Cooking your Dry-Aged Grass-Fed and Grass-Finished Meat - Grass-fed Meat is best when rare or medium rare. Lower heat is recommended which means cooking for a slightly longer time, turning steaks more often.

Recipes for cooking your Grass-Fed Meat

Tips for Cooking Your Grass-Fed Meat -

1. The main reason for tough grass-fed Meat is overcooking.
   The easiest way to prevent overcooking is to use a good cooking thermometer (not a meat thermometer). A meat thermometer is not accurate, and it is left in the meat while it cooks. A chef’s thermometer has a small dial and is used to periodically check the internal temperature. I strongly 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
2. These steaks are intended for rare to medium cooking. If you like well-done Meat, then cook grass-fed Meat cut in smaller pieces at very low temperatures in a sauce to add moisture.
3. Since grass-fed Meat is extremely low in fat, coat with virgin olive oil, truffle oil or a favorite light oil for flavor enhancement and easy browning. The oil will also prevent drying and sticking.
4. We recommend marinating your steaks before cooking. A favorite marinade using lemon, vinegar, wine, beer or bourbon is a great choice. Some people use their favorite Italian salad dressing. If you choose to use bourbon, beer or vinegar, use slightly less than you would use for grain-fed Meat. Grass-fed Meat cooks more quickly so the liquor or vinegar won't have as much time to cook off. For safe handling, always marinate in the refrigerator.
5. If you do not have time to marinate, just coat your completely 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, you favorite rub will be pushed into your grass-fed Meat.
6. Stovetop cooking is great for any type of steak... including grass-fed 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 steak chefs do. Generally speaking, our steaks do not like the broiler.
7. Grass-fed Meat has high protein and low fat levels. The Meat usually will require at least 30% less cooking time and will continue to cook when removed from heat. For this reason, remove the Meat from your heat source about 10 degrees before it reaches the desired temperature.
8. If you use a thermometer to test for doneness, watch the thermometer carefully. Since grass-fed Meat cooks so quickly, your Meat can go from perfectly cooked to overcooked in less than a minute.
9. Always use tongs to turn your Meat... never use a fork! Precious juices will be lost.
10. If roasting, reduce the temperature of your grain-fed Meat 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.
11. Never use a microwave to thaw your grass-fed Meat.
12. If time allows, bring your grass-fed meat to room temperature before cooking.
13. Always pre-heat your oven, pan or grill before cooking grass-fed Meat.
14. 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 grass-fed Meat requires at least 30% less cooking time so don't leave your steaks unattended.
15. When roasting, sear the Meat 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 grass-fed Meat slices make good, healthy, luncheon meats instead of processed "lunch-meats".
16. 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. We add no fat to our ground Meat (they are 90%-93% lean), so some moisture is needed to compensate for the lack of fat. 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!!

ENJOY!

This information was copied and modified from the Lewis Waite Farm web site