GRASS FED BEEF TIPS: Cooking & OrderingChef Francis Hogan, the culinary talent behind Bluestem Brasserie, the celebrated San Francisco restaurant named after the indigenous North American grass favored by cattle ranchers, has provided tips for cooking and ordering organic or grass fed beef.
(Chef Francis Hogan Biography)
Named one of San Francisco’s “Best New Places to Eat” by Thrillist and ranked among the 15 Best Burgers in San Francisco by Refinery 29, Bluestem Brasserie specializes in sustainably produced grass-fed beef from California, with an emphasis on whole-animal cooking. Tips for COOKING grass-fed organic steak: - Less Fat = Cooks Faster
Grass-fed beef has less fat, so it cooks much faster. Since it's more prone to overcooking and drying out, it shouldn't be eaten beyond the rare/medium-rare range. - 3 Ways to Focus on Preserving Moisture
- Searing meat on a hot surface such as a grill or hot pan helps lock in juices.
- When cooking grain-fed beef, turn down the temperature. Slow cooking also keeps the juices in.
- Introduce a fat like a garlic-herb butter or olive oil to baste the meat
- Let Meat Cool Down Before Cutting
Like all meat, grass-fed beef continues to rise in temperature after cooking from the residual heat. Always allow the meat to rest before cutting into it.
Tips for ORDERING grass-fed organic steak: - Color versus Temperature
Grass-fed beef retains more redness than grain-fed, which means a grass-fed "medium" will look redder than the grain-fed version, even when both have been cooked to140 degrees. - Describe Your Steak
The best way to get a steak the way you want is to describe how you want it to look instead of requesting a standard temperature (ie. medium-rare, medium). E.g., ask that it be mostly pink with a small amount of red in the center. This way, there’s no discrepancy.
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