Grass Fed Beef Tips

[Shellie]

I'm getting 10 pounds of grass fed ground beef next weekend. It's supposed to be around 1% fat. Since I cannot even cook 4% Laura's ground beef without drying it out, I'm a little nervous about the grass fed beef. Any tips? I usually use ground beef for burgers/steaks, meatballs, meatloaf, stroganoff and that sort of thing. Thanks

[witchygrrl]

when I cook grassfed ground beef, I try to cook it with onions and peppers either inside the meat or in the skillet with it for extra moisture. and maybe some butter too?

[Llyra]

If you're cooking it by a moist-heat method (like simmering meatballs in a sauce, for example, where there's liquid added) then you may just need a longer, slower cooking time. Grass-fed beef likes to cook slower and longer to stay tender and moist.

If you're cooking by dry-heat methods (like baking or broiling, for example, or pan-browning) you might want to add a little extra fat to the meat. Choose good natural fats like butter, palm oil, or olive oil. (One of our favorite meatloaf strategies actually is to add mashed avocado to the mixture, which adds lots of good fats.) Grass-fed beef is lean, and the extra fat will help keep it tender and moist. Also, try covering it for part or all of the cooking time, to keep the moisture in, and cooking more slowly at a lower temperature, which means cooking for a bit longer.

[annethcz]

We eat grassfed beef also. But I don't think ours has *that* low of a fat percentage.

I don't usually have a problem with the meat drying out when I brown ground beef for tacos, casseroles, etc. I always saute an onion with the beef.

I have noticed that our burgers were dry, so when making burgers I mix a few tablespoons of oil as well as some worchestershire or soy sauce with the meat- it really does make a difference in making sure the burgers come out moist.

When it comes to steaks, I think the key is just to not overcook it. We like on meat on the rare side, so it's usually not a problem for us.