Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire "Best" Beef Breed

This ones for those of us that know the difference, what's your favorite breed of cattle for beef? I know Black Angus gets all the marketing cash, for me though it's always been a toss up between a good Shorthorn or a Hereford. Could just be the way we finish them, but they seem to get a little better marbling. Could also be how they cross, most of the steers from Dad's place are half dairy anyway.

I could be biased though, just polished off an inch thick T-bone(Shorthorn) for lunch and it was really good.

The best beef is "Bush Beef" aka moose.

Most of it is just marketing wank.

Certified this and that.....



It comes down to marketability and how well they do on YOUR ranch.

For us it's black Angus and black Baldies.

no clue what brand/variety of beef that winn-dixie carries, but they're preparing for bankruptcy?

my folks always raised cull cows, with a good bull on top. the meat went to market.

protein is protein, but the price of beef in these parts are high.

The best I've had has been grass fed Texas Longhorn.

I wish I had a ranch, Dad has 123 acres of land, I help him out quite a bit as I only live a mile down the road. The downside is I can't even count the number of times I've wandered up there with the 22 to wack a few squirrels and it was too dark by the time I got out of the barn, seems like I have a bad habit of showing up right after something breaks. That'd be my dream retirement though, small farm and a few head of beef cattle.

Whatever comes from McDonalds. Hard to beat a Quarter Pounder with Cheese & Fries.

L.W.

I have a friend that says his family prefers grain fed holstein. (The fact that the beef breeds tend to bring more on the market could have something to do with this...)

I think it is more on how they are finished.Some of the best tasting beef I ever had was old dairy cows that were on the down hill side of production.Great tasting,but those old cows were chewy.

Talking about which breed puts on weight faster, or has bigger calves that sell better in the fall,or which ones fares better in hot or cold climate is whole nother discussion

Super market beef can't be compared to beef that is served in high end restaurants because that grade of beef seldom reaches the super market,

As a kid we had some pure bred Polled Hereford cattle. We always ate a cross from one our dairy cows. Usually a Holstein/Hereford cross, but sometimes from a Jersey/Hereford. Finished out on corn that we raised and hand picked. It was ground in an old hammer mill, cob/shucks/grain and some cotton seed meal mixed in, but I do not know how much. Plenty of hay and water. Home butchered too. Best that I ever ate. miles

Grass fat cattle is not as good as those finished on grain (corn).

Grass fed may taste better, I can't say, but the grain fed will usually be tenderer. miles

My Son in Law purchased a few longhorn for my pasture. He was looking for a leaner, healthier steak. But leaner and healthier does not necessarily mean tastier. I have eaten lots of dairy steers, and dairy crosses. They also do not in any way compare to a good beef steer.

We much prefer hereford, angus, or a cross between the two. And we prefer them fresh off of clipped pasture in the fall, with never a taste of grain.

I have never found Angus to be all that it is hyped to be - not bad, but nothing special.

I've bought more than one Jersey Bull in my lifetime as a bucket calf so I could eat him later and still be able to sell a good calf. I'm not saying that's the best but it's pretty damn cheap eating with free grass and 30 to 60 days worth of grain.

Agreed. Far as breed goes I think it depends how they were raised/finished/processed more than breed

Kuroge Washu from Japan

I lived for quite a while in southern Idaho working a full time job and supplementing low wages by working on farms in the area. Learned enough about beef to form definite opinions about cattle raising, what breeds and why. An Angus will yield out at about 900 lbs in about nine or ten months, a Hereford at about 1100 lbs in a year. Three extra months of feeding before sale raises the cost of a steer considerably but this is offset by the Herefords ability to forage on less desirable feed, requiring less supplemental feed. A Hereford will dance for joy at the prospect of green tumbleweed shoots which will cause an Angus mouth problems. A crossed Angus/Herford (black baldy?} will yield out at 1000 lbs in 10 months with about three weeks to a month in the feed lot. They were my favorite cows. As far as taste, I've eaten Holstiens from feed lots that tasted as good as the finest beef but Lord knows, they were the ugliest steaks you've ever seen. I guess they are what they eat but dairy cows just don't do it for me.

It's far more important when they are killed than most other factors. If they are killed when on the gain (gaining weight) they will be tender, if when off the gain they will be tough. Ain't enough money in the world to force me to have a Holstien on the place.

I' ill not knock another man's cattle. We raise Angus, we will buy most any breed to feed out.

I have read, "There is more difference within breeds, than between them".

I don’t pay any attention to breed. It’s how much marveling in a steak ( preferably NY strip) how it’s aged and then how it’s cooked that’s important to me.
I was raised on a Ks farm and dad had a feed lot. We ate steaks, roasts and burgers on a daily basis. It was mostly herford with some hereford and angus cross. Later on in life I worked for a large agri business company that had feed lots and beef processing plants. I had a contact that allowed me to buy prime whole NY strips at a very reasonable price. I aged them about a month and “look out” that was some awesome meat.