Shortcuts, savings not worth it in cooking and cattle

The next morning, I had to go into town to pick up our Doberman Pinscher from her own Christmas vacation and figured I’d buy just enough groceries to get us through the weekend. I was simply too road weary and had too much housework to do to spend a normal amount of time at the store.

One of the items on my list was an eye of round roast, which I love to cook according to a recipe I got from the Texas Beef Council a few years ago. I marinade the cut overnight in Weber® Black Peppercorn Marinade Mix before cooking it at a high temperature briefly and then leaving it in a turned-off oven to finish. Being a huge fan of the Certified Angus Beef® brand (even before I started freelancing for them, by the way), I always buy a CAB roast. Always.

But this particular morning, in a store still trying to restock from the holiday madness, there were no CAB roasts to be found and no butcher on duty yet. So, reluctantly, I put a store brand roast in my cart.

I figured with an overnight marinade and a surefire technique, this roast would be fine. The less predictable beef wouldn’t matter since I was doing everything else right.

Wrong.

The next day, I did my best to carve up a hunk of medium-rare meat that cut like shoe leather. The flavor wasn’t much better. And this is coming from someone who loves beef more than just about anything in the world. I ended up tossing the leftovers instead of excitedly anticipating the next day’s sandwich.

I’ve seen a people take the same approach to buying seedstock. They figure if they’re doing everything else right, it won’t hurt to buy just this one bull from their neighbor. You know, the one using unproven genetics, not taking advantage of tools available, or not being vigilant with his animal health program. Because, this one time, it’s easier or cheaper or both.

But as we’ve discussed before, expensive bulls aren’t that expensive. And by skipping the shortcuts and the easy road in favor of a few basic principles you’ve got a lot better chance of being satisfied with the results — unlike me with that roast.

As we approach Denver and then spring sale season, not everything can be guaranteed. But you can make sure you’re not taking unnecessary risk.

-Katrina

Katrina Huffstutler is a freelance writer based in Electra, Texas. She’s a frequent contributor to the Black Ink team and lover of functional cattle and quality beef.

You may also like