the way meat tasted a 100 years ago

[rc4u]

3rd eye , you mention chickens in a cage for 42 days.. for me to mushy.. we raise chickens n couple geese usually but not this yr as the great horned owls hauled away 13 last yr.. we raised heritige breeds n some meaters .. to keep the meaters healthy we have like a 100' x 75' fenced and coop inside. put the food and water far apart or they sit and eat till dead some times. but we go 60 days for meaters n 100+ for heritage, for not mushy breast's n egglayers went up to 2 yrs.

 

[mneeley490]

We have a Herfy's in Snoqualmie a block from Mt Si High school, and there's another in Redmond i used to go to for lunch when I worked nearby.
The burgers are still way better than McD's and BK.

Yeah, the last official one closed several years ago in the late 80's. But people bought the rights to the name and opened a few around here; they are independently operated. But they serve teriyaki or some other asian food in the same place. Burgers just aren't the same as the originals.

(Sorry about the thread drift. But it seems like it was 100 years ago since I've had one of those burgers.)

 

[DougE]

We had a local burger chain in the Seattle area in the 60's & 70's with this logo, that's long gone now. I assume it's a Herford?

Looks to be a Herford. Herford beef is good beef. Charolais beef is good beef. Angus is good beef. I believe the main reason Angus gets hyped like it does is because the Angus breeders thought of it first. If I were to raise 3 steers, 1 pure Angus, 1 pure Herford, and 1 pure Charolais, all fed the same diet, slaughtered at a similar weight, I highly doubt anyone could tell which was which in a blind taste test.

 

[thirdeye]

3rd eye , you mention chickens in a cage for 42 days.. for me to mushy.. we raise chickens n couple geese usually but not this yr as the great horned owls hauled away 13 last yr.. we raised heritige breeds n some meaters .. to keep the meaters healthy we have like a 100' x 75' fenced and coop inside. put the food and water far apart or they sit and eat till dead some times. but we go 60 days for meaters n 100+ for heritage, for not mushy breast's n egglayers went up to 2 yrs.

We've kind of been trained on what to expect for chicken at the market today because of the commodity producers. We need more people like you that raise birds to a higher standard of quality. I would have never thought about separating food and water to force some exercise. Maybe I should move my beer fridge into my neighbors garage across the street.

We didn't have chickens, but there were turkeys on the ranch. Maybe it was because I was a little boy, but those guys were mean.

 

[DougE]

I would have never thought about separating food and water to force some exercise. Maybe I should move my beer fridge into my neighbors garage across the street.

Now that right there is funny!

 

[thirdeye]

Looks to be a Herford. Herford beef is good beef. Charolais beef is good beef. Angus is good beef. I believe the main reason Angus gets hyped like it does is because the Angus breeders thought of it first. If I were to raise 3 steers, 1 pure Angus, 1 pure Herford, and 1 pure Charolais, all fed the same diet, slaughtered at a similar weight, I highly doubt anyone could tell which was which in a blind taste test.

I would tend to agree with you. Another observation.... if you used pecan, hickory or oak in your fire.... most might not identify the wood.

 

[rc4u]

heres a couple shots of poultry. some reason the geese and turkeys get along. the chickens stay away as geese chase e'm.

 

[gmc2003]

Cavemen didn't have beer in a bottle. RAY

Don't be so sure. LOL

Chrsi

 

[chopsaw]

Don't be so sure. LOL

Cactus juice .

 

[SmokinEdge]

3rd eye , you mention chickens in a cage for 42 days.. for me to mushy.. we raise chickens n couple geese usually but not this yr as the great horned owls hauled away 13 last yr.. we raised heritige breeds n some meaters .. to keep the meaters healthy we have like a 100' x 75' fenced and coop inside. put the food and water far apart or they sit and eat till dead some times. but we go 60 days for meaters n 100+ for heritage, for not mushy breast's n egglayers went up to 2 yrs.

https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/jumbo_cornish_x_rocks.html

We raised these birds in the link Cornish X Rocks. They were carnivores so can’t over crowd them but fast growers and excellent meat. Nice thing was you could cut feed cost a bit. If you fed them what they wanted they grew so fast they would die of heart attack. 60 days produced a nice 5-6 pound dressed bird.

 

[rc4u]

your right on. i did some rangers also they grow good. check e'm out. my first yr i ordered from mcmurry, but now i go to runnings as they have or get what ya want.. oh by the way of those 3 turkeys in pic above weight 35# had to cut em in half. biggest one i ever did

 

[chilerelleno]

with all the modern ways of cooking meat nowadays which do you think tastes better now or then ?
think about it , today we have access to a 1000 spices , and a 1000 ways to cook meat . but in the old days that wasn't the case
granted that our meat is much safer to eat , but i think there is much to be said for the flavor of meat cooked over burning chunks of wood with little if any control of the heat ( or anything else ) back then it took a sharp eye and a fair amount of experence and skill to cook meat . our smokers of today can simulate some of that, but will never capture all of it

Late to the party.... But wow, some LULZ here!
100 years ago is recent history, not like cavemen just discovering how to cook meat.

People have been importing most known spices for thousands of years. Even when carried by Yak and Camel, shipped on vessels driven by wind and oars and traveling thousands of miles, they might not have been the epitome of freshness but they were still often worth fortunes and highly coveted.
For hundreds upon hundreds of years, thousands even, spices have always had vendors in the marketplaces.
Even in Medieval times and such spices were a huge part of making bad meat palatable via sauces, marinades and rubs to cover any "off" tastes.
And even 200, 300 years ago an array of spices were common commodities in any decent sized town with a general store.

People have had the finer points of controlling their cooking fires for just as long. Allowing them to not only cook meat in almost every way we do, but to also bake breads, cakes, pastries and all sorts of foods requiring fine temperature control.

Now meat, meat has changed in the last 100 years, and not for the better in most cases. Without even going into much detail about anything, feeding, growth hormones, antibiotics and processing... Big changes in taste.
But 100 years ago I'd trusted my local butcher to be providing safe and tasty meats. He wouldn't be in business long after a few people got sick.

Just wow... A whole hundred years ago... Like ancient history.

 

[cal1956]

well when i initally said 100 years ago , i assumed people would understand from primitave times in general , it wasn't my intention to narrowly define a spicific time frame as much as it was to discuss how the flavor has changed from more primitave times

 

[forktender]

View attachment 630542

I have to agree with @JLeonard, meat has changed. A lot. I think the most dramatic is chicken which has been re-engineered for larger breasts and special feeds for growth, not to mention raising them with limited room so the meat is more tender.

Pork is much leaner overall than in yesteryears, the slogan "the other white meat" is pretty accurate. I can remember even high-on-the-hog cuts, like a pork chop, were much greasier than today's pork chops.

When I was a little boy, we raised Herford cattle (white faces) and it was popular in the 60's and 70's, but Angus became popular because their meat is higher in fat than Herford beef. Flavor wise I still like Herford beef that has been grain finished. We have one market that sells Herford, and sirloin and chuck are the products we buy.

The best beef I ever ate was from a friend's ranch, that raised Black Baldy cattle, which is a cross between Herford's and Aberdeen Angus.
Good stuff!!!