Black Angus beef ( opinions please)

[RidgeRunnerWVa]

It seems like the Black Angus association is really getting promoted heavily everywhere you go.The resteraunts / grocery stores promoting Black angus beef. Do any of you think there is a difference in Black Angus beef compared to IE: Hereford/Charolais/Limousin ? I have heard a Limousin is a leaner meat,while I have heard Black Angus has a better marbling quality. If the Black Angus beef is a higher quality beef I would think Red Angus should have equal billing since they all come from the same source originally.

 

[hudr]

This will cause some feedback, especially since I am in Angus country here in East Texas, but.... We have eaten some of every kind of cattle we have ever had on our place since I was a kid: Registered Angus, Brahma, Longhorn, Charlaois, etc. and all flavors of crosses. We fed them all out ourselves. Best I can tell is uninstall those testicles young, feed them pretty close to free choice in a lot w/ plenty water and kill'em while they are still gaining weight. I think it also helps to keep them as calm as possible right up the point where they are knocked in the head. Worst we have ever had was a Registerd Angus bull. He broke his jaw and stood around for 2 days unable to eat/drink before the processor could get to him. Most of that meat turned into coyote bait /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[Bird]

Hud, maybe you should have done that bull the way we did a neighbor's old cow. We just had the processor use the whole cow for nothing but one pound packages of lean ground beef and three of us split it; turned out just fine. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif When I was a kid we always had a Jersey milk cow, got her bred to a neighbor's Hereford bull and the calf was our meat whether it was a bull calf or heifer. But like you said, we butchered them young and still growing.

Now I know Angus is good meat, but like the original poster, I don't know if or why it's any better than lots of other breeds.

 

[Egon]

Those are really good points on raising and butchering. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif


Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[hudr]

Bird, I think the main problem w/ the bull was the amount of time he spent standing around not eatin, not drinking and stressed from pain. I am a firm believer that adrenaline and the like can do weird things to the taste of slaughtered meat. Kind of like the difference between a deer that is immediately dropped and one that runs a mile w/ his heart and one lung blown out /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif.
That bull, even the hamburger was inedible. It stank when cooked. Some of the steaks were OK if marinated, but mostly it was jus BAD. He was a young bull but we were feeding him to breed, not eat, so I am sure that had something to do w/ it also. I have had meat from ~20 year old dairy cows that was better. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif.
Angus has a huge marketing behemoth behind it. But most of the growers I run w/ around here lean more toward the ideal of Angus being a good animal to cross w/ something else to make a beef animal. I am like you, Angus is good but I don't see the premium it demands. Personally, I like our Angus/Longhorn crosses for beef. Lean w/ just enough marbling for flavor. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Jimbrown]

Ahh the real answer to this depends on the USDA grading of the meat. Usda grading is from leanest to fatest: select, choice , prime. I buy most of my meat in the US Army Commissary they sell all grades plus what they call black angus. The black angus appears to be all USDA Prime and has lots of fat and marbeling which makes it tender and supposedly adds flavor. I much prefer the USDA choice which has less fat. It may not be quite as tender but i almost always buy ribeye and maraionate (sp) it before grilling. My friends all say they would rather eat my steaks than any they get at the better steak houses. I do somtimes buy the black angus when I do not like the look of the other stuff but I generally find it to fat for my taste. just my personal observation.

 

[Bird]

Yep, Hud, I think you're probably right on both counts; the bull's condition and the Angus marketing.

 

[JESSE1]

In the early '90's, Limousine was being heavily promoted as producing very lean meat compared to the other breeds. I bought a registered Limousine bull and bred to F1 Brangus cows. Couldn't tell any difference in fat content compared to any other breed we had raised.

I keep a registered Angus bull now. Been very satisfied with ease of calving and the calves grow out well. Just finished the last of the meat from a 8 month old Angus bull calf. Couldn't have asked for more tender beef. Picked up over 350# of cut and wrapped Angus heifer this morning. I expect it to be just as good.

 

[MossRoad]

We split a side with our in-laws every year. Our cousin raises it for us. We've had several different breeds and all were delicious! I really think it is who raises it and how more than what breed. The cousin lets them run around on several acres and feeds them at the barn. They tend to look content and like others have said, that probably makes all the difference.

 

[Egon]

Trying to recall from 40 or so years ago:

Think feeding more grass/hay and very little grain will tend towards lean meat in most all breeds of cattle. The fat may be of a different texture too. Thinks it is yellower and not waxy white in colour. Of course this will lenghten the growing time.

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif