Beef Myths

1. Fat, especially intramuscular fat, is what makes prime beef tender.
   

   
   - Nonsense. Beef is tough because of the collagen in muscles. The more a muscle is exercised the tougher it gets.
   

   
   That's why the most tender cuts from any given animal are in the upper midsection, the rib and loin area of the back. The rule of thumb is that the further a cut is from a hoof or horn the more tender it will be. The neck and shoulder areas, the chuck, are tough because they are well exercised. The belly, rump and shank areas are the same but nearer to hooves than horns.
   

   
   That's also why spending some time in a feedlot helps. Standing around getting fat means no exercise and softer muscles.
   

   
   A grass farmer can use these insights to make more tender beef. Don't work them. Don't chase them around in the hills if you want tender beef. Keep them in small paddocks with no more that a day's feed in it. Calmly walk them to a new paddock each day. Have water in every paddock so that they don't have to even walk to water.
   

   
   There is a genetic issue - some animals will harden up faster than others - but the behavior aspects are far more important and much easier to control. Any animal can be treated softly and made tender.
   
   

2. Fat, especially intramuscular fat, is what makes prime beef flavorful.
   

   
   - Nonsense. Age, diet and exercise are what makes beef flavorful. Milk veal from calves 3 months or less of age is bland, a delicate flavor easily overwhelmed by spices. As the animal ages, exercises and eats forage the flavor intensity and character increases.
   

   
   This is a problem since the most flavorful beef is also the toughest. For flavor the best beef is the closest to horn or hoof. Chuck is more flavorful than tenderloin. Shank is the best of all but so tough that it is mostly used as soup bones or for making beef stock to use in braising other less tough cuts.
   

   
   The older the animal and the harder its life the better it tastes so long as it had good graze. A 3 year old steer from the mountain will taste great so long as it has good grass. Some folks like old cow for that reason.
   
   

3. Fat, especially intramuscular fat, requires grain.
   

   
   - Nonsense. Intramuscular fat builds up whenever an animal is on a good gain - 1.7 pounds per day is the number the NZ grass researchers cite. A grass fed animal on great pasture will gain at this rate and more. Still, it takes longer to finish an animal on grass, even at 2#/day, since a starchy grain diet is even hotter and they gain faster.
   

To make tender beef with intramuscular fat on grass we need great pastures and well managed grazing systems. Such beef will be a little older and so maybe a little tougher, but that means more flavor.

This is especially attractive when the health and environmental benefits are considered. The beef is more nutritious in some very important ways and the environment is improved rather than degraded by industrial monocropping to produce grain. Knowing what cuts are tough and/or flavorful and why makes it possible to prepare those cuts in ways most appropriate to them and so have a satisfying as well as healthful meal.

A relevant story is the London Broil steak. Originally it was made with flank steak, one of the toughest and yet most flavorful cuts, quite near the hooves. The method is simple - marinate it in an acid (sour) liquid such as wine that breaks down collagen, cook it briefly at high temperature to sear and seal it, and then slice it across the grain for serving to shorten the tough collagen fibers and so make them seem more tender.

This was poor man's food. Flank was cheap because it was tough. Not any more. Rich folks discovered the flavor of tough meat and drove the price up. Now when you buy a steak labeled as London broil it will probably be round steak and doesn't work so well. It's not as flavorful and it's cut wrong. To slice it cross grain you'd have to stand it on edge.