Tips for Heritage Pork, Pasture-Raised Chicken, Grass-Fed Beef
If it's your first time buying these kind of meats, it's important to know what to expect, where to get it, and how to keep it at its best. Check out the general advice below, and peep the slideshow for tips on each kind of meat.
Expect inconsistency. Animals from smaller farms vary more in terms of size and taste than their factory-farmed brethren. Variables like genetics, weather, and yes, “terroir” affect the final product. To accommodate this, always ask your butcher or farmer if there’s anything you should know when cooking a particular piece of meat.
Unless you live by an in-the-know butcher, a farmers’ market is your best source for top-quality meat. You can also order online. We love the grass-fed beef from Belcampo Meat Company and the heritage-breed pork from Flying Pigs Farm. We also love: D'Artagnan, Heritage Foods USA, Marx Foods, and BN Ranch.
Don't fear the freezer. It's what allows small farmers to preserve their meat at the peak of freshness and distribute it over a longer period of time. Provided it's done properly, there shouldn't be an appreciable difference compared with the fresh stuff.
[#### See recipes for Well-Sourced Pork, Chicken, and Beef
](http://weightloss-tricks.today/recipes/healthy/slideshow/well-sourced-meat-recipes/?slide=1)
1/9Heritage Pork: What Is It?
Heritage-breed pigs come from genetic stock that predates industrial farming. These porkers are brawlers—big, fat, and hardy enough to thrive outdoors, where they roam and forage. Strong genetics and better living conditions mean they don't need the cocktail of antibiotics that factory-farmed swine are given.
2/9Heritage Pork: How Is It Different?
Whether it’s a chop or a roast, this pork is juicy, well-marbled, and insulated by a layer of firm, creamy, super delicious fat. And check out that color! The flesh of heritage pork should be a beautiful, deep shade of red, which means a rich, pronounced, pound-the-table-it’s-so-good flavor to match.
3/9Heritage Pork: How Do I Cook It?
All that fat is a cook’s best friend. You can get an extra-crusty sear on a thick-cut chop and it will rival the best rib-eye steak you’ve ever had. You can braise that shoulder until it falls apart when you look at it—all without fear of drying out the meat.
4/9Pasture-Raised Chicken: What Is It?
Unlike their cooped-up counterparts, these birds enjoy complete daytime access to the outdoors, allowing them to roam around (exercise! party!) and supplement their diet with foraged vegetation and insects.
5/9Pasture-Raised Chicken: How Is It Different?
With a pasture-raised chicken, it’s all about the flavor (we use the word chickeny). Want a better comparison? Think of an August heirloom tomato versus an out-of-season supermarket specimen. These birds generally weigh less than a typical Oven Stuffer Roaster, with less (but firmer) breast meat and larger, more muscular legs thanks to all that yard work.
6/9Pasture-Raised Chickent: How Do I Cook It?
Go ahead and roast it whole, or cut the bird into smaller parts and tailor your cooking method accordingly. Breasts can be cooked quickly for juicy meat and crisp skin, while legs and thighs, which have more of a chew to them (in a good way!), are great braised until fork-tender.
7/9Grass-Fed Beef: What Is It?
These cows spend their entire lives doing exactly what you’d expect: eating grass and/or hay. Animals raised this way (as opposed to spending their last few months in a feed lot gorging on grain) deliver rich, full-flavored beef. Want a gateway meat? Grass-fed, grain-finished cows fatten up (humanely) on corn and other grains for a month or so while still being on pasture, giving their beef a more traditional taste and marbling.
8/9The Grass (Fed) is Always Leaner: How Is It Different?
Grass-fed beef tends to be much leaner than conventional beef, both in terms of marbling and in the amount of external fat. As for taste, all cuts—even “mild” ones like the filet—deliver a pronounced beefy, almost mineral flavor that, once you’ve had it, is unmistakable.
9/9The Grass (Fed) is Always Leaner: How Do I Cook It?
Leaner cuts that showcase grass-fed beef’s unique flavor are the real prize here—think skirt, flank, and hanger steak. Cook them hotter, faster, and a little rarer than you normally would to ensure they’ll be juicy and tender. The robust flavor of grass-fed beef also stands up well to assertive marinades and seasonings.
