How you cook grass-fed beef will make a huge difference in the end result. Grass-fed beef has to be cooked differently than store bought beef, or it will not taste good. The meat is leaner (like bison, elk, etc.) and cannot be cooked as long as fatty steaks. Our favorite way to cook grass-fed beef is to marinade it and then slowly bring the temperature up and finish it using a reverse sear method.
The biggest problem with cooking grass-fed beef is over cooking it. The meat is leaner and should be served medium rare to medium. If you like your steaks well-done you need to a Sous vide.
Marinade First
You can use your favorite marinade of lemon, vinegar, wine, beer or bourbon. If you use vinegar, beer or bourbon use about 1/3 less than you use on your store-bought beef. The grass-fed beef is leaner and doesn’t take as long to cook so it doesn’t give as long to evaporate vinegar, beer or bourbon.
If possible, marinade for a least 24 hours to allow the marinade to absorb into the meat. If you use beer or bourbon the alcohol will start breaking down the meat fibers and in essence tenderizing it.
When you are ready to cook the meat take it out of the marinade and pat the steaks dry. It is very important that the outside of the steak be dry before cooking.
Natural Meat Tenderizer
We highly recommend the Jaccard meat tenderizer which uses no chemicals. This tenderizer has won the prestigious Gold Medal presented by Chefs in America and the easiest way to produce a great meal. Plus, in literally seconds the Jaccard will tenderize all your meats including grass fed beef, grain feed beef, poultry, veal, venison, pork and lamb.
Reverse Sear Process
Everyone has probably heard of searing the outer part of a steak. Normally, people do this first and then cook the steak to temperature. The reverse sear process is the same but reversed.
You make sure the steaks are patted dry and that they are at room temperature before cooking. The objective is to slow cook the meat, so the inside is 10 degrees below your desired temperature.
- Set your oven or smoker to 180 degrees
- Salt both sides of your steaks
- Use tongs and never a fork to move your steaks
- Cook your steaks until the internal temperature is 120 degrees (use a meat thermometer)
- Let sit for 10 min. to redistribute the inside juices
- Heat a cast iron pan on high with butter
- Sear the steaks for 3 minutes a side
- Let it sit for 5-7 minutes before cutting
- Enjoy
GRASS-FED BEEF COOKING TIPS
- Grass-fed steak has less water and less fat content than the grain-finished steak you might be used to. Here are our best tips for cooking a grass-finished steak to perfect yumminess:
- Grass-fed beef takes 25-30% less time to cook. If you typically cook your rib steaks 4 minutes per side, try 3 minutes with a grass-finished steak.
- Sous vide is a fail-safe cooking method for grass-finished. If you’re at all nervous about over-cooking your grass-fed steak, sous vide it in a vacuum-sealed bag. That method has the dual benefit of zero lost moisture content (so it won’t dry out) and temperature precision (meaning you won’t overcook it).
- Reverse-sear makes sure high heat comes into play only at the end, cooking the steak in a low-heat oven to your desired temperature (medium-rare is best for maximum tenderness) before quickly searing the steak in a very hot pan to create a caramelized crust at the end.
- With grass-fed, marinades are your friend. Rubs and marinades can often overwhelm more mellow grain-finished beef, but are perfect for rounding out the flavor of grass-fed beef. Marinades in particular help keep the meat moist, preventing it from overcooking and drying out.