Paleo Experience – Guest Post

We briefly touched on the Paleo topic in a few earlier blog posts but we are excited to share this Guest Post from someone local with real world Paleo experience.  We met Beth when she and her family visited the farm earlier this year to buy some of our pasture grazed beef.


By Beth Kohl

I had read about the paleo diet. I thought if you give up dairy, legumes, grains, sugar, and alcohol, what is left? Starvation?  I quickly dismissed it as anything more than a gimmick. I kept looking for the “Easy Button” for my health. I’d always been told any diet that eliminates entire food groups would lack nutrients and could not last, the “goal”, is always balance.  I had tried several diets, but I could not get away from strong cravings for sugar. I felt like a drug addict. When it came to candy and sweets, I would have a little and end up binging like crazy.

I needed to lose weight.  I had high cholesterol, high triglycerides, low energy, acne, depression, anxiety, restless legs, border line pre-diabetes, GERD, and an autoimmune disorder. My doctor was ready to put me on medications for several of these issues. I woke up 20 plus times a night and I had the sleep study to prove it.  Every morning I woke feeling like a truck hit me and I had a headache 80% of the time. A good day was no migraine. My normally good to low blood pressure had been creeping up to questionable level. I power napped every single day.  On the plus side, I exercised. I worked out for over 2 years with the guidance of a trainer; I had added a lot of muscle but had not lost weight.paleo

A few years after first hearing about Paleo, in desperation, I gave in and tried a popular diet “Whole 30”. This is an elimination diet that you stop eating dairy, legumes, grains, sugar, and alcohol. Giving up those items is the bulk of paleo rules. The first few weeks were not great, I felt tired as my body adjusted to all the changes. When I reintroduced dairy and wheat, I found (to my shock) that my body had a bad reaction. I was sick to my stomach, could not think clearly, I felt awful.  I decided to follow paleo but I had no guidance and Thanksgiving and Christmas completely derailed me.

Earlier this year, I talked with my doctor and decided to restart paleo, then return to the doctor in 12 weeks and get blood work again. Curious to see what, if anything, changed. I floundered the first 4 weeks with no diet change. With 8 weeks left, I added a dietician who specializes in paleo, to give me guidance.  Amy, really helped me to figure out what works and does not work for me. She has given me accountability, encouragement, and resources.

There are misconceptions and a few controversies regarding what paleo is, is not, and should be.   I only know how I eat and that it is considered paleo. My breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks consist of a variety of vegetables and fruits, quality protein, and quality fat.

I say “quality” before each food group because I’ve found that what happens to my food before I eat it is very important.  “You are what you eat” resonates with every paleo I’ve met, talked to, and every book I’ve read.  Whenever possible, I look for vegetables that are organically grown and non-GMO. I buy grass-fed beef, pasture raised chicken, lambs, and pigs, because they produce better quality meats, fats, and eggs. Fats include animal fats from pasture raised animals, ghee (clarified, grass-fed, butter), extra virgin olive oil, virgin coconut oil, tree nuts, and avocados. I get to have a variety of meats, fats, fruits and veggies, but always REAL, minimally processed food.

It is not as hard as it sounds. Now, a few months in, I can prepare a meal ultra-fast or something if I am having guests over. The best part is, no one knows that they are eating paleo, because it is just real food.  I can also go out and enjoy a meal in a restaurant. I have planned times where I eat items outside of the plan, but always avoid wheat and store-bought dairy, because they bother me, although I know many who use raw dairy with no problems.  I do not prepare separate meals for my family, and I have an extremely picky son. This is a way that I believe I can live for the rest of my life.

I tried many versions of low-fat and low carb diets all have been miserable failures. Now, I am eating a diet much like my grandmother did when she was young: real, nutritious food. I am eating a nutrient rich variety and not paying attention to calories.  I am not feeling deprived either.paleo

So, after 8 weeks of eating saturated fats, beef, eggs almost daily, bacon, and other “taboo” foods, watching portions, but without counting calories, what was the outcome?  These results are documented by my doctor: 16 lbs. lost, Blood pressure is low/normal, cholesterol is 30 points lower , and triglycerides cut in half, glucose and A1C (blood sugar) completely normal. I have found relief for depression and anxiety.  I no longer have cystic acne, restless legs are nominal, and I sleep soundly and rarely wake up during sleeping hours. I wake up each morning before my alarm goes off and I feel prepared to start the day. Headaches are rare for me now. The daily cravings for sweets are gone. I have energy for the whole day without my daily naps.

I know if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.  This is not without price. The tradeoff of not eating certain foods may seem huge to some, but it is worth it to me. I’m convinced that the “gimmick” has been the best thing that ever happened to my health. I am not alone. My doctor had diabetic patients try this way of eating. Less than 2 months, the diabetics following the plan had normal glucose levels, that is HUGE. Guess who else started to eat this way? My doctor and his wife.

My scale is still moving in the right direction, but I’m not nearly as concerned by my weight as I one was, because I feel good. I might be paying a bit more for food these days, but I am paying WAY less in medical and pharmacy bills. I feel better than I have in years.  I do not know if it is for everyone, but I would urge anyone who has questions to investigate it for themselves.

I’d be happy to answer questions where I can, but I’m still a novice. If you want expert advice, I’d recommend you follow the links below.  Here is a link to my dietitian’s blog.  [http://robbwolf.com/author/amy-kubal/].

[www.robbwolf.com/]  [www.meljoulwan.com/]  [www.whole30.com/]  [www.chriskresser.com]


Wow, that is a powerful testimony!   Our thanks to Beth for sharing her experience.  If you would like to connect with Beth please drop us an email.  In addition to the links listed above, we would note that the Weston A Price Foundation recently aired a podcast with Chris Kresser, author of “The Paleo Cure”.  In the podcast Chris points out that there are people groups that have adapted to raw dairy very well through the years.  I (Doug) credits raw milk as one of the foods that helped cure my chronic Acid Reflux condition.  Probably the most important things we can do to achieve health is eliminate processed foods, start shopping the “edges” of grocery stores and then begin your journey to source local food from your neighborhood farmers.  Thanks again Beth for sharing!

Photo Credits: http://morguefile.com/creative/CTrillo/1/all & http://morguefile.com/creative/maxkopi

2016 Pasture Grazed (Grassfed) Beef

An update on our 2016 Beef Offering.  Here are a couple of photos of steers that we will be offering in September as custom processed beef.  These steers have just turned two years old and we look for them to gain well, over the rest of the summer.

Two year old DS Family Farm Steer. 100% grassfed and has spent it's entire life in our pasture in the same herd as it's mother.
Two year old DS Family Farm Steer. 100% grassfed and has spent it’s entire life in our pasture in the same herd as it’s mother.

Remember flavor is linked to:

  1. Age – typical grocery store beef is harvested around 16-18 months (bland flavor).
  2. Diet – our pastures contain diverse forages resulting in complex flavors (unlike bland corn only beef).
  3. Dry Aging – custom processed beef will be dry aged, grocery store beef is wet aged.
2016 Pasture Grazed (100% Grassfed) DS Family Farm Steer
2016 Pasture Grazed (100% Grassfed) DS Family Farm Steer. Steer is 2 years old and spent its entire life in our pasture, never in a dirt lot.

The forages consumed during the last sixty days are key to the nutritional make up of harvested beef.  These steers will be harvested directly off green growing forages, not stored forages.  The green growing forages will give the best possible fat profile as demonstrated from our 2015 beef analysis.  The fatty acid profile will be some of the best you can find.

Why don’t our steers look fatter?

We will add some excellent gains over the next two months but grassfed beef will never look “fat” like a feedlot steer:

  • Pasture grazed beef must walk for their food:
    • We don’t burn fossil fuels delivering feed to our cattle.
    • Cattle have legs, they can walk to feed and water.
    • The exercise keeps them fit.
  • Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA):
    • A diet high in green forages = high CLA.
    • CLA is the anti cancer “fat”.
    • High CLA is believed to keep cattle leaner, prevents them from getting fat.

Do you want to be fit, trim and healthy?

Eat an athlete like one of our pasture grazed cattle that have high levels of CLA.  Avoid the couch potatoe feed lot beef found in your grocery store.

Please drop us a note if your interested in trying some of our pasture grazed beef.

Weston A. Price Foundation – Local Chapters

We are excited to share another Guest Blog post!  We met Miranda at the recent NE Sustainable Ag Society Meeting.  Enjoy Miranda’s guest post:


WAPF Local Chapters

http://www.westonaprice.org/

By Miranda Sherman

My name is Miranda Sherman and I am the Weston A. Price Chapter leader for Omaha.  The who-do-what you say?  Here’s a brief summary on Weston A. Price and what we do.  Weston A. Price was a dentist in the 1930’s who set out to discover why his patients were starting to have crowded teeth, lots of cavities, and overall poor dental health.  This was something new in his practice that hadn’t been prevalent in the early 1900’s.  He strongly suspected that it had to do with what people were eating and over the next few decades, he proved this to be true!  When we eat a diet full of healthy fat, good proteins (think grass-fed beef, pastured pork, pastured chicken) and organic fruits and vegetables, we will have strong bones, healthy tissue, and lots of energy.  Modern foods-that is anything processed or that comes in a box- doesn’t nourish our bodies.  It is “dead food”.  Real food is food that comes from a farmer who is passionate about their organic practices (whether they are officially an “organic” farm or not. (Like Doug’s beef!)

Take for example, the case of honey.  Did you know that those cute little honey bears at the grocery store rarely contain honey?  Did you know that there is no regulation on how honey is labeled?  You see, there is no regulation that says that a food manufacturer must obtain honey from bees to call a product honey.  Most honeys are produced in China and made with high fructose corn syrup and dyed yellow with honey “flavor” added.  When tested, they reveal there is no actual real honey in these cute little bears.  How do you know that what you are buying is actually honey?  As a Weston A. Price Chapter leader, I seek out great farms and ranches, ask them questions, and determine if what they are producing will be the best product for you.  Every Weston A. Price Chapter leader maintains a Farm List and we will give this to you free of charge.  We want you to know your farmer.  We want you to know that the honey you buy is in fact honey!

As a Chapter Leader and Health Educator, I teach all over the community helping others find this great way of eating.  It healed me personally after decades of miserable auto-immune disease, anxiety and depression.  I feel absolutely amazing now and want to tell everyone about how I came to heal.  If you would like more information on my upcoming class schedule, my book, or have me speak to your group, I am more than happy to do so.  I can be reached at 402-637-8929 or sparkysherman@msn.com.

Weston A. Price is a non-profit organization that hopes to educate consumers on what great food really looks like and how it can heal you and/ or keep you and your family healthy. If you would like, you can become a member and your membership will support this organization’s research efforts.  You will receive the quarterly journal packed full of scientific information as to why certain foods feed our bodies and how you can gain the most from your food.  There are free videos to watch on the website and so much more.  For more information on this amazing organization, visit www.westonaprice.org

Here’s to you and your health!!

Warmly,

Miranda Sherman

Author, Educator, Nutritional Therapist, Weston A. Price Chapter Leader / Omaha


We just completed Miranda’s new book “The Mighty Fork : Healing Your Mind and Body with Food“.  It is an excellent easy read no matter where you are on the road to good health by eating healthy food.  For our readers in the Lincoln area, Gus Panstgl is the local WAPF Chapter Leader.  He maintains an active Lincoln WAPF Chapter Facebook closed group – check it out and ask to join!

Local Nebraska Pasture Chicken

Nebraska is known for beef!  So why Nebraska chicken?  When it comes to our meat buying choices, we like to know where our food comes from.  Have you noticed grocery store veggies and fruits are labeled with their origins?  You know where your onions come from but not so with your chicken or beef.

cool
Country of origin labeling (COOL) is ok for onions but not for meat. Why? Ask your congress person.

Chances are your grocery store chicken is from the USA and many companies independently label their chickens as such.  But what went in to raising that chicken?  How were those little chicks treated?  Most likely that chicken lived its entire life in a building without ever seeing daylight or a blade of grass.  We won’t even go into the details of the feed medications that are added for such poor living conditions.

With some not so nice videos on the internet showing poor treatment of chicks, we decided to visit our chick source right here in Nebraska.  During our visit to Central Hatchery near Norfolk we met Phil Raasch the owner.  It is a clean facility and every thing looked great.  Lot’s of eggs in some well monitored incubators with one neat old 1940 incubator still in operation.

local chicken
Central Hatchery’s Phil Raasch at his facilities near Norfolk Nebraska. Our pasture chicken is hatched and raised locally in Nebraska.

When the chicks hatch that become our future pasture chickens:

  • Chicks are packaged and shipped via USPS standards
  • Arrive at our farm within 18 hours of hatching
  • Live the rest of their life here at DS Family Farm
    • First 3 weeks they are kept in a coop with our resident egg layers
      • Proper temperature and no draft protection is key to a young chick
    • Last 5 weeks they are kept in portable shelters moved to fresh grass daily
    • Fed locally sourced non-gmo grains along with grass and plenty of sunshine

We urge you to visit your local farmers market, visit the Nebraska Food Coop website or find a local farmer raising chickens that will give you an eating experience not found in typical grocery store chicken.  Most chickens in a grocery store are injected with water and spices.  Companies say that consumers demand these flavor additions.  We rather not pay for water when buying chicken and for taste, real flavor comes from grass!

Ever see a chicken eat grass?

Sometimes I wonder which animal eats more grass, a dog or a chicken?  Seems like our dog can really chomp on some grass.  But who really cares if a chicken eats grass?

chicken eat grass
Our pasture grazed chickens munching on the greens.

If you are struggling to find real healthy, life-giving food for your family, then you care if chickens can eat grass.

When chickens eat grass wonderful things happen:

  • Grass provides natural immunity to chickens.
  • No need for vaccinations, antibiotics or other medicated feeds for these chickens.
  • That natural immunity from the grass is passed on to you and your family through the meat.
    • I would much rather eat chicken than grass!
  • Grass provides a flavor to the meat you simply will not find in a grocery store.
  • Wonderful meat that tastes great, now there is a meal your family will praise you for.

So if you think we had the chicken pose for the photo, not so fast, take a look at the video proof below.

Enjoy!

(By the way, that is our dog barking in the background, she must want out of her kennel to get some of that grass!)

Please contact us if you would like to see the chickens in real life action.  Hope to see you soon.

Why folks go nuts for pasture chicken

Why do folks go nuts for pasture chicken?

pasture poultry
Pasture poultry moved to fresh grass daily in portable shelters.

I can remember as a kid eating Grandma’s farm raised chickens.  Grandma did not raise her chickens in pasture shelters like we do, but I know what her chicken tasted like.  Her chicken feed did not contain arsenic, antibiotics, caffeine, Tylenol or Prozac (NY Times link).  I loved eating Grandma’s home fried chicken, especially the SKIN!  I know, I know, being raised in the 60’s and 70’s, I soon learned that eating the skin or fat was considered a NO – NO!

Like you, I tried to limit my animal fat intake.  I too took the lie that fat was bad.  Now that we know fat is good in our diet, we are still stuck with the problem that factory raised chicken (or any animal) is probably not a good source of animal fat based on what they are fed.  Do they still feed that “stuff” to factory raised chicken?  I don’t know, but I am sure a factory raised chicken is not getting any grass.  You are what you eat ate!

Raising animals in nature’s image is the solution.  Chicken that has access to fresh grass and sunshine does not need medicated feed.  Fresh moves to grass daily and locally raised non-gmo grains keep these chickens healthy without antibiotics.  We let the natural chicken feed be their medicine.  Let the food you eat be your medicine.

pasture poultry
Pasture Poultry, notice the yellow color to the fat. The grass delivers beta-Carotene. Enjoy eating the fat and skin of a pasture raised chicken!

 

Prairie Gains – Guest Post

We are really excited about the post below.  I recently had the opportunity to meet Daniel and Allyson of Lovegrass Beef.  Daniel has a passion for prairies!  Enjoy Daniel’s guest post:


Prairie Gains

By Daniel Frank – Lovegrass Beef

With spring finally here, and plants just beginning to green up, it’s time to get geared up for prescribed burning season.  March 19th to 27th was the seventh annual Training Exchange (TREX) at the Niobrara Valley Preserve, near Johnstown, Nebraska. This is a chance for people around the United States and beyond to knock the rust off, and get back in the burning game. People come to learn, to teach, to get more experience, and also just to help the Preserve burn the acres they have planned.

Maybe I should start by talking about the benefits of prescribed burning. Controlled burns help suppress unwanted woody plants, such as eastern red cedar. They help reduce excess plant buildup in areas that weren’t grazed or hayed, allowing new growth to catch sunlight and flourish. If timed correctly, prescribed fire can also help suppress exotic species like Kentucky bluegrass and Smooth brome. Prairie ecosystems around the world evolved with the presence of fire, and with responsible prescribed burning we can maintain healthy ecosystems that can support a wide variety of life.

This was my second time attending TREX, and like the first year, I had a blast. I learned from the people around me, and I was able to use the knowledge I’d gained from the first year.

test prescribed fire
The test fire is lit, conditions look good, and the firing progresses.

I am a big proponent of prescribed burning. I’ve seen first-hand the benefits of putting controlled fire on the ground. My major goal is to maintain a healthy, native, diverse prairie ecosystem. Fire is not the only major force that acts to shape our grassland ecosystems. There are three main forces that shape prairies: fire, grazing, and drought. We have little control over the moisture we receive year to year, so we can focus our management on the other two forces.

The Great Plains evolved with the presence of bison. They would move around the country grazing grasses and some forbs, being pushed by the weather, the quantity of forages, and the time of year. Though bison are not a dominant presence anymore, cattle are a pretty good substitute. With proper management, they are an excellent tool to manage the land. Without grazing, pastures can become overgrown, and some species can be choked out. When cattle graze some areas more than others, plant species respond and their composition changes. This is how rangeland becomes a mosaic of plant communities.

Purple coneflower
Echinacea angustifolia, Purple coneflower. Photo by Allyson Dather.

This brings me to raising cattle on grass. I sell grassfed beef because I believe that ruminant animals which evolved to eat grasses and forbs, should be able to eat that diet exclusively. I am trying to reduce the inputs required to raise market animals. At the same time, the cattle raised on grass are leaner, and are healthier for people to consume. As I already mentioned, grazing is necessary to maintain a healthy prairie. Using cattle as management tools while simultaneously producing a healthy, delicious type of meat is a win-win.

My partner, Allyson Dather, and I started selling grassfed beef under the name Lovegrass Beef in 2015. Sometimes we laugh about how cheesy the name sounds, but it was picked for a couple reasons. Here in the Sandhills we have a lot of Sand Lovegrass (Eragrostis trichodes), and Purple Lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis). These are native warm season grasses with showy seedheads, and the presence of Sand Lovegrass can be indicative of good range management. The other reason we picked the name is because since our cattle are grassfed, they sure ought to love grass!

Cattle grazing Nebraska Sandhills
Cattle grazing native rangeland in late summer/early fall 2013. Photo by Allyson Dather.

Here at our ranch, we are starting to move our operation to becoming more environmentally aware. We have applied for cost-share programs to plant cropland back to rangeland. Hopefully in a few years we can sell the center-pivot irrigation systems after the native plants have a solid foothold. We will be using these pastures to graze cattle during the summer mostly. I’m hoping to be able to create a burn plan for our ranch, where we can defer grazing of certain pastures, and use fire to hold back any invasive plants. We have a 70 acre burn planned for this spring, where we will be putting fire on our land for the first time in probably 100 years. I’m excited to watch the burn in action, and very excited to see the results. 


Thanks Daniel!  “Lovegrass Beef”, I laughed also the first time I saw that name, awesome!  If you would like to comment or connect with Daniel and Allyson, please visit their Facebook page!

Grass Type Cattle

This month we started a farm email newsletter to keep our customers up to date.  Feel free to subscribe by using the form on our Contact page.

Among other items in this past email newsletter we asked the question, can cows live on grass alone?

Most cattle can live on grass alone, but the challenge is to raise healthy cattle that get to a level of “finish” (fat enough) to harvest and provide a quality eating experienceUltimately it is about YOU, providing YOU our customer, with a healthy product.  Many cattle today are no longer able to do this on grass alone.

Over the past 75 years cattle have been bred and managed to consume high starch (corn/grain) diets.  If you have not yet read Michael Pollan’s NY Times 2002 POWER STEER article, you really ought to take the time to do so.  This is an excellent story/explanation of how conventional beef reaches the supermarket.

grass type bull
BUDDY! Our herd bull thrives on grass. 75% Red Angus and 25% Devon.  100% Pasture Grazed!

In the uphill battle to find grass type cattle to start our herd, here is a review of the path we traveled:

  • Pharo Cattle Company
    • Hearing Kit speak back in 2002 opened my mind to what we now call DS Family Farm.
    • Sign up for Kit Pharo’s newsletter, excellent info!
  • Terry Gompert
    • Past UN-L Extension agent and HMI instructor.
    • Check if any recordings are still available from UN-L in Knox County such as:
      • 2007 Ultra High Stock Density Event
      • 2009 Holistic Grazing Management
  • Stockman Grass Farmer publication
    • Excellent resources, CDs, DVDs, Books.
  • Grassfed Exchange
    • All things GRASSFED.
    • Recordings of their past events are a wealth of information.
  • Hidden Valley Ranches in the Nebraska Sandhills
    • We met Gary and Cathie Morris at the first Grassfed Exchange in 2010.
    • In 2011 we brought 10 heifers and a bull from their Ranch to our farm.
    • Previously Gary and Cathie had worked with grass cattle guru Gerald Fry.
  • In addition we visited and learned from a number of great local farms.
There are a lot of cattle herds in the vast ALL GRASS Nebraska Sandhills, but most of those herds produce cattle that end up in feedlots and finished on corn.  The Devon cattle influence and breeding program that Gary and Cathie implemented provided us with a great starter herd of cattle that thrive, reproduce and finish on an all grass diet.
With that said, here at DS Family Farm we are still learning and improving.
  • We are starting to add cows raised on our farm to the breeding herd.
    • Animals born and raised on our farm will out perform cattle raised elsewhere.
  • Our forages are improving:
    • Cattle were a missing part of our farm.
    • Cattle cycle nutrients, improving the soil and future grass.
    • Improved soil holds more water to grow more grass.
  • All with a goal to improve the level of “finish” on our harvested beef!
    • Our Ultimate Goal, providing a better product for you our customer.

So yes, it is possible for cows to live on grass alone.  Do your research and enjoy the journey!

Gamey Flavor equals Nutrient Density

In our previous post we described how complex pastures create complex flavors in our beef.  We discussed a number of other factors that play into the “beefy” flavor of our pasture grazed animals compared to the simple flavor of conventional beef.  When people first taste grass-fed beef they usually comment that it tastes “gamey”.  Around here I guess they are comparing that taste to deer.

citation buck
Jacob with his 2013 citation buck. Note the unusual second beam on left side of head.  Maybe someday Doug will get lucky!

Deer can travel wherever they like and eat whatever they like.  They can select the most nutritious food that is available year round.  Over the years I have shot a number of deer in this part Nebraska (still waiting for my chance at one like Jacob’s above).  During the cleaning of these deer I have noted that deer being opportunistic, will also feed on corn and other grains.  Yet, with over 50,000 deer harvested in Nebraska last year alone, I can’t think of a single time when someone said “that deer tasted like corn-fed beef.”

Healthy wild game tastes “gamey” for the same reason grass-fed beef tastes “gamey”.  It is the complex foods consumed by these animals that makes the meat flavor complex (and healthy).  They are not force fed a simple starch diet like conventional beef, with the sole purpose of getting fat.

The grain consumed by deer would be unlike the grain fed to conventional beef:

  • Whole kernel grains, not processed, rolled or roasted
  • Grain would be part of a complex diet, not a simple diet designed for getting fat
  • Grains would only be consumed seasonally, not for a significant time leading up to harvest

Now consider our beef herd.  We do not allow the cattle to run free like the deer (this keeps our neighbors happy).  We manage and control the herd movement to insure our cattle will have fresh forages year round.  During the non-growing season, “fresh” means a section of pasture that has not been grazed for the previous 4+ months.  Unlike deer, our cattle never receive any grain to insure that our beef has the healthy fat profile desired by our customers.

You know what nutrient dense food tastes like.  Remember the last time you ate an apple and thought to yourself, WOW that tasted great.  It doesn’t happen very often with a store bought apple these days, but maybe it came from a local orchard, and you just knew it was a good apple.  That good flavor came from complex nutritious compounds in the fruit.  Well, the next time you bite into some grass-fed beef with a noticeable flavor, just remember that flavor came from complex nutritious compounds in the meat.  This nutritious beef will satisfy you on a smaller portion size compared to conventional beef and you will feel better after eating it.

If you are finding the more complex flavor of pasture grazed beef is difficult for you or your children to adjust to, try our hot dogs or brats.  Consider using stew meat with vegetables or turning that pound of hamburger into meatloaf.  Use your imagination and your taste buds will soon adjust to what is naturally known to us as good tasting food, that is good for us.

‘Gamey’ or ‘Beefy’ Flavor?

Folks have commented that they really like how our ground beef fries up in the pan with little “grease”.  A friend said, “yeah, love grassfed beef, but still think it tastes a little ‘gamey’.”  I asked, “‘Gamey’ or ‘Beefy’ flavor?”   After a moment he said, “Ahhh, maybe that IS how beef should taste.”  Your taste buds aren’t confused, they probably don’t know any better, let me explain…

If you have spent anytime on our website, you know we refer to our beef as Pasture Grazed rather than grassfed because our cattle consume more than just grass.  Take a look at a list of known plants growing in our pasture:

Complext flavor of beef
“complex pastures create complex flavor in meat” – Grazing guru Jim Gerrish.

In addition to the flavor from our pasture, in earlier posts we discussed the following factors that play into the flavor/taste of our Pasture Grazed Beef:

  • TIME – overall flavor comes with animal maturity.
    • Our beef is harvested after 24 months of age.
    • The last 60-90 days of feed probably influences flavor the most.
  • FATS – Lynne Curry in her book Pure Beef notes:
    • “omega-3 level is one of the reasons grassfed beef has a more intense taste than grainfed beef”
    • Remember our beef is high in those good Omega 3 Fats!
    • Phospholipids fat, the fat we cannot see, stores the flavor.
    • The triglyceride fat we can see will be a hard creamy white to a tint of yellowing.
  • DRY AGING – Lynne Curry has this to say:
    • “It’s all a matter of taste, but many people find dry aging critical to giving the muscles their due time to dry and contract, concentrating the flavors, and letting the calpain enzymes do their tenderizing work.”
    • Our beef is allowed to dry age at least 14 days.
    • Since our beef is vacuum packed, consider letting it thaw in your fridge for an additional “wet age” period.
  • COMPLEX Pastures = primary and secondary plant metabolites
    • In this past post we encouraged you to “eat the rainbow” for your health.
    • Our cattle can transfer to us the part of the rainbow that we cannot eat first hand.

Now let’s take a look at the feed source for typical conventional beef:

Feedlot beef rations
Simple rations result in simple flavors in meat.

Look at the above feed for the last few months of feedlot beef.  Pickup some conventional hamburger at the grocery store.  Now look at the above list again, these are the primary ingredients that make up the store-bought hamburger.

  • Pickup up any other prepared food product in the grocery store.
    • Corn, corn, soybean and more of the same.
    • Aren’t you tired of eating corn for three meals a day?
    • Consider eating beef with real “beefy” flavor.
  • In addition to the simple feeds, feedlot beef are harvested much younger and don’t have the time to acquire “flavor”.
  • Dry aging, due to the time and locker space involved, is not practiced for conventional beef.  It is “wet aged” in a package waiting for purchase at the store.
  • Finally, when you add grain to the diet, the beef rumen bacteria populations switches over to “proteolytic”.
    • The good omega 3 fat disappears, along with the conjugated linoleic acid.
    • The fat turns from a hard milky white marble to a clear greasy fat.

So enjoy some “beefy” pasture based beef!  Just as folks like trying different wineries for the different flavors from each vineyard, we encourage you to try different pasture farm beef!  The different makeup of each farms pasture will give a unique flavor to the beef you find there.

pasture grazed beef
Late summer 2015 grazing, 24+ month old steer (mature flavor) on left. Not just grass-fed our herd is pasture grazed.  The cow in the right image literally ran past the rest of the herd to get to this patch of showy partridge pea when turned into this new paddock.  What was she seeking?  A specific nutrient, mineral or flavor?  Maybe she just likes the pretty flowers in our pasture?