Marble Hill beef grass-fed grain-finished taste, while being more preferred by most beef-lovers, has a lot to do with the fact that grass-finishing isn’t feasible in Missouri. In dry or cold climates grass doesn’t grow well year-round, so grass finishing is not natural or sustainable. By the same token, local providers do not want to auction off their calves to industrial buyers for confinement raising. The best option is to supplement their diet with grain when appropriate. That is the humane, logical practice for well-cared for herds and most are fed corn and hay grown and fertilized by the same herd.

Grass-finished beef cattle eat only forage until market weight is reached and it usually takes three times longer to finish on grass vs. grain. This adds to the cost of the beef and puts more strain on the environment in which they are raised. Weather conditions and changing seasons make it impossible to grass-finish in most areas, thus again adding to the cost. All beef, regardless of how it is finished, is an excellent source of zinc, iron, protein and B vitamins. 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef may have higher levels of vitamin A, E, and omega-3 fatty acids – but beef, in general, is a poor source for these particular nutrients. So why compromise taste and tenderness for nutrients better gotten from salmon or walnuts?

Both taste and meat composition are impacted by the foods the cattle eat. Grass-fed, grass-finished meat tends to be drier and chewier than grass-fed, grain-finished meat. 100% grass-fed steaks are often cooked with a generous pat of butter so the steak will absorb the butter’s flavor and oils. This makes minor health benefits and the exorbitant cost hardly worthwhile. Bottom line? If you’re looking to eat healthier, consider a smaller portion and enjoy that great Marble Hill beef grass-fed grain-finished taste!

Order online today, take advantage of our convenient interest-free payment plan for Jan-Mar 2019 harvest and delivery.

The number one factor that keeps most people from considering bulk Marble Hill beef buys is the upfront cost. We realize it can be unfriendly to a family food budget to incur the cost of a year’s worth of beef at once. For this reason, Ozark Prime Beef offers an easy, interest-free payment plan that allows the cost to be spread from order date to delivery. You can order now for January-March delivery and get every cut of beef for approximately $1.44 per serving! Buying Marble Hill beef buys saves you money not just on ground beef – but also on every T-bone, ribeye, chuck or rib roast! Imagine getting “steakhouse” quality and flavor for less than $2.00 per serving 🙂

How Marble Hill Beef Buys Save Money

When you buy your beef from a local Ozark Prime Beef farm or ranch, you pay the same cost for every cut. So when calculating your savings be sure to consider that, while ground beef might be less per pound in the store, when averaged over the price of your steaks, roasts, stew meat, kabob chunks, stirfry strips, etc. – the price you’re paying for bulk beef buys is comparable or less. Now, factor in that you’re going to be enjoying all-natural, grass-fed, grain-finished beef from a local source where the animal was humanely cared for and lived a stress-free life. Compare the cost per serving to the grass-fed premium beef in the supermarket and see the savings really add up!

How Marble Hill Beef Buys Save Time

Calculate the amount of time you spend deciding what to make for meals, and shopping to find the best buys on the meat for meals. Just opening up your freezer to enjoy a supply of healthy, all-natural beef beats a run to the grocery store hands down. Stocking up on pasture-raised beef means you can incorporate a healthy, farm-to-table beef meal whenever you like.

Trips to the grocery store for veggies and staples can be a lot quicker with a freezer packed full of protein. If your family enjoys cooking and eating meals at home, that includes different cuts of beef several times per week – then having quality beef on hand will definitely save you time.

How Marble Hill Beef Buys Promote Better Health

When buying conventional meat at the grocery store, we often look for bargains to cut the cost – but at what price to our health? In some areas, you may have trouble finding antibiotic-free, hormone-free beef for less than $6 per pound for just ground beef. If you abhor the idea of feeding your family absorbing growth hormones or other drugs found in factory-produced foods, feeding pasture-raised beef is a much healthier route. Marble Hill beef buys allow you to feed your family higher amounts of key nutrients, including antioxidants, vitamins, and a beneficial fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) tied to improved immunity and anti-inflammatory benefits.

For the most part, all beef cattle start on grass after weaning but at some point, conventional factory-raised cattle are switched to concentrated feed. A concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an animal feeding operation (AFO) — a farm in which animals are raised in confinement. CAFO cattle are expected to grow fast and a natural diet of grass takes too long and requires too much grazing space. These farms mass produce meat for the lowest possible cost, and that means cattle are fed an unnatural diet of genetically modified soy, corn, and by-product feedstuff. There are some creative cattle nutritionists that get creative and feed cotton byproducts, old candy (and the wrappers), beet and citrus pulp, or peanut shells.

Ozark Prime Beef cattle are pasture-raised and eat graminoids, rushes, and true grasses, as well as shrubs, clovers and random leaves they can reach. Naturally, these herds eat whatever is within reach, green, and leafy. They get steady lifelong access to open pastures, clean Missouri spring water, shady rolling hills, and sunshine. In the winter months, or just prior to harvest if grain-finished, their diet is supplemented with grain. Grass-fed, pastured animals eat more nutritious food most of their life than CAFO beef cattle. It stands to reason that pastured, grain-supplemented beef raised on good soil by good ranchers also contains higher levels of micronutrients when compared to the CAFO cattle.

Remember, while pure grass-fed beef is probably healthier than anything else, a grass-fed label will not make up for poor foraging and the result will be stringy, tough, unpalatable beef compared with incredible grain-finished Ozark Prime Beef.

Marble Hill bulk beef buys can offer families several advantages and superior taste! While it may not be for everyone, those who experience the benefits often never go back to supermarket beef. The difference in taste is remarkable, and the convenience of always having high-quality beef on hand is one few will give up. Imagine a typical weeknight in the kitchen and the question of what to make for dinner…you open the fridge-freezer and see some frozen veggies, a pizza, but nothing suitable for a family meal. Instead of making a store run for some factory-farmed hamburger you simply head to the deep freeze in the basement or garage. Now, because you bought that quarter beef, your choice for dinner is between a pasture-raised T-bone steak, juicy 100% all-natural burgers, or maybe some stirfry beef and veggies. Yep, that Marble Hill bulk beef buy was the smart decision!

Feeding your family 100% all natural meats can be more affordable just as buying anything else in bulk. Buying a 1/4, 1/2 or whole share will be significantly less than buying the same amount over time in smaller quantities. You just need to make a small investment in a freezer and have a place for it. Many agree it is a small price to pay for eating the best, most nutrient-dense, toxin-free meat available.

In addition to the savings, Marble Hill beef buys mean you get it all! Everything from ground beef to succulent steaks, roasts, and stew meat better than you’ve ever gotten from the supermarket. You’ll be able to expand your meal planning by trying different cuts of meat you might otherwise have never considered. And if you prefer more ground beef than stew meat, no problem. Want your steaks 2 inches thick – not a problem, either! Custom processing with your Marble Hill bulk beef buys means you get to choose your cut preferences and that is what you get. You’ll also get otherwise unavailable extras, like soup bones and fat – two of the most important ingredients in nutrient-rich, flavorful cooking. You’ll never taste a better soup than one that starts with stock from those soup bones!

If knowing where your food comes from, how the animal was raised, who raised it, and how it was processed is important – then a Marble Hill bulk beef buys are for you!  Unlike buying meat at the grocery store, which means each cut comes from many different locations and animals – buying by the quarter, half or whole means all your beef comes from one animal, one farm. Plus, you support local farmers who sell their product directly to you and help make small-scale farming profitable so you continue to enjoy the results of their efforts.

Marble Hill Bulk Beef Buys Tips

Depending on your cutting preferences selected during the ordering process, a quarter beef will typically yield the following:

• 

  Quarter Beef Buy in these two boxes.

  
  43 lbs. of hamburger
• 3 large Sirloin Steaks
• 7 Chuck Roasts
• 4 Porterhouse Steaks
• 6 T-Bone Steaks
• 9 Ribeye Steaks
• 4 Sirloin Tip Steaks
• A tenderized round steak
• 3 packs of stew meat
• A tied and rolled Rump Roast
• Some soup bones

Of course, weights vary from animal to animal and people who enjoy farm-direct meat in bulk quickly become accustomed to small uncertainties regarding weight. The minimum number of pounds of meat per quarter is used to price your bulk buy. So usually, the yield is slightly higher and the customer receives a little more than what was actually purchased.

Freezers come in four basic sizes and the rule-of-thumb is to multiply the number of people in your family by 2.5 cubic feed to help determine storage needs. Even a compact freezer will hold approximately 175 lbs. of meat, plenty of space for a quarter beef. If you don’t have room for a compact freezer, consider splitting a quarter with a friend or family member.

• Compact = 5 cubic feet
• Small = 6-9 cubic feet
• Medium = 12-18 cubic feet
• Large = 18+ cubic feet

Cut Preferences

When selecting your cut preferences during an order, be sure to have your roasts cut into manageable sizes. Roasts that are 3 to 4 pounds are usually adequate, and if you’re feeding a crowd two will fit in a large crockpot or roaster. For smaller families one roast can be used for two meals – leftover roast beef sandwiches means a “no-cook” day tomorrow! Mix up the sizes of your ground beef packages into 1 and 2 pounds. That way, you can pull out what you need when you need it. Ask for “kabob” cuts so you get chunks of great steaks, roasts, etc. instead of an abundance of stew meat and ground beef. These kabob cuts are great for quick meals on the grill and, while some may not be the most tender cuts, marinating will solve that issue.

100% Grass-Fed vs. Grass-Fed and Grain-Finished

While 100% grass-fed beef is naturally leaner – it does not taste the same as grass-fed, grain-finished beef. The meat tends to have a “grassy taste” and is not as tender or juicy. It should also be cooked a little differently because of these factors. Ozark Prime Beef ranchers “finish off” their steers by feeding grain just prior to harvest. This is done for a few reasons. First of all, it adds that nice, flavorful marbling to the meat without compromising nutritional value. Secondly, depending on the time of year, there may be no grass left to graze on. Ozark Prime Beef animals have been pasture-raised, spring-watered, and fed grass for the majority of life, then grain-finished – so you’re buying the best quality and flavor available from an animal raised with great care.

Hanging Time for Aged Beef

Meat from the butcher shop usually hangs for 7 to 14 days, but Ozark Prime Beef is dry aged for 28 days. Longer aging gives a better flavor and increases the tenderness. The beef does not spoil when aged, as it is kept cold and the air around the hanging side is constantly moving to dry the surface quickly. This makes it inhospitable to microorganisms and allows the meat enzymes naturally present to break down muscle tissue slowly tenderizing and becoming far more flavorful than fresh meat. 

By comparison, meat from the grocery store is “wet-aged” which means aged in plastic shrink-wrap. Wet-aged beef can taste slightly metallic and lacks the depth of flavor. Whereas dry-aged beef is described as having that roasted, nutty flavor associated with a great steakhouse cut of meat. Marble Hill bulk beef buys mean you enjoy dry-aged steakhouse-quality beef with every bite!

Grass fed steak tends to have a beefier flavor because of the nutritional complexity pasture grass gives it, and it tends to be a little leaner than grain-fed beef. We grain-finish our steaks to add marbling and tenderness, and because it helps cattle gain weight more quickly and reliably, without sacrificing nutritional benefits as much as mass-produced supermarket meat. 

How to Cook Grass Fed Steak

Meat from cattle grass-fed, even grain-finished, has less water and fat content. While grain finishing adds some fat content, cooking to perfection might be easier if you consider one of these non-traditional methods. And remember, marinades and rubs overwhelm the mellow grass-fed, grain-finished beef steak, so use it sparingly. In fact, for the absolute best steak you want it dry. Season with sea salt, pepper and other dry spices, place it on a rack and leave it in the fridge overnight, uncovered.  Yep – it will sear and brown so much better if the surface of the steak is dry.  And of course, make sure you take the steak out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature before you ever start cooking it.

SOUS VIDE METHOD

Grass fed steaks cooked traditionally in a cast iron skillet or on the grill can result in an over-cooked steak. Sous vide cooking using a precision cooker will take out the guesswork and deliver a steak cooked precisely to the temperature you like – precisely on schedule. It is a gentle cooking process that achieves more evenly cooked steaks from edge-to-edge. Use this method for strip, ribeye, porterhouse, t-bone and butcher cuts of grass fed steak.

This two-phase process involves sealing the steak in a plastic bag and cooking to the desired final temperature using a sous vide device. Phase two involves searing the meat either on the stovetop, under a broiler, or on the grill to develop color, flavor and textural contrast on the surface while helping render and soften the fat.

REVERSE SEAR METHOD

It is really simple to reverse-sear a steak, and it works best with at least 1.5 inches to 2-inch thick steaks. Just season and place the steak on a wire rack inside an oven-safe shallow dish. Preheat your oven to 275°F or place over indirect heat in a closed grill with only half the burners on if gas. Use a digital thermometer and cook the steak until it reaches 10° to 15°F below the temperature you like. Then remove from the rack and sear it in a piping hot cast iron skillet, on the grill over a direct high flame, or over a searing burner. We like to add a tablespoon or so of high-temp oil to the skillet before searing steak. When it starts smoking, that’s when you add the steak with a pat of butter…yum!  Whole process takes less than a minute, and you can hold the steaks up with tongs to sear the sides. You can serve these steaks right away, as there is no need to rest them as with other cooking methods.

This method of cooking has several pros: more even cooking because the steak is gently cooked, and there is almost no overcooked meat at all so it stays juicy. It sears and browns better for a dark, crispy crust that makes a steak great. Reverse searing allows the meat to slowly heat, which simulates the enzymatic tenderization activity that makes dry-aging beef so effective. Thus, slow heating is like “rapidly aging” the steak and the result is meat that is more tender.

And finally, this method of cooking is way more forgiving. If you’ve missed that short window of time to get your perfect rare or med-rare steak before, you know exactly what this means. Slow cooking increases the timeframe for getting it just right every time. We think this method is the best of the two because sous vide steak comes out of the bag wet – making it hard to get a good sear.

One con of this method is that it takes more time than just grilling a steak the traditional way, and another is that it won’t work for thin steaks.  So if a 2-inch steak is too much, just cook one and serve it to two people or save it for awesome leftover recipes the next day.

No matter how you prepare your Ozark Prime Beef grass fed steak with that awesome flavor only grain finishing delivers – it is sure to be a hit to those sharing a meal at your table1

“Grass fed grain finished beef” produces the highest nutritional value with the best flavor. Grain-finished beef tends to be milder in flavor compared to grass-finished – both being higher in nutritional value over standard-issue supermarket grain-fed beef. Supermarket beef cattle are fed a combination of corn (husks and cobs), soy and other supplements for 3-6 months before harvest; a mix that has been fine-tuned to promote faster growth. The corn leads to higher-level of marbling and gives the meat a slightly sweeter taste.

Why “Grass Fed Grain Finished Beef” Tastes so Good

Ozark Prime Beef cattle are grass fed, grain finished – which means they feed on grass and other plants that grow naturally in the pasture. This gives the meat more of a “meatier” taste with less marbling, so cattle are finished with grain prior to harvest. This practice produces that “sweet spot” to deliver the flavor most beef-lovers crave, without compromising the nutritional value or quality. Higher levels of omega-3 acids, greater amounts of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and fewer calories per-pound are the three main reasons our grass-fed, grain-finished beef is healthier. The steaks tend to be richer in both taste and texture with balanced marbling. It is that balanced marbling that keeps the beef healthier without reducing the richness of flavor steak-lovers look for.

Why “Grass Fed Grain Finished Beef” is Healthier

The fact is, most Americans prefer the taste of grain-fed, supermarket steak and particularly the prized, high-dollar corn-fed steaks served in restaurants. Enjoying the very thing that gives steak flavor – marbling (fat content) – is also what reduces the nutritional and health value of beef. What and how cattle are fed has a major effect on the nutrient composition of the beef. Mass-produced beef from cattle confined and rapidly fattened up with grain-based feeds delivers quite a different result. Months of living in a feedlot, being treated with antibiotics and injected with growth hormones, is not the way cattle should be treated, in our humble opinion. The fact that it produces beef of lesser quality and nutritional value is not a surprise.

Cattle that freely roam the pasture and live the way nature intended produce meat that gram-for-gram contains fewer calories. The composition of fatty acids is also different. Monosaturated fat is less than that of grain-fed beef, whereas Omega-3s are up to five times higher and CLA is about twice as high. The breed and type of meat cut can also make a considerable difference in the fat composition of beef.

All beef is loaded with vitamin B12, B3, B6, iron, selenium, and zinc – almost every nutrient humans need to survive. Beef also contains high-quality protein and some lesser known nutrients like creatine and carnosine that your muscles and brain need for good health. Grass-fed beef generally has higher amounts of certain nutrients such as Vitamin A and Vitamin E. Carotenoid precursors to vitamin A such as beta-carotene, and antioxidants are richer in grass-fed beef. What many people do not realize is that overcooking beef can lead to the formation of harmful compounds, negating some of the health benefits of eating beef in moderation for a balanced diet.

While it may be true grass-fed beef contains higher amounts of certain nutrients, experts argue there is no compelling evidence it is significantly healthier than grain-fed beef in the context of a balanced diet. Despite all the opinions, those who only eat real food that eats real food choose beef from a trusted source.

Why buy Missouri beef from Ozark Prime Beef? Many local residents are all for keeping food dollars in the community. However, that doesn’t mean paying more for quality local meat and getting the same supermarket quality. For this reason, we’re creating a network of qualified local producers offering a selection of prime beef. Much of the best beef available is raised by local farmers following sustainable methods practiced by generations. These smaller producers typically have few outlets for bringing their products to the marketplace on a small scale. Ozark Prime Beef is determined to change that by making it possible to buy Missouri beef online quickly and easily.

Buy Missouri Beef from Trusted Sources

Ozark Prime Beef’s network of producers raises their own cattle locally. They do not buy cattle from elsewhere and bring to their farm for finishing. Our producers are ethical farmers with integrity and passion who work hard to ensure their own families consume quality meat. We want you to benefit from their dedication and enjoy that same quality for your own family.

In today’s world of cell phones, Internet and other non-personal ways of communicating, it can be difficult for urban families to find a trusted source of something as important as the food they eat. Many consumers are moving away from commodity meats at the grocery store and looking to buy locally raised, well-treated, pastured animals. This can be a daunting task if you have no local ties to the farming community in your area. Ozark Prime Beef has deep roots in the community and has long identified the quality producers of beef in the area. We also know that many of our peers have difficulty reaching folks who would gratefully buy their high-quality meats. It is our goal to showcase these producers and make certain anyone with an Internet connection has access to our dedicated network.

Buy Missouri Beef at the Best Prices

If you’ve bought beef by the quarter, half or whole in the past, you know that price per pound depends on several factors. “Live weight” is how much the animal weighs before processing. After head, skin, hooves and other unusable parts are removed, we’re left with the “hanging weight” – which is normally about 60% of the live weight. After the beef has aged and is butchered, we’re left with the “boxed weight” – again, about 60% of the hanging weight, more or less depending on the butcher. Most butchers hang the beef from 7 to 14 days. Ozark Prime Beef is aged for 28 days to give it a better flavor and increased tenderness. While this does reduce the weight, the resulting tender, flavorful beef is well worth the effort and the cost.

So, as just an example, let’s do the math…if a cattle farmer’s price is $3.50 per pound hanging weight, then expect to pay $5.83 per pound once the meat is packaged, plus the price of processing which goes directly to the butcher.

Buy Missouri Beef on a Timeline

Cattle farmers in our network open a “chapter” for beef prior to their animals having gained enough weight to send to the butcher. Each “chapter” available in our shop has a projected timeline. Though you buy Missouri beef stated as “grass-fed”, as long as it has been fed predominately on grass, finishing with grain for a short period will give it some beautiful marbling. It is during this time that quarters, halves or whole sides of beef are made available to pre-order.  After finishing, all details of the processing are handled for you by Ozark Prime Beef. The beef is hung, aged, then processed to your specifications. This process takes time, so be sure to plan ahead so you have meat in the freezer before you actually need it.

Some of the savings realized is the result of bypassing the USDA inspector. What this means is that you are buying the animal prior to going to the butcher, so there is no grading for “choice” or “prime” distinction. This is something that can only be done after the beef is aged, so if this part of the process is important to you – choose beef that is cut, packaged and ready for the freezer.

Processing Your Beef

There are some choices to be made when you buy Missouri beef and most of them depend on individual preferences, family size, and cooking habits. Paper wrapping is the old-fashioned butcher paper commonly used, whereas vacuum packaging is more modern and cuts down on juices running and freezer burning. There are many choices for what types of cuts you want. If you like more steaks than roasts, hamburger over stew meat, you can indicate one or the other. You can also indicate the size your packages should be, the thickness of your steaks, and how many pounds for roasts.

An example of how 490 pounds of boneless, trimmed beef (whole) could break out:

• 185 lbs. lean trim, or ground beef
• 85 lbs. round roasts and steaks
• 90 lbs. chuck roasts and steaks
• 80 lbs. rib and loin steaks
• 50 lbs. other cuts (brisket, flank, short ribs, skirt steak)

A quarter of beef will easily fit into a 5 -7 cubic foot chest freezer. A half beef needs about 8 cubic feet. You should plan for at least 16-17 cu.ft. freezer space for a whole beef.