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N.E. OHIO | I sold some nice feeder calves to some folks a year ago. they had them slaughtered this past dec. they said the butcher wasnt happy with how big they were. they said the steaks were kind of tough. other than their feeding process what would cause this? |
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Eastern NE KS | What is their breeding?
When did you sell the calves? Weight?
What did they weigh on the hoof at slaughter?
Edited by Doug61 1/26/2024 16:02
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Thumb of Michigan | corn48 - 1/26/2024 15:56
other than their feeding process what would cause this?
I suppose lots of exercise, including putting some ox yokes on them and hooking the to a plow. Partly just kidding. Small(er) pen and lots of high NEg in the diet, quicker growing, more tender, neighbor finishes straight Holsteins that are tender (also very big, when finished). |
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N.E. OHIO | herford-angus- geilbveigh sold last jan 600# average. said the 1 they got was 1200 # hanging wt |
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Eastern NE KS | 1200# hanging suggests 1950# more or less live weight. If all correct, the calf was pushed quite well.
How much Continental vrs. British breeding?
Any chance the calf was left as a bull?
Edited by Doug61 1/26/2024 16:57
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| Genetics and breed is big part, but also has lots to do with ration.
The diet all the way through a calf's life will determine the end quality (even when calves are 500 lbs.)
Calves need a balanced ration with the right amount of protein and energy to maximize marbeling.
My butcher also likes cattle to be unloaded in the evening the day before slaughter as stress right before being killed will make meat tuff.
Back to genetics, some cattle are very wild/high strung, which will effect meat quality. |
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sw North Dakota | Aging has a lot to do with tenderness. |
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NEMO | Aging does as well as genetics. The tenderness gene is not tested buy most breeders of non-Angus breeds, they expect the Angus component to cover up problems. Sometimes it does, sometimes not so much. A DNA Tenderness score of 1-3 won't eat well, just won't, finish won't matter much. A score of 8-10, 10 is rare, will make you understand why beef is the meat of choice |
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N.E. OHIO | it was taken straight from the butcher to a vocational school , to b cut up. as i understand. i would doubt ifthe school had facilities to hang, if so i would say not long |
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| Did the cattle get worked up bad on loading and hauling to processor. |
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SW Wisconsin | Adrenaline. I slaughtered a fat 2 year old heifer last year, killed just after she got off the trailer. Didn't have time to kill the 10 year old cow for another week, walked up and shot her at the bale ring. The cow was tender, the heifer was tough. |
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Finger Lakes | As the others said, hanging time is very important. Mine hang 10 days minimum and usually 2 weeks. How old was the calf when you sold it? Just weaned? |
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| Dumb question, if the butcher didn't cut it up, did the people who did know what they were doing? I would guess it didn't hang at all in the cooler going by what you describe. |
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Thumb of Michigan | corn48 - 1/26/2024 16:59
it was taken straight from the butcher to a vocational school , to b cut up. as i understand. i would doubt ifthe school had facilities to hang, if so i would say not long
A school like this, isn't good for the industry IMHO. |
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Extreme se nebr. | No hang time says a lot. |
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| Bruran - 1/26/2024 18:34
Did the cattle get worked up bad on loading and hauling to processor.
+1 |
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Atlantic, Iowa | Who says tough? Processor or consumer? Hell I’ve met a lot of folks who could burn water in a pot then bitch about prime beef. |
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Central SD | Lots of reasons possibly. Age, genetics, feed, implants, beta-agonists, handling, hanging time. I do believe though on our home raised and home feed beef have exceptional tenderness. My problem here is finding a locker plant that knows how to cut up a beef without making it all hamburger. |
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wc MN | This is spot on^^^^^^!!!!!! |
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N.E. OHIO | they were 7 months old when sold. yes they had been weaned quite a while before. |
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Amherst WI | corn48 - 1/26/2024 15:59
it was taken straight from the butcher to a vocational school , to b cut up. as i understand. i would doubt ifthe school had facilities to hang, if so i would say not long
If it's in Cryovac packaging have them age it for 10-14 days before they eat it in the fridge and it will help. |
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s MO | Needed to hang. Did they even get their meat back went through a lot of hands before they got it. |
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just a tish NE of central ND | "THEY said the butcher wasn't happy? You do realize that the blame game causes statements like that, right? Did they ask you or the butcher for a refund? (sarcasm)
What caused it? WHO KNOWS what makes meat tuff, sometimes it just happens.
..No worries on your part. You sold feeder calves, not steak. You didn't do the butchering either.
.It was out of your control and not something you did before you sold them. At this point they are pushing the blame around to someone else when they blame the size, and they are the ones that fed them and hired the butcher.
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N.E. OHIO | they are certainly not blaming me in any way. they couldnt be nicer people. just ran it past me to see about any ideas that they could do different or what may have caused this. |
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West Central Iowa | corn48 - 1/26/2024 15:56
I sold some nice feeder calves to some folks a year ago. they had them slaughtered this past dec. they said the butcher wasnt happy with how big they were. they said the steaks were kind of tough. other than their feeding process what would cause this?
I looked at a bunch of studies on this, and wrote a paper about it in college. It mostly boils down to three things; muscle shear force (which is largely genetic), marbling (which is largely genetic), and age of animal (as they get older they get tougher). Some breeds on average are bad, and some individuals in all breeds are bad. If I remember correctly; Piedmontese, Shorthorn, and Angus were the most tender. There were some of the continental breeds that had terrible average tenderness.
Edited by nkline 1/27/2024 12:44
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| Age
Breed
Gender
Marbling (I mean IMF not seam fat)
Getting a continental of cross tender??? Not going to happen. If fact there are a couple lines of angus that won’t do it.
Implants will be hard on tenderness. |
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West Central Iowa | The marbling was really secondary to muscle shear force. It really wasn’t necessary to make a steak tender, but helped to some degree. Many breeds originated as work animals to pull plows and such, it’s no surprise that they tend have tougher meat. |
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beef steaks tough
