Glancing through our menu you quickly notice there seems to be pasture-raised (grass-fed) in front of most of the meats. You also notice we use quite a bit of bison. We're really proud of our pasture-raised beef and bison so we'll take a moment to walk you through how we ended up here.
First, on a purely emotional level, I spent most of my adult life travelling through Latin America, where they eat a lot of beef, all of it grass-fed. Believe me when I tell you, I never had a bad steak- whether I was in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, or Uruguay, delicious every time. On top of my travel, I'm also a bit of an outdoorsman and have this admiration for Teddy Roosevelt and his adventures- which included American Bison. As I built the menu at Tucos these emotional forces were at work.
What's with Pasture-Raised? Beef (and bison) tends to go through a life-cycle in the states that start in beautiful pastures, but then are switched over to grain (grain-finished) which helps them pile on fat (flavor and tenderness). The feedlots used to grain-finish the cattle often have them in conditions so foul that they require a steady regiment of antibiotics to keep them from falling ill. And the meat, while tender and tasty, may be antibiotic tainted, and has twice the fat and cholesterol of pasture-raised.
The net is that pasture-raised beef and bison is healthier than grain-finished. Think of it as a red meat alternative to skinless chicken breast and fish. Here are some interesting facts:
Pasture-raised beef has half the fat and cholesterol of grain-finished beef and has more omega-3 fatty acids. 41% of the fat in pasture-raised beef is monounsaturated which is similar to olive oil.
Pasture-Raised Bison delivers even more of the health benefits including almost 70% less fat and 35% more protein than grain-fed beef, and believe it or not, less calories than skinless chicken.
Bison started out on the menu as our feature red meat entree (Bison Tenderloin) because of the health benefits and my obsession with Teddy Roosevelt. Originally it was coming from a ranch in Great Falls, Montana, but recently we ran into supply problems and had to switch to Full Circle Ranch in Southern Oregon. The bison tenderloin is probably the best steak I've every eaten- period. It happens to be bison, not beef, and it happens to be pasture-raised and healthy. A win-win.
The pasture -raised beef is a recent addition to our program. We've been interested in bringing it in for a long time, but the stuff we tried was tough and gamey, until we tried the beef from Estancia Beef in Uruguay. Turns out Argentina and Uruguay have the best pasture-raised beef in the world. It brought me right back to my days in Latin America. Absolutely delicious beef that happens to be pasture-raised. Another win-win.
One more interesting note is how the bison burger and bison stroganoff made it on the menu. For a while, we were our producer's largest customer of bison tenderloins, but the bison produces a tiny amount of tenderloin. They still have the rest of the animal to sell- thus the burger and stroganoff joined the menu...and they're best sellers...
Pasture-Raised Beef and Bison Items Currently on the Menu:
Arepas de Carne Mechada (Venezuelan Polenta Pockets with Braised Beef), Beef Empanadas, Bison Burger, Bison Stroganoff, NY Beef Steak, Bison Tenderloin with Chimichurri Sauce.
Here's to Teddy Roosevelt, Latin America, and to our health!
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