hayden720•22d agoProlific Poster

Chat with a farmer yesterday changed how I look at beef grading

I was breaking down a side of beef and talking to a local farmer who supplies some of my grass-fed stuff. He flat out told me that the USDA grading system is basically useless for the type of meat he raises. Said his calves are slaughtered at 30 months instead of 18, and they'd get a Select grade even though the marbling and flavor beat anything from a feedlot. That hit me hard because I've been chasing Prime and Choice all these years. Now I'm wondering if I should just ignore grade stamps and start pushing grass-fed and grass-finished hard at my counter. Has anyone else dealt with customers who only buy based on the grade sticker?

2 comments

2 Comments

kelly_henderson8322d ago

Jumped into grass fed about three years ago after a similar conversation with a rancher up in Montana. He actually showed me how his cows were eating stuff like sagebrush and wildflowers their whole life, and the fat had this yellow tint from all the beta carotene. Told me the same thing about the USDA wanting younger animals for that uniform fat distribution. Makes you wonder how many people are passing up amazing meat just cause it doesn't have that little Prime sticker on the wrapper. Last week I had a guy come in and buy two whole ribeyes from a grass finished steer and wouldn't even look at the Prime stuff next to it.

mary61422d ago

Did you ever notice how store bought beef has that bright white fat while grass fed looks almost buttery yellow? @kelly_henderson83 that Montana rancher sounds like he knew his stuff. I had a friend who raised goats and she said the same thing about the color being a giveaway for what they ate. It's wild how we've been trained to think white fat means quality when really it's just corn fed and young.