Australian beef is pretty different to US beef. Most of the stuff I buy is grass finished. The gain finished stuff tends to fetch a much price & is much better quality (more tender & more marbling although it can have a blend flavour). It's also all grown & finished here due to our crazy strict quarantine laws.

Within the grass finished category there is huge variation in the quality. The cheaper beef tends to be tough with lots of sinew & little marbling. These don't tend to end up in the chain supermarkets but end up in the discount butchers & small independent grocers.

Things that can affect the quality of the meat:

- age (older is generally tougher but also more flavourful)

- breed (heavily affects feed conversion, meat quality & marbling)

- pasture & pasture management (The varieties of grass & how the pasture is managed has a massive impact on feed quality. Better quality feed produces more & better quality beef)

- transport, slaughter & storage (Meat processing plays a big role. Stressed, scared cows don't make for great meat. I've heard that cooling the carcass too quickly can also degrade the meat. A carcass should generally also be hung for 2 weeks before being processed.)

Personally I don't really care if the animal isn't fully finished on grass.

What concerns me more is the taste & whether it was raised & killed respectfully/humanely. The only way I can achieve both is to get closer to the farmer. I will only be fully happy if I know the farmer well or I am the farmer.

Bitcoiner dreams for the future...