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SubscribeSunday, October 26, 2008
Artisan Steak Tasting
“So, have you ever thought about doing a steak tasting?” was the start of the first emails I’d gotten from Carrie Oliver of Oliver Ranch Company.
I was intrigued, but wasn’t convinced that the taste of steak could go much more beyond the grades of tough Select, affordable Choice and out-of-my-budget Prime. I’ve also been able to pump up the taste and tenderness of Choice steaks by my salting method, a popular post which has swung around the internet several times.
For the next couple of weeks, Carrie and I emailed back and forth, and in each email, she would slightly turn the faucet, letting a small stream of new ideas trickle my way. Opening the floodgates with beef information would have completely overwhelmed me and knocked me over.
I pay as much for a good steak as I do for a bottle of wine, so why not care about its taste, where it’s from and the quality of my beef? If I care about where my vegetables come from, why not my beef? If I care about what chemicals were sprayed on my produce, why not know what the cows were injected with and how they were treated?
Cattle drive at a Colorado ranch
Simply put, the taste of beef is influenced by:
- REGION: A chardonnay from Napa Valley has a different flavor profile than a chardonnay from New Zealand. Climate, geology and soil all influence the grass and grain that are fed to the cattle.
- RANCHERS: Like a winemaker, the quality of pride and skill in producing the best product matters. A small rancher who treats his cattle humanely will have better tasting beef. And like a winemaker’s art of blending and aging, a rancher’s special blend of feed and aging matters.
- BREED: Doesn’t a pinot noir taste different from a cabernet? Well, a Holstein tastes different than a Black Angus.
If the wine analogy doesn’t ring with you, let’s talk coffee. In the pre-Starbucks days, there was regular, decaf and Juan Valdez. Nowadays, we’ve got Fair Trade Certified, Sumatra, shade-grown, Kenyan, Ethiopian and Indonesian. Same with beef – flavor and quality go way beyond Select, Choice and Prime.
Okay, so I get that steaks taste different and hey, now that I’m thinkin’ about it…maybe that’s the reason I consistently buy my steaks at one market and not the other. Hmmmm…..
But my biggest revelation was yet to come. (Keep reading for a free drawing of an Artisan Steak Tasting Pack)
Artisan Steak Tasting
Last Thursday, Carrie flew down from Toronto and treated a group of 15 of us to a fabulous artisan steak tasting. Carrie led us through tasting six different steaks from small ranchers.
Each steak only seasoned with kosher salt and was quickly grilled rare. The steaks were numbered and it was a blind tasting held at Chefs On The Loose, a brand spankin’ new cooking school in Tampa, Florida.
A big thanks to Chefs On The Loose for hosting us.
Carrie asks if anyone is a vegetarian to raise their hands. Okay, maybe not, but she’s seen here enlightening the group on why being conscious of where your beef comes from matters.
This is just SOME of the steaks. 15 of us ate ALMOST ALL OF IT. omg, we are such fat pigs cows.
Carrie, Jeffrey and Chef Eddie wonder how in the heck we are going to drink 22 bottles of wine at our artisan steak tasting.
Yeah, we opened every single bottle of wine, but only had the wine AFTER the tasting, as wine would affect the taste of the steaks. To clear the palate, we had slices of green apples between each steak. The steaks were seasoned only with kosher salt.
Chefs Laura and Eddie whispers, “who invited the goofball who keeps snappin pics of the steak, telling the meat to ‘work it, baby. look good for the camera. come on beef, gimmee some attitude!’”
Carrie leads the group on how to rate and describe each steak by singing a hymn 
In the foreground, food writer Greg and Ritz Carlton restaurant manager, Laurent, discuss changing their careers to become professional steak tasters…as host Laura slices the next round of steaks. James is in the background stealing bites of steak.
Artisan Steak Tasting Language
To help us find words to describe the sensory experience of steak tasting, here is a chart from Carrie. She started the Artisan Beef Institute to educate consumers and industry professionals:
The Artisan Steak Taste Test Results
N-Bar Ranch, Dave Workman from Montana
- Breed: 100% Black Angus, dry aged minimum 14 days
- Tasting Notes: Well balanced, tastes like a good steakhouse steak, interesting but no big wow. Straight-forward, nice bite.
===============================================
Kobe Beef America Ranchers from Holdrege Nebraska
- Breed: 50% Wagyu, 50% Black Angus. Wagyu is the famous Japanese beer fed, hand massaged cattle. It was brought to the U.S. in 1976 and crossbred with Angus. Wet aged minimum 21 days
- Tasting Notes: Sweet, savory, umami, dark, robust, bold. Melts in your mouth, hands down the group’s favorite. This stuff retails for $50+ a pound and would be considered Prime-Plus. It’s really a superb meat, but personally not my favorite. I’m not melt-in-mouth steak girl – I’d rather have a beefy good sirloin instead of a buttery filet mignon. Even though it’s expensive, if you’re looking to try Kobe beef, Oliver Ranch does sell it much cheaper than any other retailer.
===============================================
Robert L. Beechinor, 3 Brand Cattle Company from Bakersfield California
- Breed: Holstein-Friesian
- Tasting Notes: Meaty, pleasant, subtle, softer flavor. No big wow. Flavor faded quickly, didn’t last throughout chew.
===============================================
Elliott & Ferris Families from Front Range Region, Ft. Morgan, CO
I must have missed photographing their beef, but here’s a photo of the families!
- Breed:Charolais/Charolais Cross
- Tasting Notes: Bright, sweet, balanced, full-flavored and filled mouth. I loved this meat – flavors changed throughout chew, it was rich and savory. This was one of my favorites and definitely Carrie’s favorite – she described it as “fabulous umami, gimme more!”
===============================================
Amazin Grazin from Manatee, Florida
- Breed: Braburn (crossbreed between Brahman and Hereford), very young cattle, less than 10 months old, fed only milk and grass, no grain
- Tasting Notes: Feral, complex, very gamey, like mackerel. This steak had a very distinct flavor, characteristic of only grass (no grain at all) fed cows. Grass fed beef is also much more lean than grain-finished, perfect for people who are concerned with fat content. This is definitely an adventurous steak, fun to try.
===============================================
Estancia from Uruguay
- Breed: Hereford, only grass fed, no grain
- Tasting Notes: Deeply complex, broody, mushroomy, earthy, iron, roquefort. Again, because it’s only grass fed, it’s a very lean meat. HOWEVER, lean DOES NOT equal tough and chewy. This grass-fed beef tasted incredibly different from Amazin’ Grazin. I would have never guessed that this steak was this lean – on the traditional USDA rating, this would have been graded as Select, but wow, the tenderness and big, deep flavor of the meat really surprised me.
My big revelation
I didn’t care for the big-super-fancy expensive Kobe-style, Wagyu beef. It was good, don’t get me wrong. I’d never turn down a Kobe-style steak. But my style is big, beefy, nice chew. Heh. Makes me a cheaper date. But guess what…these were some of the very best steaks that I had ever tasted in my life. None of them were rated Prime. They were all Choice or Select cuts. So my big revelation was that quality was not just about Prime, Choice or Select. Flavor had so much to do with region, climate, diet and care. Knowing where your beef comes from is important – wouldn’t you rather support a small artisan rancher who takes pride in their beef?
Oliver Ranch Company is out to carve a new map for the beef industry, catering to people who enjoy discovering the specific flavor profiles of what they enjoy in steaks and connecting consumer to small ranchers.
If you’re interested in having your own artisan steak tasting, Oliver Ranch Company has a Taster’s Pack that includes 4 steaks, each from a different rancher. You can try this tasting test yourself – and include 1 or 2 steaks from your local supermarkets just to compare. Make sure your tasting is a blind taste test, so that your feedback is absolutely fair! I think you’ll be really surprised with what you’ll experience. If you have any questions, you can ask them here in the comments, or email Carrie at carrie@oliverranch.com.
The grand finale – a free Artisan Steak Tasting Pack!
Baby, all you got to do is comment below. Carrie is giving away a free Artisan Steak Tasting Pack. We’ll do a random drawing of unique commenters on Sunday, November 9th. I apologize to my dear international friends, this contest is only for U.S. and Canada residents, as international shipping of beef would be too difficult.
The four styles included in the Artisan Steak Tasting Pack
Dry-Aged Charolais-Cross, Front Range Region, CO, Elliott & Ferris Family Ranches
Dry-Aged 100% Black Angus, Russell Country, MT, N-Bar Ranch, Dave Workman
Wet-Aged Holstein-Friesian, Imperial Valley, CA, 3 Brand Cattle Company, Bob Beechinor
Wet-Aged Wagyu-Angus Cross, Select Kobe Beef America Ranches, directed by R.L. Freebornpack normally sells for $84.95, you get a 8-12 ounce NY Strip cut of each style.
Just comment below and I’ll enter you in the drawing. If you want to Tweet or blog about this contest, I’ll give you an extra entry – just come back and comment again for your bonus entry!
Contest over! Come see the winner...
***
How to turn cheap “choice” steaks into gucci “prime” steaks (yes, it really does work – Carrie tested the salting method with us on several of the steaks)
Skirt Steak Tacos and the Adventures of La Taqueria
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477 Responses to “Artisan Steak Tasting”
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Just tweeted it! http://twitter.com/nandita/status/979142184
Do I get a second chance, now?
Wow, I wish I could do a tasting like that! I love your salting method and we’ve used it several times since I found it.
This post, again, made me want some red meat!!!
Oh wow, and I thought a high-end chocolate tasting would be decadent. A steak tasting would definitely put me over the top for a dinner party idea.
Mmmmm steak… second only to bacon on my scale of tasty meats
Hmmm… steaks! Thanks for sharing this with us – i wish I would have the opportunity to attend a steak tasting
After reading this post, I’m craving steak like never before. I feel so deprived after living on mere Angus all these years.
Why did I read this at lunch time??? My mouth is watering.
Wow, I don’t think I know an adjective sufficient to respond to this. A steak tasting will have to go on my list of things to do. Thanks so much for this post. Now if I could just stop drooling on my keyboard…
I love your website. I don’t know much about steak until today. can’t wait to try some of your recipes. thanks
Fantastic writeup, thanks! I do tend to get my beef from Albertson’s instead of Smiths- I wonder if there’s a way to figure out where each gets their meat from. Really interesting to see the grass-fed steaks.
I’ll twitter this post in a mo!
I had the opportunity to enjoy Kobe beef in Kobe this spring. Delicious!
Twittered! http://twitter.com/kricketkris
My husband and I love steak, I think we are the only family in our neighborhood that grills steak all winter (during winter in MN no one goes out unless they have to).
Fun idea! I love the idea of a steak tasting and so would my friends. I had not thought about many of the delicate fine points about each steak type. Yes – what the cow eats is sure important, but aging is also important to the flavor.
This does sound awfully tasty. It makes me wonder what other types of tastings would be worthwhile. But mostly, it makes me wonder what a steak tasting would be like. Mmmsteak.
How delicious and fun! I wish I could taste that Wagu!
I have not had breakfast yet. I should not be reading this.
I know what I’m having for dinner tonight.
Thanks for a beautifully educational post!
Fantastic! I love steak, and this sounds wonderful!
Oh, it has been soooo long since I have had a great steak! I am so jealous!
I always under the belief that meat was not photogenic and you’ve proven me wrong. Reading your entry and looking at the photos made my mouth water. Whether or not I win the prize, I will definitely order some myself and have a steak tasting party.
Yum! I found your site through the salting method. Will be trying that very soon. Maybe with my winnings from the drawing?
Free steaks? Free beef? In this economy?
Thank god I’m NOT vegetarian! Count me in…. how do I get more entries???
Oh, sorry, I was way excited for a minute there … yummm.
Steak.
Select cows.
Yumm.
Beef: It’s whats for dinner! (I’m wishing!)
I lay sick in bed, and steak still sounds good…kinda weird when one can drool over photos of raw meat. such carnivores we are! good to see my birthplace Nebraska cow can still hold it’s own!
Jaden,
I just came back from a chilly week in Calgary where beef is what’s for dinner…. and lunch. Even breakfast and midday snacks if you so desire. They have a LOT of land up there and what isn’t being drilled and scraped for oil, is used for cattle.
I decided early on during my trip (first night there!) to do a taste test of my own. I must say that after my hosts implored me to “Try Alberta beef” every night with I have come to a personal conclusion that grass-fed beef is indeed much tastier than grain fed. Plus I got to wash the steaks down with some wonderful Canadian microbrews from Calgary and Vancouver (the bastards know how to get to me!).
So, cheers to our beef eating Canadian friends! Keep all those wonderful cows grazing on the grass up there as long as possible.
And all you other vegitarians out there. C’mon, admit it, beef is what you desire when you go off the wagon for the “one” splurge meal. Even if you don’t, we still think you do.
Go Gators!
G8R Dan
What a fabulous idea! As a steak lover, would love to win. Thanks for the opportunity!
Found the blog because of the salting info. Thanks a millon!
An interesting concept – one I hadn’t really considered before. And, I think a ‘beef of the month’ club sounds great. Sign me up!
Hey Jaden –
I’m so glad you went into all this detail – and that you made such a point about where the meat is from. We get our beef from a local rancher here in AZ and it is UNBELIEVABLE how much better it is than store-bought. Even the hamburger – people are always shocked when we serve burgers because they just can’t believe how good they are!
This is great! My boyfriend is a serious steak lover, and I’m a bit of a steak ignoramus, so it’d be a lot of fun to have a tasting, and get me up to speed!
What a coincidence, last night we had slow-grilled beef ribs for dinner, and my son proclaimed a-la caveman style: “Cow taste good.”
So any chance to savor good beef – I’m there.
Robin
I love learning new things from your blog! I’m not much of a steak guy but this was good stuff.
Ok, I’ve tweeted it too as michamc
What a great idea – I’d love to throw a dinner party centered around a steak tasting!
Did somebody say something about a steak?!! I’d love this!
I hope this isn’t heresy, but in a comments section – Why not?
Here’s my question:
How does this grass fed beef which looks nice and lean compare to BUFFALO?
I’ve had buffalo, and it’s lean and juicy and seems to be almost more available than organic, grass fed beef.
Ted Turner (the largest private landowner in the US)(Yes, that Ted Turner) has a chain of restaurants that feature buffalo so it getting to the mainstream.
What a great party that was. I would love to compare the artisinal beef to the “prime” beef that is available at our local grocery store.
Yea, I’m not a kobe beef gal either. It’s great, but it lacks excitement for me. I’m definitely a rib eye person – love the marbling, the fat gives the meat the extra flavor, and it’s super moist when cooked properly. Does that make me cheap and easy?? =P
Looks delicious!
Oooh, that looks like fun!
Jaden, I’m so happy you posted about this. I have often wondered why people don’t seem to care where their meat comes from. Especially with the recent beef recalls across North America. I’m really fortunate to have a butcher who raises his own cattle, naturally without hormones etc. and then sells it out of a retail shop. We know where our meat comes from from beginning to end. Obviously that’s not possible for a lot of people but finding a good, knowledgeable butcher is a good place to start. It is actually more affordable than my grocery store and the quality is so much better. And now, I am officially off my soapbox
Oh, and lucky you to have been able to participate in this!
Very interesting! I’m curious as to how one would go about finding the origins of steaks purchased in the grocery store. Would the employees at the meat counter know?
Interestingly enough, I don’t really prefer prime since it tastes a bit too oily for me. Over the weekend I ordered filet mignon while hubby ordred the sirloin, to my surprise I actually preferred the sirloin because it’s beefier in taste.
Nice comparison of beef and wine but I thought wine serves as a palate cleanser? Never thought apple will do the trick as well.
Wow! this looks awesome! You were so lucky…Fort Morgan, CO is not far from me, I want to check some of their beef out. Thanks for the information
Jaden, This looked like such a fun evening and something that you could get all the “manly” men in your life to attend. My mouth watered looking at the pictures, for sure!
Another Fantastic post, Jaden! Steak tasting, Hum… Who knew? Only you!
)
We are so fortunate as your readers to have you to Live these events through. So thanks for delivering the Goods!
And, thank you for entering me into your Contest – not since we left Monterey, (at John Pisto’s Whaling Station on Cannery Row) have we enjoyed decent steak so this tasting pack would be QUITE WELCOME at our home in North Carolina!
My best to you always. Health, happiness and continued succcess,
Janet
This looks like such an awesome experience. Sign me up for a beef overdose (as if there could be such a thing)!
Yum! Steak!
Great post, Jaden!
I want me some beef!
steak…yom 8D
Sounds like fun! I would love to do a steak tasting with my friends and family.