Terroir Taste
Bite into an Estancia steak and you can taste the open grasslands, fresh air, and clean water that produced our beef. Grass-fed, pasture-raised beef has a beefier flavor than grain-fed, feedlot beef, with none of the buttery mouth-coating film and heaviness. Estancia beef tastes bright and has a clean finish. It leaves you feeling satisfied but light on your feet.
Breeding for Tenderness
Our animals are Hereford and Angus. We use these breeds because both are widely considered to produce the best-tasting beef in the world. We breed bulls and heifers that are smaller-framed so we can produce a tender steak on 100% grass. Larger-framed animals require more time to fill out, which means they reach market weight much later. Since meat from older animals tend to be less tender, we go for smaller-framed cattle that fill-out quickly grazing high-protein grass.
Plentiful Grass
Wild grass and the environment play a key role in the taste of our beef. Just as the terroir defines the taste of wine, olive oil, and honey, the combination of natural grasses, temperate weather, and plentiful rainfall defines our beef's clean, bright flavor.
In most cases, we try to finish our animals on a combination of grasses, including red and white clover, bear's foot (similar to alfalfa), rye grass, and other native species. Sweet, plentiful grass produces beef that is tender and delicious.