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Can anyone recommend a place like a local farmer, anywhere in downtown area, or nearby ( I live just outside downtown boise, but very close to it ), where I can get a small quantity of reasonable-priced grass feed beef, ..
.. and if I can't buy in small quantity, heck.. I'd just dump everything in my freezer currently and fill it up with beef.
I realize i could google, but I figured I'd see if anyone has direct good experience from anyone here.
Steve
Cash and Carry sells three types of beef. They sell USDA choice certified black angus. They sell a standard beef that is probably what you are buying in most supermarkets, and they sell a certified all natural beef. The all natural is about the same price as the certified black angus, which is pretty reasonable.
I have not read the label on their all natural beef to see what is being guaranteed, but it might be worth stopping in and taking a look. It's primal cuts, so they are large chunks but nothing like trying to find freezer space for half a cow from a farmer.
All the meat I've bought from Cash And Carry has been good, with the exception that I don't like the ground beef in a tube, which is still probably better than the hamburger in a tube from the supermarket.
facebook groups like treasure valley foodies have folks who provide grass fed beef I have bought from sweet valley beef out of sweet idaho and they make deliveries to boise
The title of this thread caught my eye, having dabbled in raising grass fed beef for a while.
A couple points:
Grass fed (finished, ie- not fed grain in a feed lot before slaughter) can be shown in the lab to have certain chemical differences than "industrial" feed-lot type beef, but those differences are small and don't translate into actual health differences or benefits.
"Organic" beef is supposed to be raised without chemical growth promoters. But the promoters like antibiotics or beta-agonists are discontinued a few weeks before slaughter and cannot be found in the end product meat. The estrogen used as a growth hormone found in a 6oz serving of beef is only 1/16th the level of natural estrogen found in a serving of potatoes (!).
A study from Sweden 5 or 6 yrs ago (sorry, I lost the reference) showed that cattle taken off feed lots and fed only grass for just 2 weeks prior to slaughter produced meat with the same chemical profile as grass-only beef (!).
Feed lots didn't come into general use until the mid-60s. All beef was "grass fed" prior to that. Grass fed beef tastes a little different than feed lot beef-- less fat (which is what gives beef its flavor). You gotta get used to it; once used to it, store bought meat tastes funny to you.
For reference--One steer yields ~450 lb of freezer beef and can be fit into a full size upright freezer. Your freezer compartment in a typical full size refrigerator holds ~ 1/4 cow ~100lb (but nothing else).
Check at your local meat processor/meat locker. Tell them what you're looking for and they can probably find it for you or refer you to a farmer/rancher. He'll raise it and deliver it to the processor. Technically speaking, you'll be buying a live cow (or portion thereof) and then dealing with the processor about how to cut it up and package it. He'll lead you thru it. Remember there's a difference between a front and a hind qtr-- the front has the prime rib, the hind all the other good steaks & roasts..
You'll spoil yourself doing this. The stuff you buy at the Piggly-Wiggly is junk- usually the cull dairy cattle and & other runts. The restaurant trade gets all the good stuff.
Buon appetito!
Last edited by guidoLaMoto; 12-17-2017 at 07:00 AM..
We use Omaha Steak and usually get free shipping. Just make sure you have a freezer. If you prefer purchasing small amounts I highly recommend Choice Cuts on Franklin.
If you want real good meat I suggest buffalo, but be prepared to spend considerably more for the meat. When I want it I go to an outlet on Happy Valley road.
There's much more out there via an internet search
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