Always pre-heat the oven, pan, or grill before cooking grass-fed beef.
Grass-fed beef is ideal at rare to medium-rare temperatures. If you prefer meat well done, cook at a low temperature in a sauce to add moisture. A slow cooker is ideal.
Grass-fed beef is low in fat. Coat it with extra virgin olive oil or light oil for best browning. The oil will also prevent the meat from drying out, and sticking to the cooking surface.
Very lean cuts like New York strips and sirloin steaks can benefit from a marinade. Choose a recipe that doesn’t mask the flavor of the beef, but will enhance the moisture content. For safe handling, always marinate in the refrigerator.
Never use a microwave to thaw grass-fed beef. Either thaw in the refrigerator or, for quick thawing, place the vacuum-sealed package in cold water for a few minutes. Let it sit at room temperature for no more than 30 minutes. Don’t cook it straight from the refrigerator.
Tenderizing breaks down tough connective tissue, so use a mechanical tenderizer like the Jaccard. It’s a small, handheld device with little needles that pierce the meat and allow the marinade or rub to penetrate the surface. You can find Jaccard tenderizers on jaccard.com.
Grass-fed beef cooks at about 30% faster than grain-fed beef. Use a thermometer to test for doneness, and oversee the temperature closely. You can go from perfectly cooked to overdone in less than a minute. The meat will continue to cook after you remove it from heat, so it's done when it reaches a temperature 10° degrees LOWER than the desired temperature.
Let the beef sit covered in a warm place for 8-10 minutes after removing from heat to let the juices redistribute
Pan searing on the stove is an easy way to cook a grass-fed steak. After you’ve seared the steak over high heat, turn the heat low and add butter and garlic to the pan to finish cooking.
When grilling, quickly sear the meat over high heat on each side and reduce the heat to low to finish. Baste to add moisture.
