Hi everyone, we just got our steer back from being butchered. 516 lbs of meat is what we ended up with. My freezer is packed. My neighbor who did the butchering[works in a slaughter house] said he thinks the meat will be tough. The cow was suppose to be a herford/holstein cross but in his opinion it was straight holstein. He was only 13 months old. My question is has anyone ever butchered a straight holstein and how was the meat as far as being tender? I know the burger and roast will be fine but what about all the steaks? To me, the meat looks more redish in color than what I am used to seeing in the store. I have steaks thawing and will throw them on the grill so that will be the final test. Would like others opinions.If he is full holstein I really feel ripped off by the people who sold him to us. Live and learn, I guess

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), October 03, 2001

Answers

How long did you let the meat hang before cutting and freezing it? Older beeves need to hand longer, younger hang shorter times, but hanging helps to make the meat tender.

-- Julia (charmer24@juno.com), October 03, 2001.

From what I understand, there is usually no problem with quality (tenderness) in holstein cattle. In fact, they typically will have more marbling than beef breeds over a given amount of time on feed. Of course, this is dependent on how the animal was finished. Did you feed a lot of grain of was he just grass fed? Was he fat when butchered? Think about all the steer calves that come out of dairies. They are all sent to the feedlot (except veal calves), and cut just like beef cattle. (They look very similar once the hide is off)!

-- Marv (mcheim@lewiston.com), October 03, 2001.

We had Holstein steers, best beef we ever had. One we had butchered weight about 1200lbs the other about 1000.

As far as the steaks go, I cannot remember, but my husband likes his well done and never complained about tough meat.

-- Cordy (ckaylegian@aol.com), October 03, 2001.

If you do find the meat too tough for grilled steaks, you might consider cooking them a different way. My mom tenderizes them(with the little "hammer"), sprinkles them with tenderizer, and bakes. They are delicious!

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), October 03, 2001.

He was killed on a thursday and the meat hung for 8 days before cutting. He was on pasture,had free choice timothy hay and aprox 7 lbs of steer feed per day. I alternated turnout and stall time. He was on the same turnout time as my horses.

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), October 03, 2001.

Generally grass-finished beef needs to be cooked slower than grain- fattened beef as it usually doesn't have as large of an amount of inter-muscle marbling. One techniques on BBQ stakes is to fast sheer one side, then slow cook from the other. Please ask your hubby to try medium rare at least once. If you order well done in a restaurant, most will you tell you they do not guarantee the beef will be either good or tender.

On whether or not he was a pure Holstein or a cross, it is fairly easy to tell. Crosses normally are mostly black or brown with some white spots, such as on the belly and bag. Holsteins are mostly white with black or brown spots.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), October 03, 2001.

No knowledge of what breeds are tough or not, but I do know that marinating meat will help tenderize it, if the marinate contains an acid like vinegar or lemon juice. Will also help alleviate any "off" or "weird" taste to the meat. One of my favorite marinades for that is Italian dressing. Marinated meat can be grilled (and basted with the remaining marinade).

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), October 03, 2001.

Just got done cooking the roast...DELICIOUS. Havent done the steaks yet, but think all is well.

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), October 03, 2001.

How the meat turns has more to do with the way it is fed out rather than breed. I like to see them in a small pen for a least a month on full grain feed and no exercise. All the water they want. You should be able to cut those steaks with a fork if done rite.

-- Mel Kelly (melkelly@webtv.net), October 03, 2001.

The only type of 'beef' that we eat is the diary type. We have found that the meat is very tender and not as tough as the real beef cows. Our butcher says that he will eat a holstein or jersey any day over the others. Don't feel cheated about not getting a mixed breed, be happy that you got one of the best!

-- miller (smillers@snowcrest.net), October 04, 2001.

Thanks for all the responses. We threw some t-bones on the grill for dinner. They were so tender. I guess I was worrying for nothing. I am set for winter. The one freezer is full with our beef. The other [which we had to go and buy] is full with 30 chickens and 9 turkeys. What a great felling that is.

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), October 04, 2001.