Creating Steak Recipes

Creating the best steak recipe possible means starting with best beef possible. There are some things to keep in mind for you to be able to choose the best cut of meat possible. Choose a cut of meat with a rich red color and striations, or marbling, running through it. The red color tells you that the beef is fresh. The fat running through the meat gives it flavor and tenderness. Choose meat that springs back when you poke it gently. There should be some give but the cut should regain its texture soon after.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the overseer of the industry and determines the grades of beef for meat packers. It’s the marbling in the beef that is the main criteria for how beef is graded and priced in U. S. The more marbling throughout the beef, the more costly the cut will be. The choicest cuts of meat, which are well marbled and tender, can only be found at the best butchers and markets.

Only officially graded beef carries the USDA designation seal. If it doesn’t, the grade of the beef has been determined by the grocery store you are purchasing the meat from. This may be acceptable if you know and trust the managers at the store. Otherwise, it’s best to look for the USDA seal and get the highest grade you can.

When choosing the best cut of beef you can find, there’s one other aspect to consider and that’s grass fed beef. Grass fed beef is becoming more popular and more readily available in many markets. Grass fed beef has less marbling and fat then corn fed beef, however, grass fed steaks can be extremely tender and flavorful. There’s lots of scientific testing too that, shows grass fed beef is high in all kinds of nutrients that do not show up in traditionally grain fed, feedlot cattle. Pasture fed beef cattle show high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, vitamin E, and other nutrients.

Forage grazing animals tend to have a better, balanced level of pH in their systems. A pH level of 7 is neutral, which is perfect for excellent health in animals and human beings as well. A neutral pH of 7 is also very good for an abundance of essential fermentation bacteria that helps to create high levels of omega-3s, amino acids, vitamins and digestive enzymes.

However, when an animal lives on a starchy grain diet, the healthy neutral pH 7 suddenly drops to a very acidic pH 4. This can happen quickly too. Taking cattle of pasture and putting them on 30 days of grain can undo 200 days of grazing chemistry. This is a fast turn around and one that can be avoided.

It’s important to understand that with this increase in acidity, comes a type of fermentation bacteria that impedes the production of healthy fats in the animal’s blood stream. To offset this, cattle farmers must give daily doses of low-level antibiotics to aid the animal’s livers to deal with the excess acidity in their systems.So, whenever possible, choose grass fed beef because it will not only taste better, it’s better for the environment.