A Guide to Cooking Grass-fed Steaks

By Jake Levin (Author of the Smokehouse Handbook)

Often, when people are disappointed that their grass-fed beef has a different taste or texture than the beef they’re used to eating they assume if they just cook it the “right” way it will taste like what they are used to. The truth is, grass-fed beef is always going to have more chew to it and a stronger, beefier flavor than grain-fed (aka. conventional commodity feedlot) beef. This is a direct result of the way the animal lived its life. Grass-fed, pastured steers spend their lives outdoors, freely moving around pasture eating various grasses. This means their muscles are working much more than grain-fed steers, which are typically kept in confined conditions. It also means they are eating a more varied diet, which is more nutritious for them. This results in muscles with more connective tissue, less fat, and more complex flavors. There are some cooking techniques that can help mitigate the texture and flavor, but mostly it’s about adjusting your expectations.

Because grass-fed beef is leaner and has more chew, it tends to cook faster and is best cooked to a rare or medium rare. This means cooking a grass-fed steak is less forgiving than conventional meat and requires a cooking technique which gives you more control. That’s why, generally speaking, I use the pan to oven method for cooking grass-fed steaks. (This also goes for cooking pastured pork chops). It’s really important to get an instant-read meat thermometer to help you know when exactly to pull the steak from the oven. Going by temperature is always a better idea then going by time.

Cooking Techniques

Pan-Seared Steak

This method is best suited for thin steaks, under 1/2-inch-thick, like skirt or flat iron.

Take the steak out of the fridge and, if it’s still in its packaging, out of the packaging. With a clean cloth pat the surface of the steak dry. Take a heavy pinch (per side) of kosher or fine sea salt and apply it to each side of the steak, giving it a nice even coating. Let the steak sit on your counter for at least 45 minutes (up to a few hours) before cooking it. It is important for the meat to come to room temperature so that it cooks evenly.

Use a large heavy bottomed skillet big enough to fit the steak without crowding. I prefer cast iron because it holds its temperature better and more evenly.

Over a high heat, heat the pan until it is smoking hot (at least a couple of minutes).

Using a pair of kitchen tongs, place the steak in the pan. Using the tongs, press the steak down to make sure it is in complete contact with the pan. Sear for 3 minutes, or until it develops a nice golden-brown crust.

Flip the steak to the other side, again pressing it down with the tongs to make sure that the steak is making full contact with the pan. Sear for another 3 minutes, or until it develops a nice golden-brown crust.

Remove the steak from the pan immediately, and let it rest on a cutting board. Pour the drippings from the pan over the steak, and if you have a sauce for it pour that over the steak. Let it rest for at least five minutes, to allow the muscle fibers to relax before carving the steak and serving it.

Pan-to-Oven Steak

This method is best for steaks over a half inch thick, from Flank to Rib Eye.

Meanwhile preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Use a large heavy bottomed skillet big enough to fit the steak without crowding. I prefer cast iron because it holds its temperature better and more evenly.

Over a high heat, heat the pan until it is smoking hot (at least a couple of minutes).

Using a pair of kitchen tongs, place the steak in the pan. Using the tongs, press the steak down to make sure it is in complete contact with the pan. Sear for 3 minutes.

Flip the steak to the other side, again pressing it down with the tongs to make sure that the steak is making full contact with the pan. Sear for 2 minutes.

Place a pad of butter (or even better, a compound butter) or a drizzle of olive oil on the steak. If you’d like, you could also toss in some herbs, garlic, or shallots at this point.

Take the pan off the stove and place it in the oven. The time in the oven depends on the thickness of the steak, and your preferred degree of doneness*- rare, medium-rare, medium, etc.

*For ½ -1-inch-thick steaks like flank I leave it in the oven for about 3 minutes for a medium rare.

For thicker steaks like NY strip, rib eye, sirloin, or London broil cut 1 to 1.5 inches or so, I leave it in the oven for about 5 minutes for a medium-rare.

Pull the steak from the oven, removing it from the pan immediately, and let it rest on a cutting board. Pour the drippings from the pan over the steak. Let it rest for at least five minutes, to allow the muscle fibers to relax before carving the steak and eating it.

Because the steak continues to cook after pulling it from the oven it’s a good idea to pull the steak out when its 5 degree below your desired finished temperature.

Finished Temp Guides: Rare- 120 | Medium- Rare 125 | Medium- 130

Some Other Techniques to Enhance Your Steak

Besides being mindful of the temperature to which you cook your steak, there are a couple of other techniques you can use to help tenderize the meat, in addition to adding flavor to it.

Marinating

One great way to both tenderize your meat and incorporate other flavors into it is to marinate your steak. This is particularly well-suited for skirt steaks, flank steaks, and London broils, but it can be used for any cut of steak.

Ideally you want to marinate your steak overnight, but even 45 minutes of marinating can make a difference. If you are doing a quick marinade, marinate the steak outside of the fridge so that it can come to temperature while marinating, it also helps the steak take in the marinade faster. Your marinade should have salt (or a salty liquid like soy sauce), a form of acid (lime, vinegar, wine), and some oil in it. The salt and acid will help to break down the proteins resulting in a more tender steak, the oil helps to coat the steak in the marinade as well as helping to infuse the steak with the other aromatics and spices you’re using. Feel free to add whatever other spices, herbs and aromatics you prefer- ground chilis, garlic, cilantro, etc.

“Dry-Brine”/Dry-Rub

Another great technique to enhance the quality of your steak is either “dry-brining” (salting for multiple days) or giving it a dry-rub.* If you do this, first take the steak out of the fridge and, if it’s still in its packaging, out of the packaging. With a clean cloth pat the surface of the steak dry. Take a heavy pinch (per side) of kosher or fine sea salt, or your dry rub, and apply it to each side of the steak, trying to give it a nice even coating. Let the steak sit in your fridge, uncovered (preferably on a wire rack over a sheet pan), for up to 3 days. This allows the outside of your steak to dry out a little bit, giving you a better sear. It also allows the salt to fully penetrate the steak and start to breakdown the proteins yielding a more tender steak.

*A dry rub is a mix of salt and other dry spices and herbs to help flavor your meat. When I am making a dry-rub, I like to have the mixture be at least 50% salt, and then whatever spices and herbs you like- pepper, ground chilis, coriander, cumin, ginger, turmeric, etc.