TIPS for Cooking

100% Grass Fed beef cooks a little different than the typical beef you would find at your grocery store. Here are some tips to help guide you.

1) Grass-Fed beef is terrific and magic happens in the cooking. Use the 50/30 Rule: 50% less heat and 30% less cooking time.  Cast Iron and stainless steel are recommended for its preparation.  When beef is cooked too fast, the high heat destroys the structure of the proteins, which makes the meat tough and chewy.  The slower the beef is cooked, the more it will retain its tenderness and flavor.  Fat has an insulating effect during the cooking process: It slows heating and as the meat adjusts to the cooking temperature.   Because of its lower fat content, grass-fed beef requires lower cooking temperatures and shorter cooking times to cook through.  Even barbecuing should be done at low heat.

2) The easiest way to prevent overcooking is to use a good cooking thermometer, not a meat thermometer. We prefer the digital thermometers (about $25), but the dial ones ($8-15) will work as well.  Measure the temperature in the thickest part of the meat.  Prior to cooking steaks and roasts, pat the meat dry, season as desired, cover and let meat come to room temperature. 

3) Very important information!  Grass-Fed beef continues to cook even after it has been removed from the heat source, therefore, you will want to stop cooking the meat just before it has reached the desired doneness; it will finish cooking on its own from the residual heat.  
Below are the recommended final temperatures for meats. Remove meat from the heat source 5-10 degrees prior to achieving the desired temperature and allow them to finish cooking via residual heat. 

Rare – 120 degrees F
Medium rare – 130 degrees F ***RECOMMENDED***
Medium – 135 degrees F
Medium well – 145 degrees F NOT RECOMMENDED
Well – 155+ degrees F. NEVER

4) Meat intended for rare to medium rare cooking.  If you like well-done beef, then cook grass-fed beef cut in smaller pieces at very low temperatures in a sauce to add moisture.

5) If you use a thermometer to test for doneness, watch the thermometer carefully. Grass-fed beef cooks quickly; your steak can go from perfectly cooked to overcooked in less than a minute.

6) Always use tongs to turn your beef... never use a fork!  Precious juices will be lost.
  
7) If roasting, reduce the temperature of your grain-fed beef recipes by 50 degrees.  This usually means around 275 degrees for roasting, or at the lowest heat setting in a crock pot.  Use moisture from sauces to add to the tenderness when cooking your roast. 

8) Never use a microwave to thaw your grass-fed beef. 

9) If time allows, bring your grass-fed meat to room temperature before cooking.

10) Always pre-heat your oven, pan, or grill before cooking grass-fed beef. 


Tips! 
When cooking steaks, do not turn them until the juices are showing on the top of the beef.  Then only turn once.  The beef will look 20% more rare than it is because of the vivid red color of healthy meat.  Let the beef stand a short time, about 5 minutes for steaks and 10 minutes for roasts, after cooking.  New cooks have a learning curve and it’s suggested you start out on hamburgers before the precious steaks

To pan fry (steak) in an iron skillet use a little olive oil and a dusting of garlic salt [not garlic powder].  When the skillet is medium hot, add oil, wait until it warms, sprinkle in salt,  then add your steak.  Turn meat when juices rise and cook on second side until the juice begins to peep through there 

Hamburgers!  Prepare, nice medium coals….put patties on a clean, oiled grill or in a pan, and wait for juices to rise to top….turn once…wait for the peeping of the juice to the cooked side and you are ready to serve!

Crock Pot…Season thawed meat….brown meat surfaces…add desired liquid…roast on low until tenderness has been reached.

Immersion Circulators or Sous Vide machines are great tools for cooking grass fed beef perfectly.