Blog - Clover Meadows Beef

06/05/2020 By Matt & Jessica @ Clover Meadows Beef 4 Comments

Understanding Cuts of Beef. What Comes with a Quarter, Half Beef

One of the most common questions we hear from those thinking about ordering large quantities of beef from us is “What cuts of beef will I get if I order a quarter, half or whole?”

Great question.

Your question shows that you know that a steer is made up of more than just steaks — a lot more!

In this post and video we hope to explain a little more about each of the cuts of beef and where the best cuts of beef are found. Plus, we will discuss exactly what cuts you get if you order a quarter, half or whole beef from our farm.

10 Best Beef Rubs (hint: you already have the ingredients in your kitchen)

Best Beef Rub Recipes - Clover Meadows Beef Saint Louis Grass Fed Beef - Pin 2 — Beef rubs are simple to make and they add flavor, not fat. Here are 10 of our favorites.

It’s no secret. We like beef.

We don’t have beef for every meal, but you will usually find it on our dinner table two to three times a week.

Generally, we like to keep it simple. We season beef with kosher salt so that the flavor of the beef really shines.

However, we also use a lot of beef rubs depending on what we’re making.

Beef rubs are an amazing way to add flavor to beef, but not fat.

They create a beautiful, savory crust on beef, similar to what you’d find at your favorite steakhouse.

Over the years we have used different beef rubs and steak seasonings. Some are store-bought and others are homemade.

After talking with many customers, it turns out that homemade rubs aren’t used in many home kitchens. If that’s you, be prepared to be amazed.

Herbs and spices can literally transform a steak. Plus, beef rubs are incredibly simple to make and you likely already have all of the ingredients in your pantry.

What Beef Labels Really Mean: Grass Fed Beef, Grass Finished Beef, Grain Finished Beef, Organic, & Natural (video)

You’ve likely seen or heard beef described with terms like “grass fed”, “grass finished”, “grain finished”, “organic” and “natural”.

But what do these terms and labels actually mean?

In this post, we’re going to try and explain these terms. We’ll look at the USDA’s definition (if applicable), what these terms mean on our farm and for a typical farmer, and what these labels mean for a consumer – you!

Before we begin, please know that there is lots of confusion with these terms for various reasons, such as,

Terms have changed over the years.
The USDA’s definition of the terms and what consumers think the terms mean sometimes differs (more on that later).
The terms can be vague and have multiple meanings. Since farming is made up of small, family-farms throughout the U.S., we all do things slightly differently. That doesn’t mean someone is doing it right and someone else is wrong, it’s just different. So, if a term is vague, different farms could interpret and apply it differently.

Grass Fed Beef:

This may surprise you, but the USDA doesn’t have an official definition for grass fed. In 2016, the Agricultural Marketing Service, a branch of the USDA, announced in a statement that it was dropping its official definition of “grass fed” because it doesn’t have the authority to define and determine whether grass fed claims are truthful and misleading.

Grass Fed Beef through the eyes of a Farmer:

All cattle (and we really mean all) spend the majority of their lives eating grass in the pasture. The biggest difference between cattle is what they eat at the end of their lives. This is also known as how they’re “finished” (more on that later).

At Clover Meadows Beef, all of our cattle are grass fed. They spend 100% of their lives in open pasture.

Grass Fed Beef through the eyes of a Consumer:

When you stroll through the aisle of your grocery store and see “grass fed”, it will probably be more expensive than a package of beef without that label. Unfortunately, this marketing term doesn’t mean much.

What’s the difference between a steer vs bull? Cow vs heifer? (video)

Difference between steer vs bull and cow vs heifer - Clover Meadows Beef

Did you know there’s a difference between a steer vs bull? There’s also a difference between a cow vs heifer.

If you’ve followed our site at all, you know that Matt is a farm kid and Jessica grew up in a typical subdivision as a city kid. When we first met and started dating, we had lots of conversations revolving around cattle terminology. Very romantic…right?! Ha! One of the basic conversations was cow terminology. Specifically, that meant discussing the difference between steer vs bull, and cow vs heifer. There’s a big difference!

If you’re not up-to-speed on steers, bulls, cows and heifers, we’ve provided basic definitions and go into much more detail below:

Cow: A cow is a female animal that has had at least one calf. Using everyday lingo, the cows are the “moms”
Heifer: A heifer is a female animal that has never had a calf. Once a heifer has a calf, she automatically becomes a cow. In other words, heifers are like “first-time moms”
Bull: A mature male animal that is used for breeding. The bulls are the “dads.”
Steer: A steer is a male animal that has been neutered.

So, what do you usually eat when you eat meat? Generally speaking if it’s good quality meat it’s usually a heifer or steer. If it’s lower quality meat, it’s usually a cow.

Now that you know the very basic definitions, let’s go a little deeper on the differences between steer vs bull and cow vs heifer.

3 Touch Tests for Steak Doneness (video)

Steak Doneness. Touch Test Finger Test and Digital Meat Thermometer Testing Steak Temperature

The absolute easiest ways to ruin beef is to overcook or undercook it. Thankfully, it’s an easy problem to solve with a digital meat thermometer.

However, we know that many people may not have or want to use a digital meat thermometer for two reasons.

First, those that don’t have a thermometer typically think they’re too expensive (they’re not … one of our personal favorite meat thermometers is only about $30).

Second, those that have a thermometer and don’t want to use it say it’s because they don’t want to puncture beef before they eat it because they don’t want to loose any juices. There have been lots of studies on this. And although you may loose a little juice by testing it with a thermometer, that’s much better than ruining the entire steak by overcooking it.

If you fall into either of these camps, there are some DIY methods you can use to test beef for doneness. But please know that at our house we always verify the touch tests with a digital instant read meat thermometer.

There are three basic DIY touch tests for doneness — touching the palm of your hand, your fist, and your face. Again, keep in mind that touch tests are very subjective and the only way to make sure you’re not overcooking or undercooking beef is with a meat thermometer.

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