I like a good steak – rich, tender, juicy, barely cooked. Most of all, I like a good grass-fed steak. In fact anything else leaves me a bit queasy. There’s a striking difference between local grass-fed meats and those that are raised on feedlots – not only in flavor, but also in nutrient profiles. For the natural foods cook, grass-fed beef presents an added challenge: that of preserving its tenderness.
You see, the grain-fed beef most of us have been fed throughout our lives is a distinctly different food in comparison to grass-fed meats. Lower in overall fat content, and higher in omega-3 fatty acids, than feedlot beef, grass-fed beef simply cooks differently. Its very leanness, that which makes it nourishing and flavorful, requires a tender hand in the kitchen with a mind for simple, slow technique. In our home, we can maximize the flavor of grass-fed beef and tenderize it through a simple technique of searing followed by slow pan-braising.
