When you’ve been doing something for a while and it’s become second nature to you, you sometimes wonder how it ever felt so confusing. But when we made the switch to pastured and grass-fed meats, as the family cook, I was definitely confused. I didn’t know how to roast a pastured chicken or how to grill grass-fed steak and keep the meat moist and tender.
This meat was different and needed to be cooked differently. I remember thinking that I’d never get to eat a moist roast chicken again. But then I learned to brine my chicken and all was well.
With beef, the biggest hurdle was finding the right farmer. Once we found beef we loved, our farmer explained to us that the animals always need to be gaining weight. Even to just maintain weight results in inferior beef.
A juicy, tender cut of beef depends both on how the animal is raised, and how the meat is cooked. Keeping the heat low, and cooking to lower temperatures are both recommended for grass-fed beef.
But what about food pathogens like E.coli? Doesn’t cooking to a lower temperature increase the risk of food-borne illness? According to Shannon Hayes, author of Free Range Farm Girl: Cooking Grassfed Beef:
. . . empirical evidence suggests this hazard is greatly reduced in grassfed beef. Not only is E.coli found in much lower numbers in grassfed meat, it is also a strain that is easily vulnerable to our bodies’ natural defenses. Even when E.coli is found on grassfed beef, it rarely survives our own digestive acids. Further, grassfed animals are highly unlikely to carry the particularly virulent E.coli 0157:H7, because that strain of bacteria evolved in the unnaturally hyper-acidic stomachs of grain-fed factory-farmed beef.
To Grill Grass-fed Steak
Steaks, like rib eye, Porterhouse, T-bone, and NY strip all come from the most tender parts of the animal and are well-suited to the dry heat of grilling.
Grilling, of course, is cooking over flames, whether wood, charcoal, or gas. The temperatures can reach 500°F and as I mentioned above, grass-fed beef does not lend itself to high temperatures.
So what’s the secret?
Indirect grilling.
I learned this secret in Free Range Farm Girl: Cooking Grassfed Beef. This awesome cookbook isn’t just about grilling. You’ll learn the best way to cook all your cuts of grass-fed beef.
With indirect grilling, a fire is kept on only one side of the grill. With gas, you light only half of the grill, and with charcoal, you move your hot coals to one side.
You quickly sear your steak over the open fire, and then move it to the unlit side of the grill. It’s also important to know the weight of your steak, and to use a meat thermometer.
With indirect grilling, your grass-fed steak will stay juicy and tender. Every time.
More Posts You’ll Love
10 Important Questions to Ask Your Beef Farmer
Caution: “100% Grass-Fed, Non-GMO Beef” May Not Mean Chemical-Free
Book Review – Free Range Farm Girl: Cooking Grassfed Beef by Shannon Hayes
How to Cook a Beef Tenderloin for the Holidays
Ingredients
- sea salt
- fresh ground black pepper
- 1 grass-fed steak 1 1/4" - 1 1/2" thick
Instructions
- Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of your steak. Allow to come to room temperature.
- Preheat your grill until it is hot. (It will be hot enough when you can hold your hand 3" - 4" above the grate for no more than 3 or 4 seconds).
- On a gas grill, turn off all but one of the burners. On a charcoal grill, rake all the coals to one side.
- Sear the steak for 2 minutes on each side over direct heat. (If you are using thinner steaks, cut this time in half).
- Move the steaks to the unheated side of the grill. Close the lid and allow the steaks to cook, without turning, until they reach 120°F - 135°F, about 5 - 7 minutes per pound.
- Remove the steaks from the grill and allow them to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
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Kendra says
Thanks for the tips on grilling grass fed steak. I love my grass fed beef but have been less pleased with my grilled steak results. I will definitely try your indirect heat method!!
Just a note on the risks of E. coli in grass fed beef, it’s NOT correct that grass fed beef is free from E. coli HO157:H7. That has been proven wrong and there are a number of studies that show this. This is from Purdue University: http://www.ansc.purdue.edu/faen/grass%20fed%20e%20coli.html And this is a study from the Journal of Applied Microbiology: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2672.2004.02300.x/abstract Now with steaks, the internal cook temp is not an issue because the outside is subjected to high heat. So your recipe is good 🙂 But I’m careful with my grass fed ground beef and needle tenderized steaks (cube steaks) and make sure they hit an internal temp of 165*.
Susan Vinskofski says
Thank you, Kendra. I do have some questions about the studies – many farmers / producers call their beef grass-fed because the cows are out on pasture at least part of the time, but aren’t necessarily 100% grass-fed. Neither study indicates if this is the case. I’m not doubting you or the studies, but I’d love further clarification.
Kendra says
I’d love to see further clarification on this too. Thanks again for the steak recipe.
Susan Vinskofski says
My pleasure!
Daryle in VT says
The “deadly zone” in restaurant food service is a temperature above 40 degrees F. and below 140 degrees F. Anyone in food service should know food must be kept below 40 degrees F. or above 140 degrees F. for safety. When a recipe casually says to “bring a steak up to room temperature” before grilling … you should notice that room temperature typically falls within the safety temperatures.
In most cases a recipe tells the BBQ chef to “sear the outside,” then move the steak to a lower temperature to finish it.
Try reversing that procedure. Cook the steak to an internal 100 degrees F. over the low heat side, while firing up the hot side to “blister.” Sear the steak quickly to finish it over the hot burner. The internal temperature will stabilize between 120 degrees F. and 140 degrees F. depending on the searing time.
Stacy says
It’s called the “danger zone”, not the “deadly zone”. Food can be safely kept at room temperature for up to 2 hours, per Serv-Safe protocols. Haven’t worked in fine dining, I can assure you that steaks were regularly brought up to room temperature before grilling.
Susan Vinskofski says
Thanks for your input, Daryle and Stacy. 🙂
Carlos says
I’m about to grill my fist grass fed steak and was looking for advice. Reduced grilling time is helpful to know, but I’m I the only one doing indirect griling for regular steaks as well? I thought that was the key for a good steak no matter what cow it came from.
Susan Vinskofski says
Yes, you are correct, Carlos. But it’s essential for grass-fed.
Michael Robinson says
Thanks for showing me the right way to cook grass-fed steaks — I guess I have been cooking them wrong my whole life! Like you stated, indirect grilling is the best way to go about cooking your steak because it sears the steak over the open fire and then warms up on the cooler side. Thanks for these tips, and I think that my neighborhood grill parties are going to become a hit this summer! Have a good one!
Susan Vinskofski says
Yes, we delighted, too, when we found the info in Free Range Farm Girl: Cooking Grassfed Beef. Enjoy!
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