Grassfed Cooking. The Highland Way.

Because Scottish Highland Cattle use their long hair to keep themselves warm, they produce less fat on their body.  This helps make the meat lean and healthy, but it also means you need to cook Highland Breed differently than other beef.  Here's our round beef test where we look at the fat content of Highland Beef vs. Store ground beef.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOenrr5_nXU

1. Don't over cook. Grassfed Highland Beef is very lean, meaning it cooks much faster than other beef and can overcook very quickly.  
2.  Cook slowly. Slow and steady keeps the juices locked in and allows the beef to stay tender. We often use a slow-cooker, or a crock pot to cook our steaks and roasts.
3. Sear steaks. When grilling, sear your steak to lock-in the natural juices of the grassfed beef.
4. Add juice. Marinate, marinate, marinate and add other juices. When you are cooking roasts or steaks, be sure to add plenty of juice.  Remember, grass-fed doesn't have all the fat, so you can pick healthier juices, like lemon, marinades, or olive oil.  
5. Flavor your meat. Grassfed beef does not taste like store beef. Be sure to add spices to highlight your favorite flavors.  
6. Browning ground beef. The amount of fat and liquid is very low in ground beef, you may need to add olive oil, water, or another liquid to the meat, so it does not dry out.

By Chef Kurt Stiles, Research Chef and Windland Flats™ 

Here's a video from the farm day for Chef Kurt Stiles book launch.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa8bSKDkIJI

1.  The main reason for tough grassfed beef is overcooking. The beef usually will require 30% less cooking time and will continue to cook when removed from heat. This beef is intended for rare to medium-rare cooking. If you like well-done beef, then cook grass-fed beef at very low temperatures in a sauce to add moisture. 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. 
   
2. Since grassfed beef 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. 
   
3. Stove top 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 steak chefs do. 
   
4. If roasting, reduce the temperature of your grain-fed 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. 
   
5. Also, baste to add moisture throughout the grilling process. Don't forget grassfed beef requires 30% less cooking time so don't leave your steaks unattended. 
   
6. When roasting, sear the beef to lock in the juices and then place it in a pre-heated oven. Save your leftovers; roasted grass-fed beef slices make good, healthy, luncheon meats instead of processed "lunch-meats".