Monday, December 26, 2011

Grass-Fed Veal Chops

For those of you who don't already know, grass-fed meat is a big deal right now.  Most meat we eat is fed a grain diet, and that tends to make it fat and meats fed a grass diet is a more natural alternative.  The other health-friendly aspect to grass-fed meats is that they are generally raised without antibiotics or other hormone treatments.  With regards to taste, it's more earthy and in terms of cooking, it cooks faster (no fat means it will cook fast and dry out quick, so you need to reduce cooking times).

The Griller Instinct team has mixed opinions.  We like fat, however, we don't want to be fat, so we use a mix of meats.  Once or twice a week I get grass-fed meat from Stew the Butcher, and it's always on a night when I'm making an effort to eat healthy

On other nights, I enjoy the full fattiness of grain-fed meats.  Who doesn't?  Fat equals flavor, and if you like to grill, you know the value of fat.  (If I could have my way, I would buy grass-fed meat that has been fed grain to add fat, right before it's slaughtered.  Does that exist?  I don't know.  I'll check with Stew...)

Stew recently introduced me to a grass-fed meat I have not had previously had: Grass-fed Veal.  I was initially skeptical.  Isn't good veal supposed to be milk-fed?  Apparently not.  After trying this veal chop, it was obvious the flavor is much better than milk-fed veal, and it also has plenty of fat. 

Why does grass-fed veal have a good amount of fat?  Good question.  I don't know.  What's the flavor difference?  Milk-fed veal is a bit bland, in my opinion.  Grass-fed veal has a more beefy taste, and not overwhelmingly so, just more so than regular veal.  I wasn't buying a lot of milk-fed veal for that very reason, it lacks meaty flavor.

The visual difference is what is most significant between grass fed-veal and milk-fed veal.  Grass-fed looks like red meat and milk-fed is white(ish).  So don't be surprised if you pull out your cut of meat and it doesn't look like your standard chop.

The bottom line is you should ask your butcher for some grass-fed veal chops.  They're really terrific, and right now, reasonably priced (until everyone catches on).

This is the veal with a lemon caper sauce.


To make the lemon-caper sauce for two veal chops:

1. Zest one lemon with a Microplane, then juice the lemon. Combine the juice and the zest with two tablespoons of drained capers.
2. In a small frying pan, saute five minced cloves of garlic in five tablespoons of olive oil for two minutes.
3. Add the lemon juice, zest and capers to the frying pan.
4. Add fresh ground pepper to taste and pour on top of the veal.

Check out the video:

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