Any Secret Marinates?

[so lucky]

Has anyone read "The Omnivore's Dilemma"? Says that since grass is the cow's natural food, it has a special system for digesting it, and avoiding gastric issues. Then when grass is replaced by corn, the cow will get sick unless it is fed antibiotics consistently. So we may be getting more tender beef, but at great expense to the cow, and possibly dangerous levels of antibiotic in our systems.
I am not a farmer or rancher, and possibly don't know the difference between good and so-so beef. I may well become a vegan after reading that book.

 

[bj taylor]

bobm you are a lucky person indeed. I would love to learn from you how you harvest your cow and butcher it. huge amount of information required to do it right.

steve, do you add sweet to some of your marinades? if so, how do you portion it in the recipe you posted above - or do you just wing it? what do you use as a sweetener - like for chicken or pork?

 

[journey11]

Has anyone read "The Omnivore's Dilemma"? Says that since grass is the cow's natural food, it has a special system for digesting it, and avoiding gastric issues. Then when grass is replaced by corn, the cow will get sick unless it is fed antibiotics consistently. So we may be getting more tender beef, but at great expense to the cow, and possibly dangerous levels of antibiotic in our systems.
I am not a farmer or rancher, and possibly don't know the difference between good and so-so beef. I may well become a vegan after reading that book.

The grass-fed has been found to be heart-healthier too.

 

[digitS']

I don't remember using a sweetener, BJ. Usually, I'm trying to think of ways to limit the salt.

Journey mentioning the steak seasoning made me think of Mrs. Dash.

That is a real common choice of seasoning around here for something like that - low-sodium, too!

Steve

 

[bobm]

Well BJ ... since I worked my way through college at a University Vet. Med Teaching Hospital ... I would use a captive bolt pistol, shoot the bovine, skin and remove all guts and organs on the concrete floor, and take many tissue samples for histology study, then use a winch to take the remaining carcass into the cooler in less than 45 minutes. When butchering for myself, I use a 22 long rifle bullet into the brain, use a pully to hang in from a 300 year old oak tree to skin and gut using a boning knife, then use a 2 hand cleaver or a 3' long bone saw, to spit the carcass in half leanghwise down the backbone, ( sometimes I would quarter the carcass for easier handling) then take the carcass to a walk in cooler to hang for 21 days. I have a 3 phase meat band saw to then cut up the carcass into desired cuts and a 220 commercial meat grinder to grind leftovers into hamburger. Then wrap and freeze. We have fresh liver for dinner that night , and what we don't eat that night , I grind up to make liverworst. I also save the tongue for the next day's meal. I also boil the meat off the head, legs, tail to make head cheese and /or freeze for stews or tacos. The dogs got the leftover bones and hooves. Nothing is wasted!

 

[Nyboy]

Afraid to ask whats head cheese?

 

[bj taylor]

wow bobm, that's great knowledge and skill to have. it's pretty disturbing to someone who is dreading the day she has to kill some chickens in about a month.

I have a book (book is as close as I've gotten to any butchering of any animal except fish). it says to make an imaginary x between the eyes & the horns. shoot just off center of the X, which is above the eyes, with a shotgun (it doesn't specify gage so I would guess 12 ga (i'm assuming w/a slug) 12 to 18" away. what is your opinion of shotgun vs 22 rifle for this purpose? do you have any recommendations for the rifle?

are you able to take a carcass you have processed to someone's walk in cooler? I suspect I would be challenged to find such a place

I think someone could have come up with a better name than "head cheese".

what in the world do you have big enough to boil the head, legs, tail in?