Grass Fed Cooking
with Shannon Hayes
Your Questions AnsweredI love hearing questions from folks who’ve read my books or checked out the websites. Feel free to write to me (feedback@shannonhayes.info) with your culinary queries (or any other questions), and I’ll post them below. Topics:Fatty Acids in grass-fed beef What is the ratio of omega 6 fatty acids to omega 3 fatty acids in grass-fed as opposed to grain-fed beef? Please note: I am not a nutritionist. But Eatwild.com is a great source of information on this topic. Check out http://www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm. To summarize the information Jo Robinson has provided on this site, a high ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids has been linked to greater risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease, allergies, depression and auto-immune disorders. A ratio of 4 or lower is considered ideal. The ratio in grain-fed beef is typically 14 to 1; but the ratio in grass-fed is about 2 to 1. I am starting a different kind of steak house and want to have grass fed meat from Argentina. Any suggestions on what great farms to contact in Argentina? Traditional Argentinean beef is simply grassfed, and that is very easily had all over the United States. To capture the flavor, just make use of the Argentinean cooking styles, then save yourself a lot of money and support your local grass farmers. Not only is this far more ecologically sound, it is also better for your local community’s economy. I run a competition barbecue team and am excited that I have recently made arrangements to get exclusively grass-fed meats from a local farm. So here’s the question: When I cook a pork shoulder or brisket, I cook them until they reach an internal temp of 200-205 degrees in order to get the optimum tenderness. From reading “The Farmer and the Grill” I know that internal temps for such things as grass fed steaks and other meats are lower than what most folks are used to. Does the same apply in the case of the larger, slow-cooked types of meats? If a grain-fed brisket is best at 205, is a grass fed brisket going to be best at a lower temp? Wow. Tough question. I’ll give it my best shot. The lower internal meat temps are critical with the standard dry-heat cuts, like steaks, because the muscles are contracting during the dry-heat cook. Meats requiring a dry-heat cook need the flames (albeit tempered, indirect flames) so that the muscles contract and squeeze out moisture until they are adequately cooked. With grassfed, we want to slow that process to keep it tender, and we want to minimize how much water squeezes out to make sure it stays juicy in the event it is leaner. NOW....with the meats that are naturally fattier yet tougher -- like briskets and pork shoulders -- where the smoke and moisture causes the break-down of collagen (the tough connective tissue), I'd say smoke at a lower chamber temp in order to keep the muscles from contracting too quickly, but you probably want a similar internal temp for doneness as you might have for grainfed barbecue meat. This is because in the case of the tougher cuts, the long slow heat and moisture is what makes 'em tender. That said, as you have probably guessed, I'd simply cut off a piece and give it a try earlier to see if you think it's done sooner...is that not allowed in competition bbq??? I simply urge forks to give their smoked meats a fork-test – if the meat easily cuts or flakes with a fork, then it is cooked enough. But then, I am not a competition bbq-er. I’m just a girl on the hill with a grill. Any other competition bbq-ers out there want to throw in their two cents worth?
I’ve read The Farmer and the Grill, and now I want to invest in a smoker and a new grill. What do you recommend? Gas? Charcoal? Any brands? I’m living on an agricultural income, so I don’t have a lot of funds available to experiment with the wide array of grills and barbecues out there. Thus, I’m a big fan of the straight and simple Weber charcoal kettles. The price is right, last I knew they were made domestically, they’re really versatile, and they hold up for many years. I’ve used mine as a grill, smoker, rotisserie (Weber makes an attachment), grill roaster and even a pizza oven. And even though it looks small, it can handle a lot of flesh. I’ve cooked dinner for 30 dinner guests on that little kettle. Granted, it’s not really suited for a whole hog or side of beef, but I’ll leave those contraptions to the pros. I’m just a home cook. As for gas vs charcoal: Again, budget dictates to some degree. I could afford the charcoal grill. But I don’t condone the use of standard charcoal briquettes from the grocery store. I’ve written a mini-dissertation on the subject in The Farmer and the Grill, so I won’t go into detail here. Suffice to say I prefer using lump charwood, which is available at many health food stores and hardware stores. I do think the flavor is superior to gas, and it very nearly approximates the fantastic flavor of quality Argentine-style grilling without going to the expense and time for constructing a parilla and cooking with regular firewood. But if speed and convenience are what you need, and you’ve got a little bit more to spend, go for the gas. Whatever you choose,
please don’t buy a piece of junk grill just ‘cuz it’s
a bargain. Buy one grill and keep it forever. Don’t buy
something that’s going to wind up in a landfill two years down the
road. I read someplace that grassfed meat tastes best if you start cooking it while it is still cold. Is that true? And if so, how come all the recipes in your books tell people to bring the meat to room temperature before they cook it? It may be true that grassfed meat tastes better if you start with it cold. To be honest, I’ve never noticed a difference. I’ve started cooking it cold from the fridge, room temperature, frozen, fresh from the cutting room, even super fresh off a just-slaughtered animal (I don’t recommend that last one). Good meat, in my experience, tastes great no matter what the start temperature. The reason I direct folks in my recipes to start with room temp meat is for the sake of consistency. If Mary starts preparing one of my pork roast recipes with frozen meat, and John starts it with meat just out of a 35 degree refrigerator, Sally starts with meat out of a 42 degree refrigerator, Mike starts with room temperature meat and Sam goes and takes it off a squealing pig (naughty Sam), all of the cook times are going to vary. So for the sake of letting you know how I came to my timing/temperature calculations, I start with room temperature meat, and include that in the directions. If you prefer to start your meat cold, by all means, do it. Just account for it as you cook. My recipes are not rules. They’re only cooking suggestions. Just be sure to pay attention to the internal temperatures of the meat. I just received an order of turkeys from an online company. What I asked
the company to supply was Heritage Bourbon turkeys. There is nothing
identifying this on the
package or birds. In fact, I wonder if they are Heritage Bourbon turkeys.
I can get grass fed turkeys locally and much cheaper. It is the Heritage
turkey I want that I use to get here and cannot get this year.
Also there is no identifying weight of the birds. I do not know if the
charge of $127.00 is appropriate for the agreement I made--or not.
You've asked some very good questions. First things first: I think you have already figured this out, but local is always better, even if the breed you were hoping for is not available. Mail order grass-fed meat companies are helpful for folks who don't have a local meat supply, but in the end, if you want the best quality, there is no guarantee better than looking the farmer in the eye and seeing how he or she raises your food. This is also the best way to build a local economy, ensure a secure local food supply, and support environmentally responsible farming practices. But I'm guessing you knew all that, and your decision to do mail order involved your concerns about artificial insemination of the large breasted birds. Please bear with my response to this -- I'm first and foremost a farm girl, and I can be a bit callous about matters of reproduction. No, artificial insemination is not natural. And most heritage birds are still capable of mating naturally. But if you are worried about cruelty to animals, I'm not sure this should be a sticking point. In many cases, it is a way to protect females from brutalization by the males. In the case of poultry in particular, I can assure you that it is no picnic for the hen. There are not exactly flowers, chocolates and candles involved in poultry courtship (as an interesting aside, I've heard that humans and chimpanzees are the only species who engage in recreational copulation). In fact, with our chickens, my mother and I have been so upset by what roosters have done to our hens, that we've removed them from the laying flock. That's an individual farm choice - I'm not condoning or condemning such practices. But you are right to support heritage breed livestock production. They are critical for ensuring biodiversity and species survival. I understand that artificial insemination may remain a sticking point for you, but please remember that artificial insemination is also a way to expand a local gene pool without requiring that animals endure the stress of transport. All of that is great stuff to ponder, but the real question you are confronted with is knowing if you've been deceived in your on-line pastured poultry purchase. Here are some ways to tell if you have a Bourbon or a broad breasted breed: The heritage bird will be more torpedo shaped. If the breast isn't very pronounced, it is probably a heritage bird. Study the breast bone. The muscling on a broad breasted bird will curve up and away from the bone. Heritage breasts will slope down. As for what you paid, upon examining and tasting your bird, only you will know if you got what you ordered. Either way, I wouldn't consider it a total loss. After all, $127 isn't such a bad price to pay for education. I'd be willing to bet that finding a local bird the day before Thanksgiving is a pretty tall order, so stick with what you've got. Make the best with what you have, laugh about it, smile, have fun with your friends and family, and enjoy telling people what you've learned about not buying locally. This is a learning process for all of us, and your experiences are going to benefit a lot of other people. Have you ever thought about having a cooking program on television? Sure. What cookbook writer doesn’t? So that begs the question, have the cooking programs ever thought about me? Probably not. If you’re the type of person who reads my books or looks at my website, I’ll bet you're probably not the type to watch a lot of TV. Besides, I’m not sure I’m an ideal candidate for any job that requires a daily application of mascara or corporate sponsorship. Do you ever do workshops? Yes. They are out and out carnivorous feasts, and we have lots of fun. But every day I am away from Sap Bush Hollow is costly for my family, so I cannot do them for free. On rare occasions I do negotiate for good causes. Feel free to write (feedback@shannonhayes.info) for details. What breed of beef do you recommend for people who want to start up a grassfed beef operation? I don’t recommend any breeds for any of the meat livestock I write about. I’ve had great beef from all kinds of breeds. The same holds true for pork, poultry and lamb. If we decided that one breed was superior to the rest, then we’d lose out on the genetic diversity that is so critical to ecological and species health and survival. We don’t use any purebreds on Sap Bush Hollow Farm. We can’t afford them, and as a commercial meat operation, we’ve realized that many different combinations of genetics can produce fantastic meat. We tend to select traits that will perform well on grass. The sheep need to be hardy enough to lamb out in pasture in May; the beef need to have small frames that will finish efficiently on grass; the pigs need to be able to root, roam and handle the sun on their backs; the chickens need to have the ambition to hunt bugs and move about. That said, we need folks out there who have the interest and wherewithal to manage purebred herds, be they beef, lamb, pork or poultry. Those purebred lines preserve important traits, and secure the survival of these critically important species in perpetuity. Best of all, the purebred bloodlines feed our crossbred lines, helping us crossbreed farmers to enjoy genetic diversity in our herds, and to ultimately develop a unique herd that is ideally suited to the individual characteristics of our land, climate and farmers. I would like to know the various ways the Argentineans might preserve beef, such as dry or brine curing with salt, and smoking. Also, as you are already trying to do, how they make sausage, and whether they cure it and smoke it or just use it fresh. They do have dry-cured sausages, and I sampled them both in the city and in the rural countryside. I studied dry cured sausages a bit in France two winters back, and I suspected from the charcuterie I had in Argentina that the “gourmet” city companies were taking some shortcuts -- basically, taking the meat that is nearly rancid, and preserving that, which creates a sour flavor in the meat. In the countryside I found farmers who preserved their own sausages who knew better. Their recipes were not as complex, but that’s because they preserved higher quality meat and didn’t need to mask rancidity. I found a lot of brine cures as well, but so far, many of them had the same flavor/preparation problems. Of all the European countries I’ve visited thus far, France handled this the best, but even there I found I had to watch and choose carefully....although it was far easier to find top rate charcuterie. As for the fresh sausages, the butchers in Argentina were all rather secretive about their recipes, but I did manage to get a few to divulge their tips…but now I’m holding them to my chest for my own sausage line! Why is there so much difference in outside farm raised eggs and organic eggs, or those from Egglands best? I see many claims of uncaged chickens but are they really free to eat grass,bugs and enjoy the sunshine? You raise a great point. Organic eggs are not necessarily produced by hens roaming lush green fields and hillsides. They can be raised in confinement with access to the outdoors consisting of a poopy grass-less chicken yard. In fact, a label of "free range" doesn't necessarily guarantee that the chickens are raised on fresh pasture, either. (although, to be fair, there are responsible farmers who's eggs are certified organic and labeled free range who also make sure the hens are out on pasture...) Technically, "free-range birds" might have access to the outdoors (perhaps through an open barn door), and they are not in tiny cages (although they may be crowded in a pen together), but unless you are assured the hens are able to roam in pastures, snacking on bits of grass and a cornocopia of tasty insects, the eggs will not be the same. When you have true pasture-raised eggs, the yolk will be brighter in color, the flavor much more pronounced. Good, fresh eggs will have yolks that stand up higher when you crack them in the pan, and the whites will have two pronounced regions - the ring that surrounds the yolk, and then the wider external band. Hi Shannon. I have a small flock of chickens, and their eggs are fantastic! I've both read and noticed, however, that baking with such rich eggs can produce uneven results. Recipes with lots of eggs turn out too eggy and soft when I use the number of eggs called for. The obvious solution is to use fewer eggs, so I'm wondering if you have any ratio you use to adapt "regular" recipes for baking. In truth, I do not have a ratio to use, as egg size will naturally vary. It sounds like your girls are giving yousome pretty sizeable eggs. Older hens will produce larger eggs, and there will also be variation among species. When we buy eggs at the grocery store, they are already pre-sorted by size, and often recipes will specify "large" eggs (as opposed to, for example "jumbo" eggs). Farm fresh eggs aren't often sorted this way, unless they are sold through a retail store. So here's the answer you already know. If your eggs look huge, use less Can you talk a bit about ideas for cooking pastured pork? I'm always surprised at how many people over-cook pork -- especially responsibly-produced pork, raised out on pastures. The USDA tells us to cook it to a minimum of 160 degrees. If you choose to follow this recommendation, please don't invite me to dinner! Trichinae are destroyed at 137 degrees, so as long as you cook above that temperature, you are well within the safety zone. I feel that pork tastes best around 145-150 degrees, where there's still some lovely pink juice drifting about the meat. What do you think of "brining" my pastured turkey? Thanks for your help. A lot of people are fans of brining. If you opt to do this, do it because you actually like the brine -- not because the turkey actually needs it. Brining has become popular in recent years to add juice and flavor to otherwise lousy tasting, dry factory-farmed birds. Pasture raised turkeys enable you to skip those extra steps, because you are just working with a better product to begin with. Even a little over-cooking won't dry them out. And they actually have inherent flavor, so there is no need to try to "invent" one with a brine. But if your family cherishes the holiday brine, it won't hurt the bird at all, and it will taste every bit as delicious. Follow the cooking instructions I already posted. Where are you going next for your culinary adventures? Probably New Zealand. But not yet. I just squeezed out a second baby, we went solar with our cabin, and we just self-published a book. Oh…and the engine light just came on in the Jetta, and my property taxes are about to double. So money’s a bit tight. Hmm. Maybe corporate sponsorship isn’t such a bad idea after all… Are you married? Yes. Very happily. Two kids. But you made my day by asking. |
