Grass-fed beef, etc.

VanMan2007

Been looking for a supplier of grass-fed beef & other healthy (and hopefully ethically-treated meat products) and it seems I have one on my doorstep!

Anyone heard of these guys?
http://www.musclefood.com/

suki1964

VanMan2007 wrote: »

Been looking for a supplier of grass-fed beef & other healthy (and hopefully ethically-treated meat products) and it seems I have one on my doorstep!

Anyone heard of these guys?
http://www.musclefood.com/

Sorry but am I missing something here?

Are cows fed something other then grass? Cos the fields I walk in which the cows graze are grass

Sure in the winter when cows are put into barns their silage ( stored grass) is supplemented with beets, neeps and barley but the main diet of a cow is grass

Buy British, Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh reared beef and you can't go wrong. We have some of the best farming practices in the world

VanMan2007

suki1964 wrote: »

Sorry but am I missing something here?

Are cows fed something other then grass? Cos the fields I walk in which the cows graze are grass

Sure in the winter when cows are put into barns their silage ( stored grass) is supplemented with beets, neeps and barley but the main diet of a cow is grass

Buy British, Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh reared beef and you can't go wrong. We have some of the best farming practices in the world

Not all cows are fed grass, some are only fed on grain which can contain mycotoxins, which are not good. (This is what I have read, I'm not a biologist!) This was from an American source, so that may not relate to current British farming practice.

But you are correct, Welsh, Scottish, Irish and I assume some English cows are fed on grass and that is what I was looking out for - happy cows and chickens! I'm going to contact the company to suggest posting data confirming the animals are ethically treated and humanely slaughtered. That would be a BIG plus for me and I'm sure a good selling point for the company.

Anyway, placed an order with Muscle Food. Great service, great quality products:

10 x 6-7 grass-fed Irish rumps £22.50
10 x 6-7oz British rumps £29.00
5kg (21 pieces) of HUGE chicken breasts £25.00

The meats look wonderful. Only came today so not tried any yet.

If you want to place a test order USE CODE RS4237 on checkout to get four chicken breasts for FREE!

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Ooh keep me posted on whether it's any good. I love some good meat - fnar fnar etc!

I searched all over for a good jerky supplier till I realised British Beef Jerky is about 10 miles north of me

HBS x

VanMan2007

Thanks, HBS.

I'm a beef jerky addict. The prices at M-F weren't that great. Can you link me to your supplier!!!

Only problem is, once I get a stash I can't leave it alone! I end up with an aching jaw like David Coulthard and Tom Platz's love child! (Google-photo them, if you don't know them!)

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Haha that's quite tickled me I love jerky, I live on it at LARP weekends.

I get mine from http://www.britishbeefjerky.co.uk/ The prices seem high, but obviously 500g of jerky is a LOT. Can recommend original, peppered and teriyaki!

HBS x

pogofish

suki1964 wrote: »

Sorry but am I missing something here?

Are cows fed something other then grass? Cos the fields I walk in which the cows graze are grass

There is quite an array of substances that can be used for cattle feed in the UK legally and quite a few more that may be used illegally.

This doc gives some idea of the legal stuff:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/206640/animalfeed-statsnotice-13jun13.pdf

Aberdeen Angus is the only breed that has grass feeding stipulated in the breed standard, so its the only one that can be trusted to have had reasonable verification/monitoring across the animal's lifespan and any other meat claming to be "grass fed" has to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Oh and whilst Ireland is capable of producing excellent beef, there has been a number of scandals over the years involving feed, chemical and most recently horsemeat adulteration, so again this is not a fully trusteorthy source.

suki1964

I think that was Ireland and not Northern Ireland ?

Here where I am beef cattle are either Aberdeen Angus or Charolais Both grass fed.

I buy my meat from a butcher who kills his own. I'm very satisfied my meet is grass fed satisfied that its rearing reaches uk standards

VanMan2007

suki1964 wrote: »

I think that was Ireland and not Northern Ireland ?

Here where I am beef cattle are either Aberdeen Angus or Charolais Both grass fed.

I buy my meat from a butcher who kills his own. I'm very satisfied my meet is grass fed satisfied that its rearing reaches uk standards

Thanks suki1964,

Whereabouts are you and does your butcher ship? I would like to buy for comparison.

Thanks for your input.

VanMan2007

Plus, I can now attest that the "grass-fed, Irish beef" I had was awesome. Melt-in-the-mouth delicious and I have a freezer full. Woo hoo!

suki1964

VanMan2007 wrote: »

Thanks suki1964,

Whereabouts are you and does your butcher ship? I would like to buy for comparison.

Thanks for your input.

I'm in Northern Ireland and I'm afraid he doesn't. However when I fly back to England I always have a dozen vac packed steaks for my hosts. The quality of meat here is so good The supermarkets here do very little in the way of meat sales. My very small town has 7 butchers and a pork store. Most people here still shop in local shops with the staff knowing you by name and what it is you prefer.