Recently I’ve been given the opportunity to work with Canadian Beef as brand ambassador for a whole year. Yes, I get to eat and blog about beef, talk about a dream job! And who could be better qualified than me, after all I lived on a dairy farm milking 800 cows and grazed cattle for many years before moving to the city in my early 30′s.
When it comes to beef I know about the complete process from artificial insemination and choosing the best breeds of cattle right down to how the streak gets on the plate. Below is a photo of our farm!
I will be spending the next year blogging about beef with recipes, nutritional facts, and most important – how to cook the perfect piece of meat with some cooking lessons. Check out the Canadian Beef website for their own step by step process of cooking the various cuts of beef.
Below is a photo of our Sunday dinner – “Turkish yogurt kebabs with grilled summer vegetables.”
The trick with these grilled Kebabs to ensure tender flavorful juicy cuts of meat is to marinate the meat a day in advance so that the thick marinate transports it’s flavour into the beef and tenderizes the beef. It will also keep the beef moist while grilling.
Sirloin steak is an ideal cut of beef to use however top round roast or steak can still be used as well however I would marinate the steak for a little longer with these cuts to achieve the same flavour with these less expensive meat cuts.
Here are some facts all Canadians should know about Canadian beef.
Did you know that Canada’s Beef Industry contributes to over $20 billion to Canada’s economy.
Did you know that Canada’s Beef production takes place in every province in Canada with Alberta being the largest beef producing province by 65%.
Did you know that there are over 15 million beef heads on 83,000 farms and ranches across Canada which mainly grain fed.
Did you know that 50% of Canadian beef is consumed by Canadians and the other 50% is exported around the world to 70 countries and has a reputation to be amongst the finest.
Did you know that the Canadian Beef Industry started in the late 1600,s by English and American settlers because of Canada’s ideal location.
Did you know that Canada’s Beef Industry relies on the expertise of a team to ensure food safety, meat quality, environmental practices and humane treatment through technologies and management systems to ensure it’s top quality.
Did you know that Canadian beef is a nutrient-rich food that provides consumers with 14 essential nutrients, including high quality protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin B12.
Did you know that only qualified graders are permitted to grade a beef carcass in Canada – graders must successfully complete a comprehensive training program approved by the Canadian Beef Grading Agency.
Did you know that to assign these grades, (Canada A, Canada AA, Canada AAA and Canada Prime) valuation are based on maturity, meat color, fat color, carcass muscling, fat coverage and texture, meat texture and marbling level.
Did you know that the majority of Canadians will be having a BBQ with Canadian beef this weekend! I know I will!
Disclosure – “I am participating in the Canadian Beef Brand Ambassador. I received a compensation in exchange for my participation in this campaign. The opinion on this blog are my own.”
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4 Comments
Hi Lina. I was a vegetarian for over a year…but my body was telling me I needed meat protien. I went back to eating chicken and fish but tried to buy “free range”. I found it exspensive and hard to find…so now I just buy the ‘regular’ chicken from my grocery store. I haven’t gone back to beef or pork, but I sure miss it. What’s holding me back is: how are the animals treated throughout their whole lives prior to becoming wrapped in plastic in my grocery store. I’ve seen american documentaries and I can’t get the images out of my head. Can you please tell me about the treament of the animals…organic doesn’t matter to me, it’s are the cows and pigs ‘happy’? Also, how can I find out where the meat comes from in my grocery store. I really look forward to your response. Thanks so much!
Are they mainly grain fed or grass fed? I could not find much info on that.
Yes, there is no hormones in Canadian Beef. For best quality meat you can check the grading of the Beef. (Canada A, Canada AA, Canada AAA and Canada Prime). All beef is graded to let consumers know the quality of the beef the are buying.
I would like to know…..I have seen commercials on tv(from Black Diamond cheese) that say their cheese is produced from 100% hormone free Canadian milk. Is Canadian beef in the grocery store 100% hormone free?