeds again to handle a pure grass fed diet.
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I COMPLETELY agree, I'm just hesitant to recommend it wholeheartedly because to me, most people need to get weaned back to the flavor of real meat. What other people call "gamey" or "strong" I call "having flavor". One of my favorite things to make is a farmer's market burger with Bezians sourdough as the bun, a medium rare Lindner bison patty, cheese from Jersey Hill, a fried Healthy Family Farm's egg, some homemade aioli and just a small smear of good Dijon. I swear to god there's not a single burger in L.A. that's even in the same league...
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I make very similar burgers. Everyone who tried them thought they were some of the best burgers they've ever eaten. Grassfed bison or beef on top of a toasted wholegrain slice of bread, homemade aioli (i use grapeseed oil), some arugula and a little Dijon and Raw Gruyere cheese...
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I've noticed that a lot of the ground beef at the local supermarkets, including Trader Joes and Costco, will say the following:
Product of USA, Canada, Australia, and/or (one more country which I can't remember)
The thought of all that meat from all over the world (!!! "and/or" !!!) really irked me considering that even at TJ's and even the Organic ground beef at Costco has the description above.
So, buyer beware, even if you want a piece of conventional corn feed beef, have them grind a steak or two in front of you so you know what you're eating.
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Lindner Bison makes a terrific hamburger! (I buy the bulk ground meat, not the preformed patties.) My brother-in-law always eats his rare and says its the best burger he's ever had.
Kathy is at the Hollywood Farmers Market on Sundays.
http://www.lindnerbison.com/
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