This is some red beef

[sudsandswine]

My dad bought part of a cow, grass fed I'm told, and gave me a couple ribeyes to try out. When I opened the paper wrapper, I was surprised how dark red the meat was....deep ruby red, I hadn't seen beef quite like that before. It was nicely marbled and turned out very tasty, but even when cooked to medium rare then medium, the meat inside was still very red so it deceivingly looked more rare than it actually was. He got a brisket from the same cow that I'm going to cook sometime, I figure it'll probably look about the same color when I open it. Granted, I don't cook a lot of non-store bought (Sam's/Costco) beef, I have had "grass fed" beef before and those ribeyes weren't quite like this.

https://preview.ibb.co/hVqq5p/steak1.jpg (https://ibb.co/b42gBU)

https://preview.ibb.co/ijUTrU/steak2.jpg (https://ibb.co/cT8zy9)

https://preview.ibb.co/fCiorU/steak3.jpg (https://ibb.co/cNyckp)

[Bklmt2000]

The darker red color is due to the animal feeding on grass, at least for part of its life, vs. being being fed grain exclusively during its life.

[Big George's BBQ]

WOW Beautiful color

[sudsandswine]

WOW Beautiful color

I think they paid about $3/lb, cost averaging across all the different cuts and the majority was ground, but I thought they were real nice. I'm looking forward to seeing what the brisket looks like as well marbled as the ribeyes were.

[azken]

Thanks OP for the question and thanks Brian for the answer..learned something this morning.

[Joshw]

Fresh beef is red, it starts oxidizing, as soon as the hemoglobin comes in contact with oxygen. That's why stores treat their beef with carbon monoxide. When getting one butchered, there is generally a very short time between cutting, wrapping, and freezing.
Do you know how long it was hung, before processing? My concern would be, they didn't age it very long, before they cut and wrapped it.

[sudsandswine]

I dont know how long it was hung, unfortunately.

[EdF]

How was the flavor?

[sudsandswine]

It was good, definitely had the different flavor that is typical with grass fed beef.

[legendaryhog]

I think they paid about $3/lb, cost averaging across all the different cuts and the majority was ground, but I thought they were real nice. I'm looking forward to seeing what the brisket looks like as well marbled as the ribeyes were.

If they paid $3/lb for the steer and the butchering that would be a hell of a deal.

Best beef is home grown. Grow your own or find someone who does in your area.

[sickhick]

Damn that looks good, any pics after the cook?

[Titch]

Thats one magnificent looking piece of meat.
I am lucky to have access to a lot of Grass fed meats
Strange that natural food for cattle is now classed a s Boutique isn't it?