Quoting Dale Shipp to Jim Weller <=-
Fall calves and yearlings lack the good qualities of both veal
and mature beef and is hardly ever sold.
When I was growing up in Florida the local Publix chain sold something they called "baby beef". I now believe it was meat from the calves
and yearlings you mention above. I don't recall any real difference in flavor, but then my palette was only beginning to develop then (three score and ten years ago).
Milk fed baby veal meat is pale, almost white, mild tasting and
tender (from lack of exercise).
Fall calves and yearlings are pink, becoming redder as they get
older, not yet fully flavoured, and every lean so somewhat tough as
they have been running around on pasture,
Mature beef is red, very flavourful and tender if it's well
marbled with fat.
Dairy calves can be weaned in as few as 7 weeks, so that veal and
milk can both go to market early in the season..
But if beef calves are allowed to slowly wean off naturally while
they also eat pasture grass the process takes around 6 months. They
can gain weight faster that way.
Feed lot beef on a rich corn, grain and soy diet can be market
weight in as little as 18 months and are generally sold in 18 to 24
months.
Grass fed beef needs 30 to 36 months to mature and benefit with a corn
and grain supplement the last few weeks.
Beef older than 36 months is not economic on a commercial basis as
feed requirements go up as weight gain diminishes but the meat gets
fattier and more flavourful if they are allowed to age another year.
I once got a freezer full of old cow that had been fattened up after
its last calf and before slaughter. The meat was very dark red,
almost gamey (in a good way) like venison and heavily streaked with
yellow, not white, fat. If it had gone to market it would have
received the lowest grade (cutter and canner) but after a dairy
farmer gave her a rich finishing diet it for a few weeks it was
wonderful.
The beef industry tried to market 12 month old beef to decrease feed
costs and get a cash return faster but the consumers didn't like the
lean meat or mild flavour and the practise ended.
My parents bought a butchered, cut and wrapped whole fall calf late
one autumn when there was a local drought and inadequate hay crops.
The farmer said stockyard prices were depressed as farmers were
selling off early and they could save a lot of money by buying a
whole calf rather than a side of beef. They never did it again
though.
It's funny how we label offal as veal kidneys but calve's liver.
MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
Title: Veal Kidneys a la Demidoff
Categories: Veal, Offal, Historical
Yield: 4 Servings
4 Veal kidneys
Salt and pepper
1/2 c Hot butter
2 Glasses sherry wine
1/2 pt Espagnole sauce
Sliced mushrooms
Chopped parsley
4 tb Butter
Lemon juice
1 1/2 pt Rice
Select kidneys with a pinkish color; cut in slices, season with salt
and pepper. Fry briskly and well with half cup butter. Drain off the
butter; put the kidneys on a plate. Put the wine Espagnole sauce and
some sliced mushrooms n the frying pan; reduce, then add kidneys,
parsley, 4 tablespoons butter and lemon juice; mix well without
boiling. Wash and cook the rice until tender, drain and press gently
into a border mold; keep warm. Unmold rice onto hot serving dish and
pour stewed kidneys into the center.
Submitted by Cassyjean - Torrington, CT
www.reciperascal.com
Demidoff was a wealthy pre-revolution Russian family who probably
had a French chef like Stroganoff did. - JW
MMMMM
Cheers
Jim
... Tofu is even more tender than veal. Also somewhat less beefy.
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