Last week I had the opportunity to provide a Corriente beef tasting to several of my former Chef Instructors from Texas Culinary Academy here in Austin, Texas.
When I came to school here I did not have much restaurant or other related work experience in the field of culinary arts. What I did have, was the knowledge and sense of where my food came from and how it was being produced. My beliefs about the importance of knowing those topics led to many great conversations with my instructors involving the goals and current ongoings of my home and the 6 Ranch. It was exciting to let a few of them taste what I could not stop talking about during my time at school.

I have to admit I was a bit nervous to be cooking for the audience of Chef Gary Ackerman, Chef Robert Brady, Chef Steven Loiacono and Chef Kevin Quinn. Each of whom are now instructors and staff of TCA and have substantially unique and prestigious backgrounds in their field of expertise, food.

I used a simple grilling technique * for two separate cuts of meat to be tasted. I was using ribeye steaks and a tri tip, both of which came from Grass-Fed Corriente Cattle. Everyone sampled the slices as I talked mostly about the nutritional value and numbers. All of the feedback was extremely positive; they asked many questions, about the beef, the breed and the way in which the cattle are raised. I showed off the website and ranch photos and talked about future plans that I will be asking for their helpful advice, for years to come I am sure.

The overall evaluation concluded in an initial surprise about the tenderness in the meat, without the marbling, as that fat content is thought to be essential in steaks. The flavor profile was described as a strong beef taste with a nice finish of an almost grassiness, that is light and distinctive.

*My simple grilling technique is a great way to cook these cuts of meat when you really want that beef flavor to come through. I seasoned the ribeye steaks with a generous amount of salt and black pepper before adding them to the hot grill, after they were cooked to the desired temperature (I recommend medium rare, if not rare) use a small amount of butter to coat each side and let rest for half of the amount of cooking time. When cooking the tri tip I used the same grilling procedure only I used salt, black pepper, paprika and garlic powder to season the raw meat and did not add any butter , although it never hurts. When slicing the tri tip, it is best to slice thin pieces again cut against the grain of the meat.

Check back for more recipes soon! Cheers!