Grass-fed beef in the Dominican Republic

Dolores1

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May 3, 2000
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In the Family from London relocating to Punta Cana thread, beechbum12 says that one of the reasons not to move to Punta Cana is that here cows are grass-fed!

Now... on the contrary that should be a reason to move to the Dominican Republic, where cows are fed the way they should be!

I remember watching the Food Matters documentary...
The Truth About Grassfed Beef

The New York Times says grass-fed is tastier...
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/switching-to-grass-fed-beef/

Punta Cana is near to the leading cattle ranching area of the country... lots of opportunities for grass fed beef.

For sure there are good butchers to be found in Punta Cana. For starters, there is always Supermercado Nacional at the Punta Cana Village that always has good meat... alas, much will be grass-fed!
 

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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Taste-panel participants have found the meat from grassfed animals to be characterized by “off-flavors including ammonia, gamey, bitter, liverish, old, rotten and sour.”
 

drSix

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Oct 13, 2013
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I would swim to Miami for a good 'ol USDA certified T-bone!

That said, is it possible to order from Omaha Steaks and have it shipped through Miami via EPS? Does frozen, packaged meat make it through customs?
 
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May 29, 2006
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There are many factors in the quality of beef, esp breed and age. I've yet to hear if the DR has Angus beef. Given the price and quality of the beef in the DR, it seems to be made mostly from old dairy cows. There is hardly any marbling and it tends to be tough. On the plus side, if you can get pork from a creole pig, it is far better than anything readily available in the US.

It's the yelling that makes it good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZxQ_jWEHeEa

Ted Turner is pushing for the US to get more Buffalo in their diet for a variety of reasons.
 
May 29, 2006
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It makes for great burgers because of the grease. More flavor too. A little tough. Might depend on when it's harvested.
 

bob saunders

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Jan 1, 2002
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We bought a "half a buffalo" back in Oklahoma years ago, and couldn't give it away after people had tasted it. The grease was nasty. We'd always bought a half a beef and decided to try it, ut should have tried a lot smaller piece to start on.

Well the beefalo I ate was from Trout Creek Montana and it was lean and tasty. I've eaten lots of pure buffalo in Canada and found it to be tough, lean, and tasty.
http://www.hawkfarms.com/what-is-beefalo
 
May 29, 2006
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Could be the fat takes on different flavors depending on what they are grazing on. In any case, there is no Buffalo in the DR that I know of and after several tries, I gave up on DR beef except for hamburger meat.

A couple good tips in the video about checking beef grade. I can do well on the marbling, but the color and shape of the rib-eye are new things for me to check. I want to know more about the pH thing they were talking about. I'm thinking stress makes the meat more acidic, and I can see how that would affect cooking properties.
 

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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I would swim to Miami for a good 'ol USDA certified T-bone!

That said, is it possible to order from Omaha Steaks and have it shipped through Miami via EPS? Does frozen, packaged meat make it through customs?

Would you want to eat beef that takes a week or so to get here using non refrigerated transport? I think not.
 
May 29, 2006
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There is no way any meat is shipped or stored unrefrigerated. Omaha steaks are shipped with dry ice and arrive in the US still rock hard.

Good beef is often aged in a controlled climate for a week or more(I think up to a month!). I've never dry aged beef, but it can take quite a while. You stick it in a fridge with a big pan of salt and wait. It's something you'd do with a prime rib or whole rib-eye but not burger meat.

There is enough low hanging fruit when it comes to healthy food choices other than whether beef has been corn or grass fed. I can see and taste the difference with organic eggs, but with beef you want proper marbling which isn't going to happen with pasture grazing.

Where did the chicken come from?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErRHJlE4PGI
 

tommeyers

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Jan 2, 2012
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I am experimenting with aging a piece of Dr beef. I have done that in the US with US beef. The US results were good.

I washed the meat in water (no soap) then rubbed on salt then patted dry. Then into refrigerator for 10 days.

I will post the results.
 

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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I am experimenting with aging a piece of Dr beef. I have done that in the US with US beef. The US results were good.

I washed the meat in water (no soap) then rubbed on salt then patted dry. Then into refrigerator for 10 days.

I will post the results.

We await your results with baited breath.
 

kenthedentman

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Apr 10, 2012
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I would swim to Miami for a good 'ol USDA certified T-bone!

That said, is it possible to order from Omaha Steaks and have it shipped through Miami via EPS? Does frozen, packaged meat make it through customs?

Check around. I have seen omaha steaks here. I know for sure there is pharmacy in juan dolio at the metro country club that carries omaha steaks.
 
May 29, 2006
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With cheap cuts, I usually do a three hour guisado with lots of garlic and cumin after cutting the meat into 2" cubes. The tougher the meat the better.
 

Chicagoan

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May 27, 2011
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I've never been impressed with Omaha steaks. They are very expensive, and average at best.

I usually buy my meat at Costco, but Aldi's has recently started carrying rib eye, and they are surprisingly good.