The phrase "you are what you eat" applies doubly to cattle.
What cattle eat has a significant effect on the nutrient composition of their beef that ends up on your plate. You probably already know that it's healthier than conventionally-raised meat if you've heard all the buzz behind grass-fed being conventionally-raised beef.
In the US, cattle are usually fed grain. The most significant difference between grass-fed and grain-fed beef lies in its nutritional quality. A PubMed review supports that "grass-based diets can significantly improve the fatty acid composition and antioxidant content of beef." Hence, you know that you're getting all the health benefits to bang worth your few extra bucks.
Did You Know?
The label "grass-fed" can also refer to meat from cattle fed grass for most of their lives and finished with a grain diet. While grass-fed, grain-finished beef isn't as wholesome as grass-fed, grass-finished beef, their benefits still outstrip eating conventionally-raised meat.
Check out our selection of grass-fed, grain-finished Piedmontese beef at Piedmontese.com
So, grass-fed beef sounds like the one true beef. What's the catch?
Sadly, many grass-fed, grass-finished products boast high nutritional benefits at the cost of palatability. 100% grass-fed beef is notoriously inconsistent, and the difference in fatty acid composition gives grass-fed beef a reputation of leanness and a distinct grass flavor. Its low-fat profile perpetuates the positive correlation between higher intramuscular fat percentage (marbling) in meat and sensory satisfaction (tenderness and flavor). Taste differences between grass-fed and grain-fed beef are recognized and well documented.
Shop Certified Piedmontese Grass Fed, Grass Finished Beef
This is where Certified Piedmontese plays the reverse card.
Experienced chefs have undergone taste tests on our 100% grass-fed Piedmontese steak, and they thought it was more delicious than Piedmontese beef from our grain-finished line!
The secret is in the breed itself. Our Italian-heritage Piedmontese beef is naturally tender and does not rely on fatty marbling for flavor. Traditionally fattier cuts (think ribeye) remain tender even with less fat and fewer calories per ounce. Certified Piedmontese customers can rest assured that they pay for and enjoy low-calorie, healthy beef that will always be unbelievably tender, juicy, and flavorful. Now, learn how Certified Piedmontese grass-fed, grass-finished beef is different.
A Quick Tip
Piedmontese beef already cooks 30% to 50% faster than your traditional beef, and grass-fed Piedmontese cooks even quicker than grain-fed beef because of their leanness profile. When you turn the heat on your grass-fed Piedmontese cut, be sure to stay vigilant on temperature testing!
Always take the steak off the heat 10 degrees before it hits optimum temperature as the steak will continue to cook on the inside.
Why is Certified Piedmontese grass-fed beef different?
- 100% Source Verified. All Natural, Steroid Free.
- High Nutritional Benefits
- Environmentally Sustainable
- Humanely Raised and Handled
100% Source Verified. All Natural, Steroid Free.
Certified Piedmontese doesn't do things by halves when it comes to accountability and transparency. We're proud to let consumers know exactly where and how we raise our grass-fed, grass-finished beef. While 75% to 80% of grass-fed beef sold across the country is sourced from abroad (Australia, New Zealand, and parts of South America), we raise our cattle right here on family ranches in the American Midwest.
The Certified Piedmontese 100% grass-fed beef program requires strict adherence to feeding and water quality, kept on a diet primarily derived from forage, including grass, forbs, browse, or cereal crops in a vegetative (pre-grain) state. All grain products, including whole, ground, cracked, flaked, hay, or toasted grains, are strictly prohibited.
All Certified Piedmontese beef is Where Food Comes From source-verified by IMI Global, an accredited source for third-party verification of food production practices. Certified Piedmontese subscribes to self-imposed audits regularly through IMI Global and other agencies, verifying every process and claim. You can be sure the grass-fed beef you're eating came from family ranches across Nebraska and southern South Dakota - and that we raised them with absolutely no antibiotics, hormones, or animal by-products. Just like how mother nature intended.
High Nutritional Benefits
Piedmontese beef is naturally healthier than commercial alternatives - higher in protein and Omega-3 fatty acids while being consistently tender with fewer calories. Our 100% grass-fed beef is even more so. Certified Piedmontese cattle are fed grasses rich in heart-healthy fatty acids and produce beef rich in these essential nutrients. With 100% grass-fed Piedmontese beef, "it's so lean, you could eat the entire thing, with no fat getting left behind on the cutting board," says a Certified Piedmontese customer.
Its nutrition-to-fat ratio is astonishing. Our 100% grass-fed sirloin filet contains 0 grams of total and saturated fat (as shown above) – there's so little fat that it doesn't even register on the fat scale. Certified Piedmontese grass-fed beef is also an excellent source of Omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid, and polyunsaturated fat high in antioxidants and protects against heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. These nutrients have also been linked to weight management. Plus, it's an excellent source of stearic acid, which helps regulate mitochondria—the energy powerhouse of our cells. It's also an excellent source of essential minerals like zinc, iron, phosphorous, selenium, and essential vitamins like B3, B6, and B12.
It's the highest performing beef product for health-conscious customers. Low in fat and calories, packed with nutrition, and exceedingly tender and flavorful.
Environmentally Sustainable
Aside from the nutritional benefits, exclusively pasture-based systems used in raising grass-fed cattle are also more environmentally sustainable than their grain-finishing feedlot counterpart. Certified Piedmontese ranches operate using regenerative agriculture on sustainable farms spanning thousands of acres across the region of north-central Nebraska and southern South Dakota.
Mother nature is about maintaining balanced cycles, and Certified Piedmontese ranchers employ regenerative ranching practices to ensure that our cattle sustain a symbiotic relationship with the land. We don't just take from the ground – we also give back to it. Ranchers carefully rotate cattle between pastures, reducing grazing pressures on grasslands and using livestock waste as a natural source of fertilizer, providing excellent nutrients for grasslands. This responsible grazing helps the prairie ecosystem thrive as grasslands remain biologically active through nutrient exchange between cattle and natural vegetation. Well-maintained grasslands also encourage carbon sequestration, which captures and stores atmospheric carbon dioxide to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to reduce global climate change.
Our intentional, progressive ranching practices in producing the highest quality beef are eco-friendly and sustainable in the long run.
Humanely Raised and Handled
Interest in grass-fed beef also stems from concern for animal welfare. Grass- fed cattle roam free on open grasslands instead of staying indoors and eating from feedlots all their lives. Our comprehensive and responsible ranching approach extends to our ranchers' diligent care of Certified Piedmontese cattle. A careful combination of technology, industry-leading insights, strict protocols, independent third-party oversight, and advanced stockmanship ensures every animal's best possible care.
If we're going to do it, we're going to do it right.
One such protocol is BQA (Beef Quality Assurance), a nationally coordinated training and certification program that promotes herd health with guidelines for everything from record-keeping to environmental conditions. At the center of the program, BQA certifies low-stress handling in husbandry practices. Like in humans, high amounts of stress can depress the immune system in cattle, making them especially susceptible to sickness, which would necessitate antibiotics.
We at Certified Piedmontese believe that low-stress handling allows ranchers to respond to cattle needs in ways that embrace their natural tendencies to keep them calm, comfortable, and away from any sickness. Every Certified Piedmontese rancher is BQA certified and fully committed to providing progressive and comprehensive care to their herds.
While grass-fed beef probably would never take over the world (we think it should), the American population increasingly recognizes the health and environmental benefits of 100% grass-fed beef. Certified Piedmontese 100% grass-fed beef has melt-in-your-mouth tenderness and unparalleled health benefits for our bodies. It's the best of both worlds, so why settle for less?
Certified Piedmontese is committed to producing the healthiest, highest-quality beef products available; however, you might enjoy your protein. We even have 100% grass-fed beef jerky and beef sticks for on-the-go snacking!
Don't just take it from us.
Hear what people say about our 100% grass-fed Piedmontese beef:
"Tasting is believing! 10 stars out of 5. Tasty but lean... how'd they do that?"
"Very pleased with my Grass Fed bundle purchase. I've been a grass-fed beef buyer for a long time, but something about Piedmontese tastes more flavorful [and] richer. It's hard to describe but it's delicious! I'll be buying again.
"Beautiful Grass Fed Beef [...] we are so grateful that this beef is grass-fed, certified and grown in Nebraska!"
"[I'm] addicted! Lean, tender, grass-fed beef that tastes better than traditional marbled beef... [It's a] no brainer!"
"Crazy macros, amazing taste, [it] can't be beat. Well packaged and delivered ahead of schedule! Kiddos love the beef bratwursts! The grass-fed sirloins are the best steaks I have ever had bar none."
"My kids love it, and I love cooking it for them because I know that one bite has more protein than anything they've eaten that day minus all the fat and cholesterol you'll get with any other beef."