know your meat....(health alert)

pjtradeking

justjoshingu wrote:

seriously.. the title of this thread is know your meat....

and yet not one masturbation joke?

did i step into bizarro AET?

HAHAHAHA...So what are you waiting for......:)

Get_Right

pjtradeking wrote:

This is not all together true either.

While being able to know where the animal came from is def a good thing so you know who you are buying from, "grass fed" can be quite decieving too.

There is grass fed organic, and there is also grain fed organic. A rancher can use organically grown grains and corn to feed their animal and achieve the same(and most of the time better) results as grass fed to a point, while still producing and organic animal.

Grass fed animals tend to be much leaner and contain little to no marbling. For those who dont know, marbling is the white fatty flakes that you see when you look at a raw steak or pc of meat. This is what gives the meat its flavor for the most part. Without it, meat tends to be kind of bland and will require more seasoning or something to go on top for flavor. Filet mignon(tenderloin) is one of the LEAST flavorful pcs you can get and the most expensive, go figure. As a rule, there is little to no marbling in a filet unless you are getting into the higher grades such as prime and certified angus beef(which I can get into more if anyone has any interest, I know this is boring listening to me, huh?) While the ribeye, or the striploin cuts(New yorks or delmonicos) will have more marbling and will give you more of that juicier flavor ad "bite" that some look for.

Grains and corns and such contain more of what the animal needs to get the marbling and will also tend to result in larger finish weights with the animals at the time of slaughter. This wil also will allow the animal to put on weight faster. So some ranchers will feed the animal nothing but grass until the last 60-90 days and will finish them off with grains and corns to try and get more value out of the animal. Not only does a bigger animal result in more profit, but only having to use grains and corns the last 60-90 days also cuts down the cost as grass is MUCH cheaper. So to raise an animal entirely on corn and grains can be quite expensive.

Cattle have 4 stomachs and are the ONLY animal that can take grains and corns and grass and turn them into lean muscle and not straight fat. Has something to do with the way they proccess everything in each chamber or stomach as it were, but waaay to hard for me to go into here.

Austalian raised cattle can be completely different as well, and again, I will only elaborate if someone wants to know.

All good info.
I always buy prime beef, except for stewing cuts like short ribs.
And after learning more about corn based feed and its effects on the animals, I try to stick with grass fed.

Add new zealand to australia-I believe they are the only two countries that have not had an outbreak of mad cow or BSE, and beef products from both countries are presumed safe by the USDA.

In the meantime, my favorite steak comes from Japan.


edit: love to talk and learn about the food we eat.

pjtradeking

Get_Right wrote:

All good info.
I always buy prime beef, except for stewing cuts like short ribs.
And after learning more about corn based feed and its effects on the animals, I try to stick with grass fed.

Add new zealand to australia-I believe they are the only two countries that have not had an outbreak of mad cow or BSE, and beef products from both countries are presumed safe by the USDA.

In the meantime, my favorite steak comes from Japan.


edit: love to talk and learn about the food we eat.

NZ and Aust are indeed accepted by the US and there is more and more being imported here every year. You are correct, they have never had a BSE outbreak. Their plants are IMACCULATE! They actually close down once or twice a year to do a thorough cleaning and maintinance. Not because they have to, but because it is something they choose to do to stay the way they are.. Not sure if it has something to do with the WAY they proccess, or if it is just because their plants are SO clean, but the shelf life on Austrailian compared to US beef is night and day. Something that we age here that you could get say 45 days out of, you can easily get 120 out of the same cut from there. Amazing to me. Although I think that their grassfed is inferior to ours. Has a tendancy to be gamey in flavor and not as firm. Dont care for it at all. They are still fairly new in the grand scheme of things.

As for Japan......KOBE!! Love it. I actually had my FIRST Kobe tenderloin this past Nov. $35 per lb, and it was the most AMAZING thing I have ever had the pleasure of introducing my pallet to!!. There are actually a few American Kobe Companies now that do a VERY good job with it. One company called Snake River Farms here in the Northwest, is very good and for all intensive purposes, fairly priced. We carry quite a bit of it, and I have been fortunate enough to be able to try it all the past year or so. They still employ SOME of the same practices as their higher priced counterpart, although I am guessing that the "Beer Massages" are not part of that!! I am able to enjoy Kobe a few times a month. Anyone who hasnt tried this stuff(if you are a meat eater), should put it on your list of things to try before you die. It is TRULY amazing stuff!!

Get_Right

pjtradeking wrote:

As for Japan......KOBE!! Love it. I actually had my FIRST Kobe tenderloin this past Nov. $35 per lb, and it was the most AMAZING thing I have ever had the pleasure of introducing my pallet to!!. There are actually a few American Kobe Companies now that do a VERY good job with it. One company called Snake River Farms here in the Northwest, is very good and for all intensive purposes, fairly priced. We carry quite a bit of it, and I have been fortunate enough to be able to try it all the past year or so. They still employ SOME of the same practices as their higher priced counterpart, although I am guessing that the "Beer Massages" are not part of that!! I am able to enjoy Kobe a few times a month. Anyone who hasnt tried this stuff(if you are a meat eater), should put it on your list of things to try before you die. It is TRULY amazing stuff!!

Are you a distributor?
KOBE, as I understand it, is a term used to describe wagyu beef from the Kobe area of Japan-its like champagne or bordeux-it shouldnt be called kobe unless it comes from there. Wagyu refers to the Japanese breed and the unusal methods of raising the animals.

Have you had a chance to try the wagyu from Japan? They have started letting it into the US. Although the prices are outrageous.

My wife is Japanese, and I have been fortunate to visit Japan many many times. last year for new years, we had a wagyu prime rib roast-it was $600!!!!! BUT WOW

The US wagyu is pretty good, but Im not yet convinced its worth the money.
I still go with a nice piece of prime US meat.

justjoshingu

pjtradeking wrote:

HAHAHAHA...So what are you waiting for......:)

ok..

i know my meat very well.

and ladies, no additives

pjtradeking

justjoshingu wrote:

ok..

i know my meat very well.

and ladies, no additives

BADA BING!!!!!! HAHAHAHA

pjtradeking

Get_Right wrote:

Are you a distributor?
KOBE, as I understand it, is a term used to describe wagyu beef from the Kobe area of Japan-its like champagne or bordeux-it shouldnt be called kobe unless it comes from there. Wagyu refers to the Japanese breed and the unusal methods of raising the animals.

Have you had a chance to try the wagyu from Japan? They have started letting it into the US. Although the prices are outrageous.

My wife is Japanese, and I have been fortunate to visit Japan many many times. last year for new years, we had a wagyu prime rib roast-it was $600!!!!! BUT WOW

The US wagyu is pretty good, but Im not yet convinced its worth the money.
I still go with a nice piece of prime US meat.

I am a distributor...And yes, you are correct about Wagyu. Just easier to refer to as Kobe...Sorry, should have clarified that..As for being worth the $$. The amrican kobe is def high priced, but in my opinion, based on what I have tasted, it blows prime out of the water...May not be on par with Japan, but I wouldnt know so I cant say. I envy you being able to try ACTUAL Japanese Wagyu though!!

I have not had any from Japan. The reading I have done on the subject says that the American Version is directly associated with with Japan though and that the STARTER animals were from Japan herds and were quite a risky investment to make. It took 10-15 years for a couple of the companies to get heards big enough to offer it publicly.

Get_Right

pjtradeking wrote:

I am a distributor...And yes, you are correct about Wagyu. Just easier to refer to as Kobe...Sorry, should have clarified that..As for being worth the $$. The amrican kobe is def high priced, but in my opinion, based on what I have tasted, it blows prime out of the water...May not be on par with Japan, but I wouldnt know so I cant say. I envy you being able to try ACTUAL Japanese Wagyu though!!

I have not had any from Japan. The reading I have done on the subject says that the American Version is directly associated with with Japan though and that the STARTER animals were from Japan herds and were quite a risky investment to make. It took 10-15 years for a couple of the companies to get heards big enough to offer it publicly.

Thats cool.
I could tell you some stories about the steak houses in Japan-unbelievable meats! Same with the black pork. YUM They have certain wagyu cattle that you can only get at a particular restaurant-they are raised for the sole purpose of being served at that one place.

I only hope some of the Japanese stuff passess through your doors-it is truly on another level.

I believe you are correct, that Japanese wagyu steer were brought here and cross bred with an american breed. I like the US wagyu, but I dont love it-My wife has spoiled me rotten.