Ordering Questions
Do you offer beef year round?
Currently, we sell beef usually 9 months a year.
Do you deliver in the San Francisco Bay Area?
We currently don’t make deliveries. All customers pick up their orders at the butcher shop when their orders are completed.
Does Turner Grass Fed Beef offer individual cuts?
At this time we do not sell individual cuts. The smallest order we offer is a quarter of a steer.
Why order so much beef?
By ordering your beef for the year, you will save hundreds of dollars over buying "piece by piece" at a supermarket. Additionally, you will enjoy far better cuts of beef. How often do you purchase store bought grass fed filet mignon at $32.99/lb., or T-bone steak at $26.99/lb.? You will be eating such choice cuts with your Turner Grass Fed Beef order.
What is a "mixed" quarter of beef?
The front and rear quarters of a steer contain different cuts of beef (e.g., most of the steaks come from the backside). The butcher "mixes" cuts from both the front and rear quarters to balance quantity and quality for each customer.
Ranching QuestionsAre your animals completely grass fed and finished?
Yes, our animals are 100% grass fed and grass-finished. They do not eat any grain, soy, or other feed beside grass.
Are the cattle finished with grain or corn?
Never. From the moment our animals are weaned from their mothers, they consume high quality grass for the rest of their lives.
Are you certified organic?
Turner Grass Fed Beef has chosen to not certify its beef organic because it would not change the quality of the beef, but it would drive our prices higher. We are committed to bringing the best grass fed beef to you at the best possible price.
Beef QuestionsWhat factors determine the quality of beef?
Three factors determine the quality of any beef:
Quality of Genetics. We are picky and choose only Angus Steer. We like the quality, flavor, and marbling of Angus Steer the best.
Quality of Nutrition. Our steer have grown up only consuming their mothers' milk and high quality grass. Feeding cattle anything else compromises their nutrition.
Quality of Processing. We dry age our beef for a minimum 21 days to allow the natural enzymes to tenderize the beef. Then we custom cut, vacuum seal and deep freeze before you pick-up. Thus, our customers are picking up fresh beef that was harvested only 4 weeks earlier.
Why does dry aging make the beef so much better?
Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats are the building blocks of living things, but they don't have much flavor in their natural state. Sometimes we can get our food to make itself more delicious, by treating it in a way that creates favorable conditions for the enzymes that are already in the food to work together in a certain fashion. One way is through dry aging.
Dry aging beef means that beef is allowed to hang in carefully controlled temperature and humidity for a period of time—we dry age our beef a minimum of 21 days. When we create such conditions, we allow enzymes to do their work and we end up with a complexity of flavor—savoriness, sweetness, some bitterness that just wasn't there before. There's no cooking method that can generate the depth of flavor of a dry aged piece of beef.
Dry aging beef also causes it to lose some of its moisture. Beef begins at about 75 percent water; after dry aging, it may go down to about 70 percent. It doesn't sound like much of a change, but that small amount creates a more concentrated flavor. Dry aged beef is still juicy when you cook it, but the juices are even more delicious.
How is the beef packaged?
After a minimum of 21 days aging, the beef is cut and vacuum packed in see-through packages. This airless environment ensures high quality and a long shelf life in your freezer.
What cuts are included?
Download butcher's ordering cut sheet
What butcher does Turner Grass Feb Beef use?
We work with Buds Custom Meats in Penngrove
Practical QuestionsHow do you charge for your beef?
Purchasing from a ranch is different than buying store bought beef. Practically speaking, customers are purchasing a part of a steer, not a finished product. Thus, we sell steer by the whole, half or quarter animal, and charge a set price per pound of finished weight. Steers are different sizes, so weights vary. Early in the season the steers are smaller; later in the season the steer are larger. Our steer average between 120 – 150 lb. of finished beef products per quarter.
How long will the beef last in my freezer?
The beef will last a year in your freezer, so we recommend that you buy what you will eat in one year.
How long will the beef last in the refrigerator?
Storage time varies from product to product. On average, we say three to five days maximum in the refrigerator. Many people share a quarter with another family if there is too much beef for them individually.
How much freezer space do I need?
A quarter of a steer requires about 7 cubic feet of freezer space, or about six brown grocery bags.
What is the best way to thaw beef?
It is best to thaw frozen beef in the refrigerator. Using this method, a one-pound package will thaw in approximately 20 to 24 hours. We do not recommend thawing beef in the microwave. However, if you must, select the lowest power setting to avoid cooking, rather than defrosting, the beef.
What is the E. coli risk for grass fed beef?
Studies show that grass fed cattle have dramatically fewer E. coli in their intestines than grain fed cattle. Grain fed cattle develop abnormally high stomach acidity, which allows for the development of acid-resistant E. coli. If these E. coli should happen to get into a human digestive system, our stomach acid is too weak to kill the bacteria and we get sick. Grass fed cattle, on the other hand, have healthy stomach acidity, which means that even if by rare chance you are exposed to E. coli, your stomach's natural acidity should kill the bacteria. Please note that despite the health of our animals, we always recommend the proper storage, handling and cooking of beef.
What is CLA?
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is fatty acid that is produced naturally in the bodies of grass fed animals and is found in their beef and milk. Grass fed cattle are likely to have two to three times the amount of CLA as grain-fed animals, and this nutritional value is passed on to you when you eat grass fed beef. Research shows that a diet rich in CLA can help reduce a person's risk of cancer, arteriosclerosis, and diabetes.
Why does Turner Grass Fed Beef only sell direct to customers?
We only sell direct to customers to practice our values of local, sustainable, and environmental responsibility.
Do you customize orders?
All beef orders are customized based on the butchers cut list
The un-shaded sections on the cut list give customers their choice of steaks or roasts (or 1/2 & 1/2) and the number per package. The number per package is only about packaging (the number of steaks in a package or the size of a roast in a package) not the total quantity of meat. The Grind column is only used to indicate you want additional cuts made into ground beef. There is always plenty of ground without grinding additional cuts, so only request a cut to be ground if you just don't like / want the cut or if you just want more ground beef.
Does Turner Grass Fed Beef sell to stores?
We only sell directly to customers, so no stores carry Turner Grass Fed Beef.
Do you ship orders?
We do not ship because we are committed to providing a local product. If you would like to find grass fed beef near you, we highly recommend EatWild.com and LocalHarvest.org.