About Piedmontese Cattle and Beef

Why Piedmontese Beef Cattle?

5 Jackalope Ranch had started as an idea after I had read an article about how to produce the best steak. Logically to produce the best steak you need to start with the best quality beef. To get the best quality beef you need the right breed of cattle.

I began my research to find the breed of cattle I believed would produce the best quality beef. Upon researching I discovered the Piedmontese cattle breed. The Piedmontese breed produces beef differently than commercial cattle breeds. The unique characteristics of the Piedmontese breed led me to the conclusion that Piedmontese was the breed I was looking for.

About the Breed

Piedmonte is a region in northwest Italy. Piedmonte is a mountainous region bordered by France and Switzerland. Approximately 25,000 years ago the ancient breed of cattle know as the Auroch was found in the Piedmonte region of Italy. 1,000s of years ago some Zebu cattle migrated from what we know as Pakistan to the Piedmonte region. The Zebu bred with the Auroch and through natural breeding and selection the Piedmontese cattle breed came to be. Piedmontese cattle are a favorite in the Piedmonte region and are known for fine quality milk and beef.

Piedmontese cattle started their presence in North Americain the late 1970's, when a few Piedmontese bulls came to Canada. Piedmontese cattle then arrived in the United States of America in the early 1980's. Since the 1970's and 1980's North American Piedmontese cattle continue with a reputation for producing superior quality beef.

The Beef

Piedmontese beef may be the best beef you’ve tasted for a number of reasons. Piedmontese cattle consistently produce tender and juicy cuts of meat due to having an inactive myostatin gene. The inactivity of this gene allows the breed to sustain continuous muscle-mass growth throughout their lives. The meat produced has a higher lean-meat-to-fat-ratio than other cattle. This means less marbling of fat throughout the muscle fibers. Most people then say "but fat and marbling equal tenderness and flavor". This is simply not true. Piedmontese produce steak that breaks apart in your mouth with every bite and has wonderful flavor.

The USDA beef grading scale grades mainly on measuring not real tenderness but the fat marbling contained throughout the muscle fiber. That's the manner which the USDA feels it can best get consistent grading quality, but it’s not really that simple. Beef tenderness is complex and one must take into account multiple factors, of which marbling is only one.

A way to physically measure the tenderness of beef is the Warner-Bratzler Shear Force (WBSF) test. The WBSF doesn't simply guess tenderness based on the appearance of fat marbling present in the muscle. The WBSF measures the physical force required to cut through a piece of beef.

The WBSF test has been around for almost 100 years and measures the shear force required to drive a steel blade through a 1/2-inch core of the meat. The more tender the piece of meat the less energy required to cut it. A tougher piece of meat requires more energy to be cut.

Data from the University of Nebraska- Lincoln showed that when subjected to the WBSF test, Piedmontese beef is nearly twice as tender as traditionally raised commercial breed beef. Even though Piedmontese cattle have the least fat, studies report that Piedmontese beef is the most delicate.

But reading about tenderness and taste can't give you the full experience, try Piedmontese beef for yourself. See that healthy and lean beef can be tender, juicy, and delicious.