Grass Fed Beef unfavorable taste

(Richard M) #1

I researched and saw a similar post about Grass Fed Beef. I am asking for ways to reduce the unfavorable taste.

The last 30+ years I have been buying over the counter steaks. So I might have forgotten what GFB taste like when I was younger

So I did some google searching and found a couple of references that will "supposedly" help reduce the unfavorable taste.

Here is what it said:

How do you get the gamey taste out of grass fed beef? Buttermilk

How Does It Work? Buttermilk has had its lactose converted to lactic acid by probiotics. This lactic acid and protein enzymes that naturally occur in buttermilk will break down and tenderize the cellular walls of your venison or grass fed beef all while removing the gamey flavor that many find off putting.

Another site said:

You can marinate the steaks in balsamic vinegar and honey overnight, this completely lost the fishiest of our beef and tenderized the steaks as a bonus.

The question I have:

  1. How did you deal with the less than desirable taste?

  2. Will buttermilk and/or honey be advised being on KETO. If not why? If so why?

I will not stop eating GFB. Just looking for solutions.

Thanks for any advice you might give.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #2

Wow! I never thought of that! I ate moose when I homesteaded at Lake Laberge and never once ate anything that was not delicious. The thinking at the time was ‘gamey’ and other off flavours came from sloppy butchering.

(Laurie) #3

I have read here (on these forums) that grass fed beef doesn’t taste as good as grain fed. Before that, I experienced it for myself, but I thought it was just me, or something to do with that particular farmer or butcher. So it is a thing.

On keto, ignore anything about honey. Balsamic vinegar contains sugar, so that’s also a no. The buttermilk you buy in stores is not true buttermilk and has too many carbs. Instead, you could try high fat yogurt (10%-11%), or put a tablepoon of vinegar in some heavy cream.

I don’t know much about this, but I did find some suggestions online: Soak in salt brine; rinse brine off before cooking. Add extra salt at the table. Don’t overcook. Try buying meat from other farmers or butchers. Talk to the farmer or butcher about your concerns, as taste might vary according to time of year, etc.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #4

A gamey taste is often prized by gourmets. This is the rationale for the British practice of hanging pheasant for several days before eating.

I one of those people who find grass-fed beef to taste funny. And I have two or three thoughts about that:

First, it is possible to retrain taste buds.

I disliked the taste of coffee when I started drinking it, so I used to load it up with sugar and milk. (My employer at the time provided only coffee, not tea.) Nowadays I drink it black, and adulterated coffee tastes just terrible. (I can drink it with heavy cream, but that makes it taste insipid.) I also greatly enjoy unsweetened chocolate these days, whereas I used to find it too bitter to eat.

Second, grass-fed meat is not a requirement for success on a ketogenic diet.

It might be better for us in the long run, but it is not a requirement.

Third, whatever coping strategy you use, be sure it doesn’t add too much carbohydrate to your diet.

For me, honey would be a no-no regardless, because I am a sugar addict, quite apart from the added carbs.

(Bob M) #5

We bought 1/4 of a cow that was solely grass-fed. It was a different taste. I’ve always wondered how much of that was from the animal (the type of cow) and how much was from the cow being grass fed.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #6

My mother grew up on a dairy farm, and she said that where the cattle were pastured made a difference in the taste of the milk. No one liked the milk they produced when the cows ate the scallions in one field, for example (that apparently happened by accident a couple of times). So I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the animals’ diet affects the taste of their meat. Probably in conjunction with the breed, as well; I don’t mean to imply that is not a relevant factor, and I have no idea whether diet or breed would be more important to the taste.

I suspect, however, that we have been conditioned to like the taste of grain-finished beef, and that we could get used to grass-fed beef if we were to work at it. Just as I had to work at learning to like black coffee, and now really dislike it any other way.

(Richard M) #7

I got the Angus beef from my cousin. He has been in the cattle business for 50+ years. He said that the grain gives them the “better” tasting fat. He butchers a lot of beef a year. Now the hamburger tastes great. He said he would grind up some of the roast for hamburger, I might be doing that.

(Bob M) #8

Was listening to Peter Ballerstedt, and he said forages (the plants cows eat) change from season to season or even within seasons. So, he always samples bails of hay to see what nutrition (if that’s the correct word) they contain. Based on that, I can see where changes could occur.

The only way to solve this is have a farmer take two cows from the same breed, totally grass finish one of them, and then grass finish the other for as long as they normally do (typically, 70+ % of the time), then finish the other one using “grains”. And according to Peter, the cows aren’t really eating “corn”, but instead are eating mainly corn plants and whatever is fibrous and left over from harvesting corn. There may be some actual “corn”, but it’s a small amount.

When I cooked the low-PUFA pork from Fire in a Bottle, I was struck by how hard the fat was. It was not “mushy” at all. I was using pork chops, but I wonder what something like pulled pork from pork shoulder would be like? Maybe the fat might be “too” hard?

(Stickin' with mammoth) #9

This whole thread is fascinating and drives home the salient point:

No matter who you are–moose, cow, or ketoer–you are what you eat. And you can’t hide it.

PS: The one time the ritzy Angus sirloin was on sale enough for me to try it, I found it bland. Going back to regular moo was a pleasure. I’m just happy that, for once in my life, the cheaper option suits me better.

(Bob M) #10

When my family was on vacation a few years ago, we were in Boston. They had a “sampler” of steaks, which we ordered and had a taste test. I think they had prime, grass-fed, wagyu, and aged (normal). 4 small steaks. I think we all liked the prime/aged (or maybe prime/grass-fed?) the best, in a tie. I know we liked 2 and were not too fond of the other 2, including the wagyu.

I’ve also read that certain wagyu get high MUFA (monounsaturated) fat content. I’m sure that changes the flavor.

(Anthony) #11

I don’t enjoy the fishy taste or smell of grass fed beef either. I read/heard somewhere that it was due to the higher ratio of omega 3 to 6 fats. Unsure if it’s true or not.

(Jack Bennett) #12

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(David Cooke) #13

“This is the rationale for the British practice of hanging pheasant for several days before eating.”
As an ex-feasant plucker myself, for me the main reason was that it was easier to remove the feathers after a few days. Taste? We just ate it.

(Doug) #14

Used to be, Argentinian beef was almost all grass fed, and it tasted great to me, not ‘gamey’ at all. In 2008, my wife and I were there, and we noticed it everywhere - just fantastic meat. A few years later that was really changing, big feedlots and grain fed cattle becoming prominent. At the time, 2011, Brazil was said to be the new big source of grass fed beef.

I think there is also possible variation, just cow-to-cow. Grass fed or grain fed, even the same cut at the same store and the same breed (such as ‘Angus beef’) will be better on some occasions than others, in our experience.

(TeiShino) #15

I found the taste of gf beef a bit sour, is it just me? Especially the after taste.

#16

being a farmer and experimenting on our beef it boils down to if it is a taste you enjoy
how everything is finished out or not and location etc on food intake will mean diff. taste per harvest

to me grass fed ‘has a taste’ I don’t enjoy actually cause I finished out some beef on grain and not and I like grain fed better on a personal note but hubby is a hunter and we eat venison, with the all in game taste which is fine to us, we do not buttermilk or marinade or anything for a taste change.

So if it is not desirable don’t bother mostly cause the higher price of grass fed and ya have to ‘work it to work ok for ya’ ain’t worth the price diff and trouble…to me…some might wanna do it.

I eat what I love. Simple as that and won’t play with changing things over that don’t fit me but many will and posted is alot of ‘good ways to change’ meat to make it great for us.

I just posted in carnivore to soak for at least an hr the toughest cut of beef in sparkling water and it breaks down the muscle and I am gonna try it. No carb added, no extra, and see if this cut becomes omg so good just from that? hey we all experiment, give it a try if wanted!

(GINA ) #17

I don’t care for grass fed beef either. Growing up we (and most folks around us) usually had a steer on a side pasture. As it got closer to butcher time you finished it on grain. Sometimes somebody didn’t wait ot couldn’t afford the grain. That meat tasted like poor. It still does to me.

I grew up in a family of deer & elk hunters. They mostly hunted in the sage brush of Nevada and the meat had a specific flavor. It was best ground in a sauce or in a stew. As an adult I went to a friend’s house and was served a venison steak. I was expecting it to be game and sage-y, but it was delicious. Where they hunted the deer came out of the woods and fed in alfalfa and grain fields. It made all the difference in the world.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #18

So my Brit friends who told me what a delicacy it was were just having it on with the ignorant Yank?

#19

You need to start buying your meat somewhere else! I don’t like the taste of grassfed beef either, but fishy taste and smell? Somethings wrong with either the beef or your taste buds. Ever get a genetic test? Some people have SNPs that make the tastes of things wrong. My wife has the one that makes cilantro taste like soap.

Like I said, I’m not a fan of it either but it still tastes like beef to me, just a bland one.

(Anthony) #20

I haven’t been tested, and this experience is across different brands and stores. My father has the cilantro/soap thing, maybe it’s linked.