How to Cook Grass Fed & Finished Beef
- Cathryn Kerns
- Oct 27
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 3
✨So You Actually Enjoy It✨
Let’s be honest — a lot of folks buy grass-fed and finished beef because they’ve heard it’s healthier. Kind of like how everyone suddenly decided kale chips were the ultimate snack (until we all admitted they taste like crunchy air). But here’s the deal: our grass-finished beef isn’t just a “health food trend.” It’s real beef, raised naturally on wild mountain grasses the way cattle were meant to live — and it’s going to taste and cook differently than the store-bought stuff you’re used to.
If you toss it on high heat and walk away, you’ll end up with something that chews more like shoe leather than dinner. So before you give up and say “I guess I’m just not into grass-finished,” let me share a few tried-and-true ranch tips to help you keep your beef tender, juicy, and downright craveable — a health food you’ll actually enjoy eating.
1. Thaw slow
The cows don’t like to be rushed. Not up the mountain, not into the trailer… Start your meal off right by not rushing the thawing process either. It’s best for your grass-finished steaks and savory cuts to thaw slowly in the refrigerator for 24–48 hours. Rapid thawing (like in warm water or a microwave) can break down muscle fibers unevenly, causing moisture loss. Bonus points if you let the meat rest at room temperature for 20–30 minutes before cooking to promote even cooking. (I do find ground beef to be a bit more forgiving to a quick thaw than other cuts, however.)
2. Befriend salts, fats, & acids
Salts, fats and acids are your friends! They help bring out flavors, seal in moisture, and tenderize muscle fibers. Lean beef benefits from added moisture or tenderizing ingredients:
Fats like butter, olive oil, ghee, tallow, etc are great for adding flavor and moisture to leaner beef! Fats are also important for adding a nice browning to the meat. Grass-finished beef pairs beautifully with herb butters or pan sauces made from its own drippings.
Marinades with olive oil, wine, vinegar, citrus, tomato, or yogurt help tenderize while infusing flavor.
Salt or dry brining (salting the meat a few hours ahead) helps break down the collagen and enhances the depth of flavor without masking the natural beef taste. I like to salt my steaks with coarse salt a minimum of twenty minutes before cooking and watch how the salt pulls the moisture and then absorbs it back in.
3. Take out a little aggression
You can physically tenderize tougher cuts like a top round with a mallet before cooking. This will help break down the muscle fibers and the collagen, and make the most of more economical cuts. Just gently sandwich the cut between two layers of cling wrap and then imagine it’s that one cow that keeps stopping every ten yards on the trail to pick a fight with the dogs and it will be tender in no time.
4. Low and slow is key
Grass-finished beef performs best when cooked at lower temperatures for a slightly longer time. High heat can quickly overcook lean cuts. Personally, I like to do a quick, hot sear for my steaks and let them rest, but all other savory cuts like roasts, short ribs, brisket etc - LOW AND SLOW. Utilize dutch ovens, crock pots and Instapots for braising, stewing, or slow cooking. A bit of broth, wine, or tomato-based liquid goes a long way.
5. Don’t kill it twice
Friends, don’t do it. Don’t cook that steak well done. It's dead already, I promise! Nothing makes me more sad than a well done steak. Because it’s leaner, grass-finished beef tastes best when cooked no more than medium-rare to medium at most. (130-140°F internal temperature). Overcooking will make it TOUGH. Watch the clock because lean meat cooks way faster than you’ll likely be used to! And always remove from heat 5–10°F before target temperature, as it will continue to cook while resting. But if you like shoe leather, sure, well done is... fine… 😬
6. Let it rest
That meat has worked hard- it deserves a little sabbath. Resting allows juices to redistribute after cooking. You can even go the extra mile and tent the meat with foil for 5–10 minutes for steaks and up to 20 minutes for roasts before slicing. This step accentuates tenderness and moisture retention.
7. Slice against the grain
Are you an “every steak for himself” or a “slice and serve” kind of family? Either way, slice your meat thinly against the grain (perpendicular) to shorten muscle fibers and maximize tenderness — especially for cuts like flank, skirt, top round, or sirloin tip.
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All in all, cooking grass-fed and finished beef isn’t rocket science — it just asks for a little respect and a lighter touch. Treat it like the premium, pasture-raised protein it is, not the wet-aged and ultra fatty supermarket stuff that forgives bad habits. Keep the heat lower, give it time to rest, and don’t be afraid of a little butter. Do that, and you’ll turn what some call a “health food” into what we call a reason to lick your plate clean. At Truly Beef, we raise it right and now we pass the ba-”tongs” to you!
And if you do all that and still don't love it, give our grain-finished beef a try! They are raised the exact same as our grass-finished beef, but the last 120 days of their pasture diet is supplemented with grain for extra marbling and flavor!
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