Questions for any beef ranchers or farmers here.

[Ura-Ki]

At the risk of starting a fight, I will say, the best beef comes from Texas, Wyoming, or Eastern Oregon! As these areas are prime grazing ground, as well as part of the beef drive routes, you will find those areas produce some of the best there is!

 

[TorchRedTulsan]

At the risk of starting a fight, I will say, the best beef comes from Texas, Wyoming, or Eastern Oregon!

I've not tried Eastern Oregon, but Texas and Wyoming take great pride in their beef. I know the areas surrounding Texas (Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska) do as well. I would be available to sample steaks from each state and report my findings if anyone would like to sponsor this study

 

[Ura-Ki]

I've not tried Eastern Oregon, but Texas and Wyoming take great pride in their beef. I know the areas surrounding Texas (Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska) do as well. I would be available to sample steaks from each state and report my findings if anyone would like to sponsor this study

I'd be right there with ya to quantify the results!

 

[TorchRedTulsan]

I'd be right there with ya to quantify the results!

As you'd need for any scientific paper. Any donors will be cited in our sure lock for the Nobel Peace Prize

 

[whomer]

I've not tried Eastern Oregon, but Texas and Wyoming take great pride in their beef. I know the areas surrounding Texas (Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska) do as well. I would be available to sample steaks from each state and report my findings if anyone would like to sponsor this study

Why don't you go in there to your local Metropolitan Market and buy a nice Flat Iron. Or, ask the butcher to get you the Coulotte, or Cap off the Top Sirloin.

Tell us what you think.

 

[DeanfromOregon]

Grain em out at the end, no substitute for that. Corn, oats, and other delicious grains held together with a crapload of molasses...Fattens them right up and the marbling is amazing. Raised my own beef as a kid, it was delicious. The pork was even better.

Have you tried the Prime beef at Costco? Tasty, but then I usually smoke it for a little bit then reverse sear it.

 

[TorchRedTulsan]

Have you tried the Prime beef at Costco? Tasty, but then I usually smoke it for a little bit then reverse sear it.

Costco is where I returned the prime ribeye because it was too tough. Now I buy their whole primal and cut my own

 

[HaveGun]

Had two ribeyes last night from Winco that were so flavorless, and so tough, that my girlfriend and I both ate about half and threw the rest away. These were prepared perfectly. Winco is good for hamburger and ribs, but not steak.

 

[mrblond]

"What's that Lassie? Timmy fell down the well...AGAIN!?"

I swear that kid was in the freaking well every other week. How long before you just let him stay there? I mean, he CLEARLY was not learning his lesson...probably because they kept yanking him out.

 

[whomer]

Had two ribeyes last night from Winco that were so flavorless, and so tough, that my girlfriend and I both ate about half and threw the rest away. These were prepared perfectly. Winco is good for hamburger and ribs, but not steak.

Next week Rosauer's has Prime PH London Broil on sale. I'll bet the barn it's better than a Winco Ribeye.

 

[pharmseller]

Elk. It's what's for dinner.




P

 

[Catfishmoon]

The assumption that cattle are attracted to a high or rocky area is the opposite of what I observed when working with them....

 

[Catfishmoon]

Grain em out at the end, no substitute for that. Corn, oats, and other delicious grains held together with a crapload of molasses...Fattens them right up and the marbling is amazing. Raised my own beef as a kid, it was delicious. The pork was even better.

Have you tried the Prime beef at Costco? Tasty, but then I usually smoke it for a little bit then reverse sear it.

Feeding grain to the cattle you were going to butcher for your own freezer was my experience also, I much prefer it to grass-fed beef... It surprises me when in a grocery store, I notice a higher price and enhanced marketing for meat labeled "grass fed".

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Don't let anyone BS you about cows not being able to jump. I've got a bull that can clear a five foot fence without touching it when he's got the right amorous motivation and enough room to get up a good head of steam.

Disclaimer: this isn't my bull, just a random video I grabbed to demonstrate a point.

That's a Mexican type steer. No meat on there bones. But they can jump!

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Cows are a lot like Mountain Goats, they can go pretty much anywhere they want, especially the non milk cows or the younger ones not finished for butchering!
As to steak quality, it's all in the proteins, Grass fed will give a more flavorful and even steak, where Corn will give more Fatty proteins at the expense of quality! Finally, how the beef is Finished up before butchering, a lot of savvy ranchers will feed on grass through out the season, then switch the feed up for the last 3 months to corn, thus building the foundations of a great cut!

Im finishing some on corn now. It's amazing how many opinions there is on this. Some say corn makes the way to gamey. They say use grain and beet pulp. I've always liked the corn finished beef. I had to get my butcher date 6 months in advance.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Costco is where I returned the prime ribeye because it was too tough. Now Iy their whole primal and cut my own

I buy primal boneless ribeye from cash and carry.. it's like $7lb and super good. Break out the BIG knife!

 

[CoastRange57]

Hilarious that people think you can decent meat at Costco or Winco. Try a local butcher shop or buy direct from the rancher.

The term "grass fed" can be misused. And often is when applied to second rate mixed blood line utility cattle ran on the range, which there is "grass" on the range and these cattle have to travel miles every day to get enough calories in them and then come into winter pasture under weight and in poor condition. Because they have been burning calories forging on low protein high desert range and walking 3 miles or more to water every day. I saw some range cattle south of Burns last week that were in horrible condition despite being on some outstanding range on the Malheur Wildlife Refuge. These animals were way under weight and in poor condition for this time of the year and headed into winter. Some of them are not making it through the winter. This is poor husbandry on the ranchers part, but they were some of those utility blood line cattle I mentioned. But like any other business, it can take years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to get set up in the right cattle production process, and some of those scrub ranchers are struggling just to buy their own groceries.

True grass fed cattle are quality bloodlines with good conversion genetics and fed good forage grass on irrigated pastures well managed with rotational grazing or enough acreage to avoid overloading the acreage to the point of the grass become non nutritional. Supplement that with high quality hay free fed until you need to bring the cows in on lots for the winter. A good COB mix, corn oats and barley rolled, with possibly food processing byproducts if available, with a liquid molasses roller fed, suitable salt and mineral blocks to keep micro nutrients up on deficient soils is all part of a well balanced nutrition program.

Cattle can be on the range, brought in to feedlots and fed finishing rations and still fail to produce quality meat since the overall nutritional program has to be over the life of the animal and not just some 3 month intense grain feeding program with second rate forages that are at least 4% points or more lower than a good quality forage. These feed lot cattle are usually what ends up in the chain stores.

I raised cattle as a young man and had a herd of 30 cows when I was a senior in high school and paid for my college with those animals. I again got back into it running some cows on my inlaws ranch in coastal Northern California where they grazed on pastures of grass / clover mix, feed the same as hay supplements then finished on my preferred COB mixes. Great tasting meat.

I do relief feeding for a couple of ranch's in the area during the winter time, so they can take some much deserved time off around the holiday times. These are all very good blood lines with solid nutritional programs, and I usually get half my pay in meat.

If you are in the Central Oregon area, Sisters Smokehouse, Cinder Butte Meats, any Painted Hills beef and many, many small growers will be glad to help you out with some of the best cuts of meat you could ever find and you will never buy in a chain store again. You can even get prime cuts of elk meat as well.

 

[TorchRedTulsan]

Hilarious that people think you can decent meat at Costco or Winco. Try a local butcher shop or buy direct from the rancher.

Hilarious that people still can't understand a reality that's not their own. Not everyone lives out in the country to be able to causally buy directly from a rancher. I've tried every butcher local to me and the nearest decent steak I've had was a butcher 45 minutes away and still wasn't that great

 

[HaveGun]

Hilarious that people still can't understand a reality that's not their own. Not everyone lives out in the country to be able to causally buy directly from a rancher. I've tried every butcher local to me and the nearest decent steak I've had was a butcher 45 minutes away and still wasn't that great

Yeah... No butcher shops within 70 miles of me, at least. I see free range cattle all the time around here in the woods eating weeds and climbing up and down mountains all day. I don't imagine that they taste all that great.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Hilarious that people still can't understand a reality that's not their own. Not everyone lives out in the country to be able to causally buy directly from a rancher. I've tried every butcher local to me and the nearest decent steak I've had was a butcher 45 minutes away and still wasn't that great

You can live where your at and still get beef from Growers. Check craigslist