A little curious

[carpetride]

I've always been a "steak & taters" guy or more accurately ribs and more ribs guy. Never have worried too much about how it was raised just as long as it doesn't have that D@$! solution in it! I can't say that I have ever bought into the whole hormone free, free range, organic food thing. I have traveled to Argentina and Brazil where they tend to have a lot of grass fed cattle and always had great steaks. That all being said: Those of you who have had a chance to eat some of the mentioned meats above here in the U.S. could you tell the difference? We have had shop open up nearby that sells all types of this meat but I haven't had a chance to visit. Can't say that I am running out to try it but am a little curious as to your opinions/experience. Growing up we raised hogs and those were some of best pigs I ever ate...and no they weren't "organic".

 

[the dude abides]

I like the free range chicken way better than the factory raised versions that don't seem to have much flavor at all.

 

[cowgirl]

Well... I raise my own beef, pork and poultry and prefer it over store bought. I keep my meat hormone free and "free range".
I get a kick out of the use of "free range" chickens or eggs... we always called them barnyard chickens growing up. They are raised on bugs and what they scratch up around the farm.
Home grown meat does taste different to me from anything I've tasted from the store... I think they use a lot of additives even after the animal is butchered. Pump the meats full of water and salt, etc..

I raise black angus beef... my neighbor is trying to convince me that his red angus are better. It's a never ending battle.

 

[countrysmoked]

I don't know if our chickens are truly free range, they just run around the yard but I do know that the eggs are better tasting than the store bought ones. I raise buffalo that I buy when they are calves and feed them beet pulp and sweet feed mix with good hay and have some of the best buffalo meat I ever tasted out of them. My neighbor raises Angus beef and he feeds them out and gets top dollar for them but he has hormone free or something like that, it sure tastes good. There might be something to it that pride of raising it and butchering it yourself ads to the quality or maybe we just think it tastes better.

 

[rivet]

Never bought organic eggs, free range eggs or chicken that way.But....my sister -in-law raises chickens and cows on her farm and we get fresh eggs, butter and milk all the time. Her chickens just run around outside the henhouse all day. The eggs and chicken does taste WAY better than store bought. The yolks in the eggs are a far brighter orange.

The locally raised grass-fed beef we buy from local farmers is hands-down far tastier than gorcery store beef. They are not sold as organic, hormone-free or anything of that nonsense. Just beef. "You want half a steer this fall?" type of thing. We know the farmers, the land, what the steer ate, and we know it's healthy.

 

[werdwolf]

I think there is a difference.

First scientifically there is a difference in the eggs. The essential fatty acids "Omega 3's" are not in a "normal" ratio from the massed produced eggs. I digress for a moment to note the same thing has happened with farm raised Salmon.

Personally, I think there is a difference in the beef and pork also. I sponsor the 4H kids at the fair. There usually is some corn feed involved, but none of the steroid stuff. This tastes better (and the wife agrees), sponsors the kids, and I get some advertising (and get to use pre-tax dollars). So it's a win/win thing.

 

[jdt]

grain fed beef tastes better than grass fed beef IMO
I had heard you can influence goat meat by what you feed them, never heard about the buffalo or chicken, everytime I see organic chickens they are scrawny and look like I could eat one by myself.

 

[shooterrick]

We raised our own beef, hogs, and chickens for years. It cracks me up when I see advertising that we serve only grass fed beef. If you only let cattle free range they can get tuff. We always put ours on grain and molasses for the last 90-120 days in a feed lot. Less excersise more marble in the meat equals tender. Well that is my opinion anyway. I miss those days on the farm. The store bought meat is not the same quality by far.