apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Great tip- I wish I would have known this before! Low and slow.

I wonder if I could cook low and slow...and then sear on high get my crust (a la Cooks Illustrated). Or would that just be doing the same thing.

Great post!

It sure looks cold in the Big Apple today.

You guys are ahead of the game. More and more people are going to be switching to grass fed beef in my opinion. It is so much different from the beef that everyone is used to so the cooking techniques and knowledge of the cuts is very important.

I've been trying to get my hands on some of Bill Kurtis' (yes, the journalist) grass fed beef from his ranch in Montana. He also has a farm here in Illinois.

Low and slow cooking techniques are being used more in restaurants now. These techniques can easily be used at home as well.

steamykitchen,

you could most definitely use such the approach you are talking about.

Everybody is always talking about sous vide cooking. That is essentially poaching a piece of meat, say a grassfed beef tenderloin medallion in a bag in water that is about 140 degrees until it comes to the finished cooking temperature. Then, that beef which feels tepid and looks like a raw hunk of flesh is actually cooked perfectly throughout at the desired temperature. At this point, the meat can be seared quickly in a pan or finished on a grill.

You could do the same thing at home without the expensive equipment by very gently poaching the beef in some broth. I would place a probe in the meat so that when it hits your desired temperature you will know when to take it out. Then you could pat it dry, season with salt and pepper and sear it in some butter or olive oil in a hot pan to get a nice crust.

Of course, that's kind of complicated for most people. For lean steaks, start in a medium heat sauce pan with butter or oil and gently cook the meat on both sides with the same care as you would put into sauteeing a fish filet.

For braised meat like chuck or short ribs, definitely follow the advice of the farmer above and shorten the time given in the particular recipe you are using,.

I think another nice way of cooking grass fed beef is to lightly sear it and braise it in olive oil with rosemary and garlic. I prepared a beef belly (pancia) like this in the Piemonte region of Italy.

With books like the Omnivore's Dilemma out there, people will be changing their outlook on eating beef.

I love this guy and always look forward to his tips and delicious meats at the market. It's tricky to cook but I'm learning. Try his stew meat, it's the best!