COOKING GRASS-FED BEEF
Because of it's lower fat and lower water content, grass-fed beef needs to be cooked carefully to maintain tenderness and juiciness. Most important, cook at a lower temperature than grain-fed beef.
STOVE TOP OR ON THE GRILL
Avoid overcooking. Aiming for rare or medium rare is best. If beef needs to be well done, then cook slowly over a low temperature and consider adding water or a sauce for moisture.
Initially coat with a bit of low fat oil (a light olive oil works great) to prevent sticking.
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Consider using a meat tenderizer or marinating the meat ahead of time. There are several types of tenderizers but a plain old meat hammer works great. The best tenderizer is the Jaccard Tenderizer, which uses small blades to break up connective tissue. For marinades, keep in mind that grass-fed beef is naturally flavorful and delicious so we don't recommend too strong a marinade. Often a light Italian salad dressing or oil plus lemon juice works well. The leanest cuts, New York Strip and sirloin steak, benefit the most from marinades.
- Thaw meat to room temperature or to lukewarm by soaking vacuum bag in water prior to cooking. Please DON'T use a microwave. Meat shouldn't be above refrigerator temperatures for more than 30 minutes prior to cooking.
If you want to sear the meat start out with stovetop or grill on high and then rapidly turn down to low to finish the cooking process. Otherwise just cook on low.
Grass-fed beef cooks about 30% faster because of the lower fat content so watch closely. The center will keep cooking for a bit after you have removed it so remove from the grill or pan 30 seconds or 10 degrees before it is done.
- Let sit for 10 minutes after cooking to allow juices to redistribute.
ROASTS
Reduce recommended temperature in grain-fed recipe by 50 degrees for grass-fed roasts. Cooking time will be about the same but it is worth checking the roast with a thermometer before the expected finish time.
If you search the internet, there are a large number of grass-fed beef recipes available. We recommend those at American Grass-Fed (http://www.americangrassfed.org/recipes/)