Grass Fed Beef
We offer grass fed beef. This is produced specially for us and is fed on grass from April to October and silage (pickled grass) from October to March. We offer Irish Moiled beef, Dexter Beef and other traditional beef breeds all produced locally in Northern Ireland.
The Irish Moiled is an ancient cattle breed from Ulster, which until the second world war was common in Northern Ireland and kept by Ulster small farmers as a house cow. They are a dual purpose breed and traditionally the male calves would be fattened as beef cattle, and the cow would also provide milk for the household. They were called a 'thrifty' breed, which means that they were capable of thriving on rough pasture without additional feeding. Irish Moiled cattle are the native cattle breed of Northern Ireland, are still extremely rare and endangered but have been rescued from the brink of extinction by a small number of dedicated and enthusiastic rare breeds farmers since the 1970's in Northern Ireland, England and Scotland. These Irish Moiled cattle are farmed 'extensively' which means they forage and graze on foliage and grass and grow slowly at a natural pace without being forced on with grain feeding. Their ability to thrive on poor pasture makes them an ideal breed for conservation grazing schemes. They naturally reach maturity at around 30 months old. Allowing the animal to grow slowly and naturally produces excellent taste, texture and marbling. Our grass-fed beef is normally hung on the bone and dry aged for at least 42 days to become tender and to develop a deep flavour.
We also produce specialist Quick Frozen Beef which we butcher and freeze within 3 days of slaughter to reduce the build up of histamine for customers who have to reduce their intake of histamine.
Important to note: The grass-fed beef from the Irish Moiled and Dexter breeds which we sell is different from the grain fed beef which you may be used to and which is widely available in butchers and supermarkets. The rare breeds of beef used for grass feeding as a part of regenerative farming are, as breeds very much fattier than the continental 'big beef' breeds which are favoured by butchers and supermarkets.
The Dexter and Irish Moiled rare breeds are also much smaller (a Dexter steer kills at about 180kg, a Belgian Blue Steer kills at about 1500kg) so the cuts from these animals are much smaller. So, for example, the steak cuts - rib eye, sirloin, fillet and rump will be much smaller than you may be used to.
If you, as a consumer, want to buy, for example, a 180g (6 ounce) fillet steak you can choose to purchase a 180g lean, large diameter fillet steak from a supermarket or butcher which will be from grain fed beef or you can purchase from us a 180g smaller diameter but thicker grass fed fillet steak with more marbling (intramuscular fat) and more fat cover butchered from beef cattle which have grazed on grass only and have not been grain fed. In both cases the weight of steak you buy is the same, but the shape of the steak will be different as it has been cut from completely differently sized animals, with different sized muscles.
If you are looking for lean beef, our marbled grass fed beef is not for you and you will be happier buying grain fed beef which will provide the lean-ness you prefer. Super lean grass fed beef steaks do not exist.
