Summertime is a great time to Grill! The type of cut you chose should help you decide how you cook your beef!
If you are one of our Hornitos Beef families, you might get a suggestion from me to sear your steaks and burgers. We are Natural Beef and have 2 options for our customers. Grain or Grass! While Grass fed is only offered here at Hornitos Beef 1 time a year, due to our ranches being seasonal cattle finish nicely on our native grasses typically mid-June to mid-July, when the grass has gone to natural seed.
Custom fed option is offered year-round. Where cattle are still grass grazed until 30-45 days prior to harvest. Cattle are brought in 30-45 days prior to harvest. They always have fresh feed and water in front of them. We have a shady spot for the summers, and cover from elements in the winter.
Though we are considered leaner beef we still have all the flavor and tenderness that customers are looking for. Age, tenderness and fat cover is what makes the perfect steak! Searing our steaks and burgers helps lock all the flavor and juices in. There are so many factors that play into the finished product. Age, breed, terrain/ vegetation grazed, and even handling practices right up until harvest day are all something Hornitos Beef takes into consideration.
The studies out there are many on the nutritional benefits, the pros and cons of Grass verses Grain. If you are one to go chasing the facts, please consider the source. Here is some information from one of our sources that we like to check in with.
All beef is nutritious and an excellent source of protein, vitamins, and minerals. However, there are some small nutritional differences between grass-fed and grain-fed beef.
In the following table, we can see how grass-fed and grain-fed beef compare nutritionally on a per-100-gram basis.
The respective data is for regular (raw) ground beef, sourced from the USDA’s Food Data Central database (6, 7). www.nutritionadvance.com/grass-fed-vs-grain-fed-beef
Grass-Fed Beef vs. Grain-Beef: Basic Nutrition Profile per 100 grams of Ground Beef
| Calories/Nutrient | Grass-Fed, Ground Beef | Grain-Fed, Ground Beef |
| Calories | 198 kcal | 247 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fat | 12.73 g | 19.07 g |
| Saturated | 5.34 g | 7.29 g |
| Monounsaturated | 4.80 g | 8.48 g |
| Polyunsaturated | 0.53 g | 0.51 g |
| Protein | 19.42 g | 17.44 g |
Cooking method has a lot to do with the flavor and final product as well. We can’t all be 5 star chefs but if you do a little research and ask the right questions, we can produce meals for our families that help make memories and healthy people!
When customers ask what we as a family like best I tell them we are a Grain finish family. However, I am all for options and for flavors just the way you chose for your family.
We are taking deposits for our upcoming fall harvests. Please give us a call with any questions or if you would like to reserve an order for your family!
Thank you,
Tom, Meg, Letty, Della, Everett, Louie, and Sam