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Having a Cow About Steak Quality
WSJ ^ | 08 May 2010 | MARK SCHATZKER

Posted on 05/10/2010 4:32:30 AM PDT by Palter

Mass output and U.S. rules have diminished flavor; what aficionados should demand

Let's talk about steak for a moment. Was the last one you ate good? How about the one before that? Be honest.

The first bite, in all probability, was juicy and tender. Not bad. A brief hit of beefiness, enough to spur you on to bite No. 2. But by bite No. 4, there was a problem: grease. The tongue gets entirely coated in it. It is at this point that many hands reach for that terrible abomination called steak sauce. It's acidic and zingy and cuts through grease, but it blots out the weak flavor of the steak.

At steak houses all over the country, wine drinkers know the variety of grapes used to make the wine, the patch of earth where they were grown, and the year they were picked. They might even know whether the wine was aged in a barrel made from oak grown in France or America.

They don't know nearly as much about their steak.

Not the breed, not what the cow ate, or where it was raised. All anyone seems to know about steak today is this: It doesn't have much flavor. The great American steak is great in name only. It has become like its hated nemesis, boneless chicken breast: bland.

The decline started back in 1926 when the U.S. Department of Agriculture began grading beef. Like the rest of the country, steak had undergone a big change in the preceding decades. It was being churned out of factories like the famous Chicago and Kansas City stockyards and being distributed throughout the country. Hotels, restaurants and butcher shops were buying beef sight unseen. Some was good, and some wasn't. So the government stepped in to make things right.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Agriculture; Business/Economy; Food
KEYWORDS: beef; cattle; farming; food; steak; usda
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To: The Great RJ
I guess I am spoiled living in the beef raising Great Plains...

Yes, you are. I grew up in IL and we had some pretty good beef. I came to CT only to find that what they call "beef" here is really horse or something else.

I have found some really good tasting beef at BJ's Warehouse.

Ever been to East Dubuque, IL? I was there long time ago at Timmerman's Supper Club. Best filet I ever ate. Could almost cut it with a fork and it was cheap.

21 posted on 05/10/2010 6:04:14 AM PDT by raybbr (Someone who invades another country is NOT an immigrant - illegal or otherwise.)
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To: raybbr

Ah, you’re falling into the trap of making government regulation seem the antithesis of fascism/corporatism, rather than the heart and soul of it! Those who possess the largest current market share ALWAYS favor regulation, since regulation is the best way to preserve market share!


22 posted on 05/10/2010 6:10:34 AM PDT by dangus
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To: Frenchtown Dan
It is a rare occasion that I buy beef -- if you are eating red meat at our house, it is likely deer, elk, moose or bison. No hormones or antibiotics, we know exactly how the meat was handled and aged since I process the meat myself, and I love the time I spend hunting. It is a winning situation all around.

Why anyone would put a tenderloin or backstrap in stew is a mystery to me.

23 posted on 05/10/2010 6:19:30 AM PDT by JustaDumbBlonde (Don't wish doom on your enemies. Plan it.)
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To: Venturer

You are correct but they darn sure are NOT used for steaks........ Its called hamburger.

Besides Dairy cows are in milk production for @ 3 to 4 years before they are harvested for meat. First milk parity begins at 2 years of age. So dairy cows are @ 5 -6 years of age before harvest.

FYI

MFO


24 posted on 05/10/2010 6:19:42 AM PDT by Man from Oz
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To: raybbr

It would be a little easier to take the author seriously if the picture accompanying the original article had been of a steer rather than a lactating brood cow.


25 posted on 05/10/2010 6:20:19 AM PDT by Mr. Lucky
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To: Palter

I don’t want the government stepping in, but I wish the steak houses would do a better job of sourcing their meat.


26 posted on 05/10/2010 6:26:19 AM PDT by dangerdoc
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To: Palter

The ABSOLUTE BEST meat market EVER : fareway.com


27 posted on 05/10/2010 6:26:21 AM PDT by US Navy Vet
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To: The Great RJ

Thanks for the local info, I’ll try to get a ‘real’ steak if I’m ever in those locations.


28 posted on 05/10/2010 6:29:10 AM PDT by Palter (Kilroy was here.)
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To: Palter

I’ve never eaten a steak that coated my tongue with grease.


29 posted on 05/10/2010 6:52:19 AM PDT by calex59
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To: Palter
You have to be of a certain age to remember when beef and chicken actually had great flavor. Today's generation doesn't have a clue.

So they buy the tasteless chicken and the bland beef. Then they wonder why they have to douse the cuts with catsup, barbeque sauces, herbs, spices, souped-up breadings, garlicky rubs, specialized salts and peppers, marinades, hot sauces, faux mesquites/smoke flavors, wines, beers, citrus juices, dried soup mixes, bouillons and worcestershires to make the meat or poultry edible.

The only steaks I buy are quality rib eyes from a private butcher....tasty because they are marbled with (gasp) fat. The horror!

Chicken I eschew completely....I can't think of anything more bland than today's chicken. You might as well cut up a frisbee, bread it and bake it.

Too bad about chicken....nothing that diets of barnyard worms and scraps couldn't rectify. But those days and methods are gone forever, I fear.

Leni

30 posted on 05/10/2010 6:53:09 AM PDT by MinuteGal (Bill O'Reilly: 9/8/09: "Communism is not a threat to us anymore" - 10/20/09 "Obama is not a Marxist")
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To: Palter

Buy the $50/lb. stuff and be happy.


31 posted on 05/10/2010 7:26:43 AM PDT by count-your-change (You don't have be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
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To: Venturer

Yes, but for the most part they don’t cut them into steaks. Think ground beef. Have you ever seen a round steak from one of those huge dairy cows, they are huge!


32 posted on 05/10/2010 7:32:57 AM PDT by tiki (True Christians will not deliberately slander or misrepresent others or their beliefs)
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To: JustaDumbBlonde

“Why anyone would put a tenderloin or backstrap in stew is a mystery to me.”

Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it! My wife’s stew is awesome, she puts it up in a crock pot with a some veggies & herbs and a hearty red wine. It’ll knock your socks off.

Besides, we have so much of it. Where I live actually has a higher deer population than human, and it seems like there are more of them every year. I’ve had over 20 at a time surrounding my bird feeders in the winter and herds of 30 - 40 are not uncommon.

I’ve tried elk & bison, pretty good I thought, never tried moose though.


33 posted on 05/10/2010 7:33:30 AM PDT by Frenchtown Dan
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To: dangus

No trap at all. In my original post I said pretty much what you said. The ranchers did nothing to oppose regulation knowing the regulations would end up benefiting them.


34 posted on 05/10/2010 7:44:00 AM PDT by raybbr (Someone who invades another country is NOT an immigrant - illegal or otherwise.)
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To: tiki

Yeah I was thinking McDonalds, and Burger King. LOL


35 posted on 05/10/2010 7:54:10 AM PDT by Venturer
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To: Doogle

If he decides to make friends with you, you’ll need a bath afterwards.


36 posted on 05/10/2010 8:13:46 AM PDT by libstripper
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To: JimVT
The Certified Angus Beef label came from ranchers that raise Angus beef to promote their product. They have a direct stake (steak?) in the marketing and quality of their product through breeding and husbandry. This is how it SHOULD BE... USDA grading is for lazy slobs.

I tell you, one of the fundamentals of capitalism is that a product is only worth what people are willing to pay for it... if people DEMAND angus beef, then price will reflect that. If the producers provide a crap product, people won't buy it.

Personally, I never go by a label. I've seen choice steaks that were clearly prime, and I've had Angus beef that tasted like candied goat anus. It happens.

Still, Fillet Mignon is not good just because it's Fillet Mignon. Most people are just snotty wannabe foodies and don't realize this... Oh, and 80% lean Certified Angus hamburger is still just hamburger, but with a markup.

37 posted on 05/10/2010 8:34:48 AM PDT by Rodamala
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To: Palter
I only go to a butcher shop for my meats. Yes, it's more expensive (WAY MORE expensive) but well worth the price.

I usually pay $15 to $20 for each cut of porterhouse or New York strip at the butcher shop, but it will blow away what they serve you at the Outback or any other moderately-priced steak joint.

Consider what you would spend dining out at a restaurant against what you would pay at the butcher shop and it's a no-brainer.

38 posted on 05/10/2010 8:38:54 AM PDT by SamAdams76 (I am 106 days away from outliving Francis Gary Powers)
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To: raybbr

Innerestin’


39 posted on 05/10/2010 10:23:17 AM PDT by El Sordo (The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen.)
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To: Frenchtown Dan
"Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!"

If you enjoy it, that's great! My only point is that tenderloin or backstrap is not a cut of meat that I would slow cook -- the fine flavor is lost, IMHO, and those cuts are naturally tender and not in need of braising. Therein lies the mystery to me, but I realize that personal tastes vary. Bon appetit~~~

40 posted on 05/10/2010 10:26:06 AM PDT by JustaDumbBlonde (Don't wish doom on your enemies. Plan it.)
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