Grass Fed Beef at Pasadena Farmers' Market

[Jack Flash]

For the last month or so, a new vendor has been selling grass-fed beef at the Pasadena Farmers' Market on Saturday mornings. It's good stuff. albeit a bit pricey. The vendor is from Buellton; their ranch is right next to the Dierberg-Star Lane tasting room. They have every cut you could possibly imagine. Today they even had kidney fat, which can be rendered down to make tallow, which can in turn be used to make the best french fries imaginable.

http://californialowlines.com/BeefPri...

[JBC]

Thanks for posting.

By the way:

Did you buy anything from them ?
And if so, what and how much did it cost ?

And, if you've tried it yet, then - "How was it" ?

[Jack Flash]

Yes, I've bought from them (I wouldn't have said "good stuff" without trying it first!)

I have tried: bone-in NY steaks (a/k/a Cattleman's NY); top sirloins; and ground beef. The NY's are @$22/lb; sort of a splurge. I've been quite pleased with the top sirloins. Regularly $16/lb, but as little as $12/lb when they're on sale. Ground beef is $7/lb. Pricey for ground beef, to be sure, but it was the best homemade burger I can remember having in recent memory.

Yesterday I bought top sirloin. For dinner on Wednesday.

[JBC]

Last Friday I noticed that Whole Foods was selling their grass-fed ground beef (from behind the counter - not pre-packaged) for $7 / lb.

[gordo26]

Don't be fooled by Whole Foods. While they advertise their beef as "grass fed" if you look more closely - they say that their beef is grass fed at least 2/3 of the time, which means they are corn finished. Very misleading since the point of getting grass fed beef is that it is 100% grass fed.

[Mattapoisett in LA]

2/3rds grass fed does not necessarily mean they are finished only with corn but they are grain finished which could include Rye, wheat, oats, rice, peas, soy, etc and may include corn. Some studies have shown that grain finished tastes better than grass only.

Bill Niman does this with all his cows.

[gordo26]

Fair point, however I would imagine that WF would state specifically that the beef is 100% grass/grain fed as a lot of producers finish beef with corn to fatten them up.

[Ringo Gato]

One of the main reasons for feeding animals natural grass is that the nutritional make-up of the meat is superior to grain fed or grain finished meat. For instance, changing to grains of any kind in the last part of the animal's life alters the omega 6/omega 3 ratio (virtually eliminating omega 3). The proponents of true grass fed meats know this is true. Animals in other countries where range feeding is still the norm have great beef. I have eaten grass fed beef in Argentina and Brazil and it is hard to imagine anything more tender or tasting in spite of it being far less fatty. Grain finishing is merely Greenwashing.

[marettesyndrome]

I'm on my third purchase with them. John and Nadine are very happy (and patient) to answer any questions regarding the beef or cooking it. So far I've tried London Broil - very good. Ground beef, as mentioned also very good (and much better than TJ's at about a dollar more). Have a few other cuts in the freezer to try... and now i've got to learn to cook it medium rare! (I keep trying but it really does cook faster.)

Thanks for the tip on the kidney fat - I've been craving french fries!