Understanding the anatomy of beef goes a long way towards making sense of the many different cuts. The position of the muscle and the way it is used dictates in large part the preparation options for meat cut from that muscle. The harder a muscle is working... the stronger it is... the tougher the cut. These cuts often have the most flavor and when prepared properly, can also be the most delicious. Here is a breakdown of some of the more popular cuts and how to use them.
Taste: The flavor of locally raised grass-fed beef beats the taste of big-business, feed-lot meat every time. Besides the better diet and more-wholesome surroundings, local cattle are handled humanely right up to the moment of processing. Calm cows are tasty cows. Literally.Price: Buying a half or quarter will save you money. At Ferguson Farms, buying in bulk means saving an average of 15% over the usual packaging. You will need a freezer to store a quarter of our beef, but a new 9-cubic-foot freezer has a one-time cost of about $400 to $450. Its yearly energy cost will be about $38. And you can use the freezer for other food, too – like ice cream!Convenience: You’ll never have to worry about what’s for dinner because your freezer will be full of grass-fed beef.Humanity: Do you care about how animals are treated? So do we. Ask your local farmer about their care, handling, and living conditions, and you’ll see what I mean.Health benefits: Parents don’t want to be serving their kids the growth hormones and antibiotics that come with commercial meat. Dietary experts recommend unrefined, minimally processed foods – like grass-fed beef. Studies have shown that if you choose lean grass-fed beef, you’re giving your body monounsaturated fat (the same healthy fat found in olive oil), and it decreases your risk of heart disease by lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol.Buying a cow not only helps you, but it also supports local farmers. Check our FERGUSONFARMS.FARM for delicious cuts of meat customized just for you!
In the United States, most cows start living similar lives. In the early spring, calves are born, drink milk from their mothers, and are then allowed to roam free and eat grass or other edible plants they find in their environment. This continues for about 7–9 months. After that, most conventionally raised cows are moved to feedlots. Large feedlots are called Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). There, the cows are kept in confined stalls, often with limited space. They are rapidly fattened with grain-based feeds that are usually made from a base of soy or corn. Typically, their diet is also supplemented with small amounts of dried grass. The cows live in these feedlots for a few months before being brought to a slaughterhouse. Of course, it’s not that simple. The different feeding practices are complicated and varied. In fact, the term grass-fed isn’t clearly defined. That said, grass-fed cows eat (mostly) grass, while grain-fed cows eat (mostly) an unnatural diet based on corn and soy during the latter part of their lives, and to maximize growth, the cows are often given drugs, such as antibiotics and growth hormones.
