But people were really inspired by a prior post about Maryland meat producers, and Penny sent me a rave about the Wagon Wheel Ranch which takes orders in the spring and then raises the animals on its own farm. Penny says grass-fed beef varies in quality, but she says some of the best steaks in her life were pasture fed. It's just a matter of finding the ranches that do it well, and Penny will lead you to Mt. Airy:
I started eating grass-fed meat after reading Michael Pollan's article in the New York Times Sunday magazine in 2002. My switch was motivated by my interest in the cow, but in addition, grass meat is decidedly healthier, arguably better for the environment, and potentially more delicious than grain-fed beef.
I encountered, as most people do, substantial variation in the quality of the meat. Grass-fed beef can be stringy and difficult to chew, or it can be juicier and substantially more flavorful ("beefier!") than the typical prime cut purchased from a supermarket shelf. The variability in quality can be a turn-off to people trying grass-fed meat for the first time. It's just a matter of finding the ranchers that do it well. Raising cattle on grass, while in some ways simpler than the factory process, requires more attentiveness than probably most of us realize.
