If you have the opportunity to purchase steak from multiple grass-fed sources, you may immediately notice that grass-fed steak varies tremendously in fat content and tenderness. One of the reasons is due to the seasonality of beef production, but perhaps a bigger reason for variation in “grillable-ness” is that every grass-fed beef producer is different in their philosophy and strategy for producing beef.

At Shady Grove Ranch, we’re not afraid of fat (and indeed believe it is the best part of a well-raised animal!), so we strive to raise our grass-fed cows in such a way that they are well-marbled at slaughter. Our strategy could be described as holistic, since it incorporates good management of land and animal as well as accounting for the genetic tendencies of individual animals. In simple terms, some cows fatten faster than others, so the slow-growing ones need more time before harvest to ensure that they are well-finished. We’re ok with that if it means better quality grass-fed beef. 

If we have an animal that may have questionable tenderness at harvest time–reasons might include the need to cull a cow at an optimum time of year, or for older animals that are due to retire–we’ll have the steaks turned into hamburger, or just separate them so we can try them before putting them into the “for sale” stash. It is pretty rare that we have steaks that end up too tough or lean to sell to customers, but it has happened. More steak for us!

Though definitely not as “tender” as conventionally produced corn-fed steak, our grass-fed steak is excellent and could be described as tender without the mushiness that can come from corn-fed beef. As we continue to develop our beef herd, we hope to achieve more and more tenderness and marbling. The take-away from this article is that what works for one farm’s grass-fed steak may not work for another’s. Here are some tips for how to grill our grass-fed steak.