How To Cook Grassfed Beef

Marbling of beef dictates perceived product tenderness. Higher marbled beef will be more tender than less marbled beef.  

Typical commodity beef are usually confined to feedlot operations where movement is limited. These animals are fed food and water that is brought to them. They do not have to move so they gain weight faster and their muscle fiber structure is smaller. 

Grass-fed beef raised on a forage model are very active, creating a leaner product with less marbling. There will need to be some prep work and cooking alterations to maximize the tenderness. When done right, there’s no beating the flavor. 

Slow Cook: Roasts

Roasts are large cuts from muscles and tend to have lots of connective tissue like ligaments and tendons. To break down these tissues, it’s best to cook these cuts slowly, for long period of time, under wet heat.  

Cooking low and slow in a slow cooker or Instant Pot breaks down the muscle fibers and liquifies the fat and collagens. 

Braise: Bone-in Short Ribs, Stew Beef 

While slow cooking and braising are technically the same thing—cooking low and slow with wet heat—we recommend cooking larger roasts and smaller cuts a bit differently. 

For smaller cuts, we recommend almost submerging them in liquid. Braising these cuts uses flavorful stock (check out our bone broth recipe here) and aromatics to slow cook them until they’re so tender, you could eat them with a spoon. 

Sear: Ribeye, Tenderloin, Strip, Sirloin 

Without prepping your steak, even the best cuts of beef can become tough. We recommend aging the meat. It not only creates a more complex flavor, but will also tenderize the meat and make it harder to overcook. If aging isn’t your thing, you can also check out this article for alternative ways to tenderize your meat. 

Marinate: London Broil, Some Steaks, Stir fry, and Skirt Steak 

For lean flank meats such as London Broil, a combination of tenderizing and marinating will ensure a moist finished product.  

We go over some of our favorite ways to tenderize grassfed beef in this post.  

After tenderizing, marinating it will add flavor and richness. If meat is already cut into small pieces, such as for stir fry, you don’t need to tenderize, but we do still recommend marinating. 

Any Method: Ground Beef 

Grassfed ground beef isn’t much different than any other ground beef, other than it’s superior flavor. Grassfed ground beef works well in burgers, meatballs, chili, tacos, or any other of your favorite ground beef recipes. 

The Baldwin Farm Difference 

We are proudly helping cultivate a lifestyle built on food meant to nourish. Food has a direct connection to our health, and we cultivate our food to be healthy, natural, and delicious. We pride ourselves on humanely raising the animals on lush pastures, abstaining from growth hormones and antibiotics, and ensuring only organic feed.