Abundant Pastures Ranch (Cooking Tips)
Tips for Cooking GrassFed Beef
1. Never use a microwave to thaw your grassfed beef. 2. Bring your grassfed meat to room temperature before cooking.
3. Always pre-heat your oven, pan or grill before cooking grassfed beef.
4. The main reason for tough grassfed beef is overcooking.
The easiest way to prevent overcooking is to use a good cooking thermometer-not a meat thermometer.
We prefer the digital thermometers (about $25), but the dial ones ($8-15) will work as well. You want to
measure the temperature in the thickest part of the meat.
Here is the most important part! Meat continues to cook even after it has been removed from the heat
source, therefore, you want to stop cooking the meat just before it has reached the desired doneness; it will
finish cooking on its own from the residual heat.
Here are the recommended final temperatures for meats. Remove them from the heat source 5-10 degrees
prior to achieving the desired temperature and allow them to finish cooking via residual heat.
Rare – 120 degrees
Medium rare – 125 degrees
Medium – 130 degrees
Medium well – 135 degrees
Well – 140 degrees
5. Steaks are intended for rare to medium. If you like well-done beef, then cook grassfed beef cut
in smaller pieces at very low temperatures in a sauce to add moisture.
6. Since grassfed beef is extremely low in fat, coat with virgin olive oil or a favorite light oil for flavor
enhancement and easy browning. The oil will also prevent drying and sticking.
7. Stovetop cooking is great for any type of steak... including grassfed steak! You have more control over
the temperature than on the grill. You can use butter in the final minutes when the heat is low to carry
the taste of fresh garlic through the meat as professional chefs do. Generally speaking, grassfed steaks do not
like the broiler.
8. Grassfed beef has high protein and low fat levels. The beef usually will require at least 30% less cooking
time and will continue to cook when removed from heat. For this reason, remove the beef from your
heat source about 10 degrees before it reaches the desired temperature.
9. If you use a thermometer to test for doneness, watch the thermometer carefully. Since grassfed beef
cooks so quickly, your beef can go from perfectly cooked to overcooked in less than a minute.
10. Always use tongs to turn your beef... never use a fork! Precious juices will be lost.
11. If roasting, reduce the temperature of typical beef recipes by 50 degrees. This usually means around
275 degrees for roasting, or at the lowest heat setting in a crock pot. The cooking time will still be the
same or slightly shorter, even at the lower temperature. Again, watch your meat thermometer and don't
overcook your meat. Use moisture from sauces to add to the tenderness when cooking your roast.
12. When roasting, sear the beef to lock in the juices: You can do this by pan searing on top of the stove or
by placing the roast in a HOT oven (450 degrees), then drop the dial to your baking temp as soon as the
oven door is closed. Save your leftovers... roasted grassfed beef slices make good, healthy, luncheon
meats instead of processed "lunch-meats".
13. When grilling, sear the meat quickly over a high heat on each side to seal in its natural juices and then
reduce the heat to a medium or low to finish the cooking process. Also, baste to add moisture
throughout the grilling process. Don't forget grassfed beef requires at least 30% less cooking time so
don't leave your steaks unattended.
14. When you are preparing hamburgers on the grill, use caramelized onions, olives or roasted peppers
to add low fat moisture to the meat while it is cooking. Make sure you do not overcook your burgers. At
least 30% less cooking time is required.
Juicy Marinated Burgers
Take your ground beef package out the day before serving and let it thaw. Add seasonings to marinate the meat
that will cook with it tomorrow. The day of serving, open the refrigerator and see what vegetables and/or herbs
you may have. Dice the vegetables and herbs you have selected until there is about 1 part vegetables to 2 to 4
parts of meat. Mix the veggies and the meat and the herbs. Add an egg per pound and some oatmeal (if desired
meatloaf style) to the mix and form serving size patties. Grill these or pan fry them for nice juicy burgers.
Grilled, Broiled Steaks and Stir- Fried, Kabob pieces of Steaks or Roasts
To season the meat, rub the meat surface with your favorite herb combinations or insert garlic cloves in slices
cut in the meat. You can also marinate the meat in your favorite flavors for at least a couple of hours before
cooking. The dry aged meat is leaner than typical grocery store cuts so be sure not to overcook.
Boneless Roasts - Sirloin Tip, Top Round, Bottom Round, Eye of the Round
These roasts can be marinated but may require at least overnight marinating to fully absorb the flavors. To begin
cooking, use an uncovered pan with 1 to 2 cups of liquid in the pan. Brown the roast to seal in the juices and cook
on lower heat 250 to 300 until meat thermometer reads 145 degrees for medium rare and 155 degrees for
medium. Slice at a right angle to the grain of the meat.
Braising Roasts and Chuck Pot Roasts
If time allows, brown these roasts to seal in the juices before cooking. Oven sear at 500 degrees for 30 minutes -
turn to seal all sides or pan sear on high heat with a small amount of oil turning often. Use a covered pan with
moist heat for these roasts. Add liquid with the desired flavorings, using more liquid for pot roasts. Simmer
covered on the top of the stove or place in the oven covered at 300 degrees. Cook until a fork goes into meat
easily. Add vegetables like onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, etc. during the last portion of the cooking time.
Crock pots are a great and easy way to cook these roasts and their complimentary vegetables!!