My most popular post of all time on this blog is this one from 2009: more than a year later, it receives hundreds of page views every month.
On facebook, there´s a lot of activity on another recent post regarding the state of Argentine beef, too.
Right now, as we speak (and eat) no one in Buenos Aires knows where to find a real cut of grass-fed Argentine beef ...anywhere ...at any price.
In fact, the more you pay for a steak, the LESS likely it will be from anywhere other than a confinment operation (feedlot, cowshwitz.)
Confusing? Yes, it is.
IF (and this is a big "if") your butcher or waiter or restauranteur CAN answer the question at all ...he will, most likely, tell you that the beef is "finished", terminada with corn. That should indicate that a grass-fed animal was fed corn for a period before slaughter in order to gain weight and "improve" the meat. Problem is that the term "finished" has lost all meaning ...and Argentine beef has lost all its prized flavor ...and consumers have lost-out completely.
If a calf has EVER eaten a blade of grass in its life, it is called "finished on grain."
"If I pay more, can I haz real Argentine beef like 5 years ago?" Answer: nope.
In fact, the tonier the venue, from big supermarket chain to Puerto Madero restaurant, your chances of diving into a thick hunk of grass-fed beef become even less likely.
Full disclosure: real Argentine beef is not for everyone ...especially yanquis. Anyone raised on good ol' Iowa Corn-fed Beef is liable to have had problems with steaks in Buenos Aires. What Iowa calls "tender", we call "mushy." What we call "flavorful", they call "gamey." What they might call "savory", we call "greasy."
I´ve always praised the occasional honest foreigner for saying that they simply do not enjoy Argentine beef; there is enough of a difference that the two groups don´t generally overlap very much.
With locals, there seems to be a different dynamic. Along the lines of yanquis and their own particular national patrimony, cheap gasoline. The attitude here seems to be "if I can fill my belly readily and relatively cheaply, everything is cool. Corn-fed beef for Argentines could be having an additional effect: the meat is less chewy and has some tasty fat, something that grass-fed beef could rarely provide and was prized among many.
When I first tasted Argentine beef, I was struck by a beefy flavor that I imagined my grandfather might have encountered in the US. The question now is: will Argentines come to miss the flavor that is within the living memory of everyone.
Now, it must be said that real Argentine beef still exists! It´s just getting impossible to find on your plate! My missus and I raise it, Frances Perry Pichon has neighbors that raise it, but if you were to seek it out ...it would be difficult, nigh onto impossible, to find.
Why? Because the major chains have now have their own supply-chains ...and they rely on the dependable feedlot operations ...and their customers don´t seem to care or, perhaps, have forgotten the fabled taste of old.
The major restaurants sling big steaks (from those reliable sources) to customers who have rarely, if ever, experienced free-range beef ...they may not be amazed like tourists of old ...but the steaks are as good or better than the best back in Des Moines, etc. As to their being worthy of writing home about, however, I think that they will only note that the enormous slab was cheap ...and the malbec was great. Ho-hum beef could become a boon for the Argentine wine industry.
On the bright side, feedlot operations are struggling. Their subsidies have petered-out and many of them borrowed heavily against those checks that never came.
As well, feedlots are experiencing a shortage of feeder cattle as the remaining ranchers become fewer and either charge much more for beef on the hoof ...or begin to take advantage of the much higher cattle prices to fatten their cattle on their own grass. But not every cattle rancher can afford to "skip a payday" and not sell to the feedlots that have become the only buyers other than the slaughterhouses.
Maybe more grass-fed ranchers can go to market directly, thereby increasing your chance of receiving a cut of beef like the old days.
Most probably, however, it will be much more "miss" than "hit" for seekers of the beef that made Argentina famous ...and only then in places far from Buenos Aires' Capital.
8 comments:
Is the situation the same in Uruguay?
Unfortunately, yes. And that´s a shame. Traditionally, Uruguay´s best beef was identical to Argentina´s. Same conditions, same British breeds of cattle, same methods.
Some analysts are saying that all this is inevitable, that pastureland is simply more productive when planted with corn, soy, sunflowers, etc.
But planting crops is a nasty business: poisons are spread to kill weeds and insects, artificial fertilizers temp farmers into overworking their soils ...and everything needs diesel machinery.
By contrast, grass-fed beef needs little more than a man, a horse, and maybe a dog.
ugg, bad ag seems to be the only thing america is good at exporting anymore!
Steve, I know what you´re saying. And as we yanquis know, once the old ways are gone, they don´t come back.
My missus and I will never stop raising grass-fed grass-finished cattle ...and we will never operate a feedlot.
...but you will never again be able to eat a world-class steak at the drop of a hat, for the price of burger.
¡Basta de las yanquiladas!
Mike, Is there a mechanism for selling American certified organic grass-fed-through-finish into Argentina? I'm part of the largest known coop for such beef in America. Thanks,
Actually, there isn´t. Although, it looked like Argentina might have to import beef a couple of years ago, it would be politically explosive to import beef at market prices ...while at the same time imposing price controls on domestic beef.
How´s the grass fed beef in the US? I hear it is much better than a few years ago.
Tell me more about the organic certified process there; is it true that you can not give your cows antibiotics even after surgery?
Very sad state of affairs. We recently moved to BsAs (6 months ago) from SF, where we had our staple of local, 100% grass fed beef providers. Our favorite was Dave Evans and the folks over at Marin Sun Farms (www.marinsunfarms.com). They do it right -- the beef is just as you describe...gamey, lean, not easy to cook (especially the leaner cuts)...but so worth it for the flavor and health benefits. And they are incredibly transparent in their production and slaughter, offering farm tours, presentations, etc.
Very disappointed not to find that here yet. I need to talk to the guy at El Galpon (farmer's market) and hear about his beef. But I'm desperately seeking a solution -- especially now that we've had a child, who I don't want growing up on corn-fed beef. Any chance you'd start selling a share of the grass-fed beef you grow? Should we we talking about starting a business in this market?
I have to believe that the pendulum will swing the other way, as it has in the SF Bay Area in recent years, and that true 100% grass fed beef will be desirable and a higher margin product.
Interesting that you would mention that, Jeff! Our little town, 25km from our ranch, is just putting the finishing touches on a municipal slaughterhouse ...where I can personally supervise everything that happens to my cattle.
A beef-share is definitely in the offing. Send me an email to letters at yanquimike dot com dot ar, and I´ll keep you posted.
Thanks!
Mike
Post a Comment