Sun Fed Beef Is Raising Cows On Grass And Grain For Flavor | New York

All over the city tomorrow, New Yorkers will be purposefully celebrating–or avoiding–Valentine's Day.

Helping you find a date should you need or want one isn't in our wheelhouse. But allow us to help you wrestle with a different, equally crucial question: grass- or grain-finished beef?

Sun Fed Beef raised on Maple Avenue Farms, a third-generation family farm located four hours north of New York City, raises Black Angus cows using both methods, with equally delicious results.

Careful farming by the farm's owners, Eve Ann Shwartz and Harmon Hoff, led to an interesting discovery: Female calves fatten up more easily than males when raised on grass, so the resulting beef is both flavorful and healthful. With this realization in mind, Sun Fed Beef finishes all of its male calves on grain, and raises all its female calves entirely on grass (both grass- and grain-fed cuts range from $5 to $30 per pound, depending on cut).

Try Sun Fed's beef (see the cuts offered) in our recipes for Rib Eye Steak with Goat-Cheese Potatoes and Portobello Mushrooms, Spiced Tenderloin Roast with Wild Mushrooms or Beef Meatballs.

We'll leave the beef gender choice up to you.

Sun Fed Beef is available on Fridays at the Union Square and 97th St. greenmarkets, Saturdays at the Tribeca Greenmarket, and Sundays at the Jackson Heights and Cortelyou greenmarkets.