Get the Grill Going
Our Pasture-fed Beefalo is not only raised differently than your everyday supermarket beef, it cooks up a little different too. Take a look below at some of our facts & suggestions to ensure you get the most out of our product.
THAWING
Don't use a microwave to thaw your pasture-fed beefalo (it tends to cook the edges of your beef before the center is fully thawed). Either thaw your beefalo in the refrigerator, or for quick thawing place your vacuum sealed package in the water for a few minutes.
AFTER THAWING, BUT BEFORE COOKING-2 rules of thumb
1) Make sure you bring the meat to room temperature before adding it to your cooking source *If you throw a cold steak straight out of the fridge into a hot frying pan, you will thermal shock the meat which will make the end product tough.
2) Make sure you pre-heat your chosen cooking source before adding the meat. *If your pan is not hot enough when you add the meat, you will be much more likely to overcook the meat.
LESS COOKING TIME
Pasture-fed beefalo cooks in 30% less time than beef and it also shrinks 1/3 less than beef. The main reason for tough pasture-fed beefalo is overcooking. This beef is made for rare to medium rare cooking! If you like well done beef, then cook your pasture-fed beefalo at very low temperatures in a sauce to add moisture. To prevent overcooking, use a good meat thermometer and measure the temperature in the thickest part of the meat. Watch the thermometer carefully, your beefalo can go from perfectly cooked to overcooked in less than a minute. Pasture-fed beefalo has high protein and low fat levels. The beef usually will require less cooking time and will continue to cook when removed from heat.
USE TONGS
Never use a fork to turn your beefalo, precious juices will be lost, always use tongs.
LET IT REST
Whether roasting or grilling, let the beef sit for 8 to 10 Minutes for steaks and 15-20 minutes for roasts after removing from heat to let the juices redistribute.
MARINATING "ECONOMY" STEAKS
We recommend marinating steaks that are less tender like: Chuck steak. London broil, eye of round steaks, skirt, flap, and hangar steaks. (Skirt, flap and hangar are excellent to slice thinly for fajitas after grilling.: For these cuts, allow at least 6 hours. Once you've marinated the steaks, - get a grill or cast iron skillet HOT and just before adding the steaks, coat the skillet with olive oil, sear the outside of the steaks, then turn the heat down to cook the steak outside of the steaks, then turn the heat down to cook the steak only until rare (120 degrees at center of steak). Remove steak from pan and let rest 5 minutes. If you don't have time to marinate just coat your thawed steak with your favorite rub, place on a solid surface, cover with plastic and pound your steak a few times to break down the connective tissue. As an added benefit your favorite rub will be pushed into your grass-fed beefalo. Don't go overboard and flatten your beef unless your recipe calls for it.
DO NOT MARINATE PREMIUM STEAKS
We do not recommend marinating premium steaks like NY Strip, Tenderloin, Rib eye, Porterhouse, T-Bone or Flat Iron. Marinating them can make them mushy. Sirloin, Sirloin-Tip and Flank Steaks can be marinated but usually for no more than 1 hour. These steaks are best grilled or pan-seared in a hot skillet with only salt & pepper, or a rub. Get your cast iron skillet or grill HOT, add a little olive oil to the skillet just before adding the steaks. Sear both sides, and then turn the heat down to cook the steak only until rare (120 degrees at center of steak). Remove steak from pan and let rest 10 minutes.
RARE ROASTS
For premium roasts like Top Round, Sirloin, Sirloin-Tip and Prime Rib roasts... When roasting, sear the beef first to lock in the juices. Alternately, rub the roast with olive oil and put it in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Then REDUCE the temperature to 350 degrees and cook until the meat registers 120 degrees in the center of the roast. Remove the roast from the oven and let it rest for 15 - 20 minutes. Use the pan juices to make a Yorkshire pudding, sauce or Au Jus. Again... watch your meat thermometer and don't overcook your meat. Braising the Pot Roasts - For traditional "pot" roasts like Bottom roasts, Briskets, Chuck roasts, Eye of round roasts or shoulder roasts, just follow your favorite recipe that will use moisture from your roast.
REMEMBER, GRASS-FED BEEFALO COOKS IN 30% LESS TIME THEN REGULAR STORE BOUGHT BEEF.
Cooking times are as follows:
Roasts - should be seared at 400 degrees for 20 minutes (for a 3 - 4 lb. roast)
Reduce heat to 280 degrees for a total of 25 minutes per pound cooking time (including searing
time).
Internal roast temperatures
Rare - 120 degrees
Med-Rare - 125 degrees
Medium - 130 degrees
Well done - not recommended
Steaks
Rare - grilled 3 minutes per side
Med-Rare - 4 minutes per side
Medium - 5 minutes per side
Well done - not recommended
Recommended cooking temperature is medium high.
THAWING
Don't use a microwave to thaw your pasture-fed beefalo (it tends to cook the edges of your beef before the center is fully thawed). Either thaw your beefalo in the refrigerator, or for quick thawing place your vacuum sealed package in the water for a few minutes.
AFTER THAWING, BUT BEFORE COOKING-2 rules of thumb
1) Make sure you bring the meat to room temperature before adding it to your cooking source *If you throw a cold steak straight out of the fridge into a hot frying pan, you will thermal shock the meat which will make the end product tough.
2) Make sure you pre-heat your chosen cooking source before adding the meat. *If your pan is not hot enough when you add the meat, you will be much more likely to overcook the meat.
LESS COOKING TIME
Pasture-fed beefalo cooks in 30% less time than beef and it also shrinks 1/3 less than beef. The main reason for tough pasture-fed beefalo is overcooking. This beef is made for rare to medium rare cooking! If you like well done beef, then cook your pasture-fed beefalo at very low temperatures in a sauce to add moisture. To prevent overcooking, use a good meat thermometer and measure the temperature in the thickest part of the meat. Watch the thermometer carefully, your beefalo can go from perfectly cooked to overcooked in less than a minute. Pasture-fed beefalo has high protein and low fat levels. The beef usually will require less cooking time and will continue to cook when removed from heat.
USE TONGS
Never use a fork to turn your beefalo, precious juices will be lost, always use tongs.
LET IT REST
Whether roasting or grilling, let the beef sit for 8 to 10 Minutes for steaks and 15-20 minutes for roasts after removing from heat to let the juices redistribute.
MARINATING "ECONOMY" STEAKS
We recommend marinating steaks that are less tender like: Chuck steak. London broil, eye of round steaks, skirt, flap, and hangar steaks. (Skirt, flap and hangar are excellent to slice thinly for fajitas after grilling.: For these cuts, allow at least 6 hours. Once you've marinated the steaks, - get a grill or cast iron skillet HOT and just before adding the steaks, coat the skillet with olive oil, sear the outside of the steaks, then turn the heat down to cook the steak outside of the steaks, then turn the heat down to cook the steak only until rare (120 degrees at center of steak). Remove steak from pan and let rest 5 minutes. If you don't have time to marinate just coat your thawed steak with your favorite rub, place on a solid surface, cover with plastic and pound your steak a few times to break down the connective tissue. As an added benefit your favorite rub will be pushed into your grass-fed beefalo. Don't go overboard and flatten your beef unless your recipe calls for it.
DO NOT MARINATE PREMIUM STEAKS
We do not recommend marinating premium steaks like NY Strip, Tenderloin, Rib eye, Porterhouse, T-Bone or Flat Iron. Marinating them can make them mushy. Sirloin, Sirloin-Tip and Flank Steaks can be marinated but usually for no more than 1 hour. These steaks are best grilled or pan-seared in a hot skillet with only salt & pepper, or a rub. Get your cast iron skillet or grill HOT, add a little olive oil to the skillet just before adding the steaks. Sear both sides, and then turn the heat down to cook the steak only until rare (120 degrees at center of steak). Remove steak from pan and let rest 10 minutes.
RARE ROASTS
For premium roasts like Top Round, Sirloin, Sirloin-Tip and Prime Rib roasts... When roasting, sear the beef first to lock in the juices. Alternately, rub the roast with olive oil and put it in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Then REDUCE the temperature to 350 degrees and cook until the meat registers 120 degrees in the center of the roast. Remove the roast from the oven and let it rest for 15 - 20 minutes. Use the pan juices to make a Yorkshire pudding, sauce or Au Jus. Again... watch your meat thermometer and don't overcook your meat. Braising the Pot Roasts - For traditional "pot" roasts like Bottom roasts, Briskets, Chuck roasts, Eye of round roasts or shoulder roasts, just follow your favorite recipe that will use moisture from your roast.
REMEMBER, GRASS-FED BEEFALO COOKS IN 30% LESS TIME THEN REGULAR STORE BOUGHT BEEF.
Cooking times are as follows:
Roasts - should be seared at 400 degrees for 20 minutes (for a 3 - 4 lb. roast)
Reduce heat to 280 degrees for a total of 25 minutes per pound cooking time (including searing
time).
Internal roast temperatures
Rare - 120 degrees
Med-Rare - 125 degrees
Medium - 130 degrees
Well done - not recommended
Steaks
Rare - grilled 3 minutes per side
Med-Rare - 4 minutes per side
Medium - 5 minutes per side
Well done - not recommended
Recommended cooking temperature is medium high.