Yellow Fat from Grass Fed Beef

We have been enjoying the beef from the steer we butchered back in April.  There really is a difference in the taste of grass fed versus store-bought meat.  We should have done this a long time ago.  The only thing about having a freezer full of beef that gives me pause is the fact that we don't have a generator to back up our deep freeze and with Tropical Storm Danny brewing way out in the Eastern Atlantic, it makes me a little nervous, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

We really like the beef short ribs.  Tricia will bring them to room temperature and add some kosher salt and pepper to them.  

She puts them in a cast iron dutch oven and sears them.

The picture below highlights the topic of this post.  Notice that the fat is yellow.

Why is fat from Grass Fed Beef yellow and why is the fat from store-bought (feed lot) beef a pearly-white color?  Good Question.

I learned the answer from reading THIS ARTICLE and it was what I suspected, but before we get to what causes the coloration, the article said this:

Fat can be a wonderful thing.

Fats can be the most nutrient rich part of your diet, or they can cause numerous diseases – depending on which fat we’re talking about.  What an animal eats will change the kind of fat in its tissues.  If an animal eats a suboptimal diet including grains and legumes, its fat loses much of its nutrient quality in surprisingly little time.  

That sounds like crazy talk, doesn't it?  We've been accustomed to hearing that fat is bad for you.  To avoid fat.  Fat is unhealthy.  But the above study runs counter to that.  Hmmm...  Also, verses in the Bible seem to confirm that fat is a good thing. Take this one, for example:

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go to the land of Canaan, and take your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat of the land.’ - Genesis 45: 17-18

The Pharaoh liked Joseph.  He wasn't telling him that his family was going to get the scraps.  The fat of the land is a Good Thing.  Fat, if the animal ate a good, grass-fed diet, is a good, healthy, nutritious part of your diet.  I can remember being a young boy and we'd slice all the fat off of the meat.  My great-grandmother would sit at the end of the table and say, "You're not going to eat that? Pass that down here."

My great-grandmother was onto something!  The article mentioned above states that their study showed that grass-fed beef contains more Omega-3s and Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) than grain fed meat.  There is also Omega-6, Cholesterol, and Transvaccenic Acid (TVA) as types of fat. Interestingly:

Trans-vaccenic acid is metabolized into conjugated linoleic acid, and performs similar functions.  It can speed fat loss, fight cancer, and improve brain function. It is technically a naturally occurring “trans-fat” but it does not cause the same the negative health problems that margarine or hydrogenated fats do.

Wow!  Fat from grass fed beef is good for you.  So finally, the answer to my question: Why is the fat from Grass Fed Beef Yellow?:

The grass-fed meat had higher levels of carotenoids, making the fat appear yellow.  Generally, the more carotenoids in a substance, the more nutrients it contains.  Yellow fat (like grass-fed butter) is a sign of high nutrient density.  One of the things you’ll notice when cooking grass-fed meat is the yellowish color of the fat.

More carotenoids = more antioxidants+nutrients (and more flavor too).

Generally, colors in food mean that it is healthier for you.  Speaking of colors, I liked the colors (and flavor) of the beef short ribs.  Here's a picture taken before Tricia stirred it all up:

Healthy AND Colorful!

To sum up the article (read it if you get a chance), their study said: 

When it comes to meat, grass-fed and grain-fed don’t even compare. Go grass-fed, every time.

We're sold on it.  Grass-fed Beef.  It's whats for supper.