Time travel with Angus

Good evening all!

As promise here is a look at Angus cattle through the ages. Why Angus? Well, because my in-laws raise them and they are the most recognized meat breed. Now, to be fair, there are lots of other delicious breeds we often see in the US such as Charolais ( Shar-lay), Hereford, Beefmaster (my favorite name!), Saler, Limousin (pronounced just like the pricy ride, but much nicer to gnaw on), Simmental, Santa Gertrudis (these guys were cultivated in the US at the King Ranch in TX) and the well known Texas Longhorns. Each of these breeds look a wee bit different from each other so I'm going to post some pictures here with the website where I found them (gotta give credit where credit is due!). Unless otherwise stated, all of these great images are from: http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/ I chose to show images of bulls because that way you could see one sex and look at the differences between just the single sex. Sorry if their franks and beans freak you out, but they can't help it!

Angus

Charolais

Hereford

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hereford_bull_large.jpg

Beefmaster

Saler

Limousin

Simmental

This image comes from: http://www.cornwallsimmentalclub.co.uk/simmental-calves.htm

Santa Gertrudis

Texas Longhorn

Aren't all of these just a little bit different? Some do better in heat than others, some do better in cold, some thrive on minimal feed while others do better on a more rich diet. Some have bigger rib-eyes while others lay down intramuscular fat (marbling) better than others. They also have different temperaments and whichever producer you talk to, their cattle are the best! There is usually a great sense of pride in farmers when they talk about their animals. These people are not in it for the money because there really isn't a whole lot, they are in it because they love their critters and their job. There will always be a few bad eggs who do not care for their animals properly, but the majority of farmers only want what is best for their animals.

Now the question, whats the hype over Angus beef? Awesome marketing! Yes, there have been some great advances in the breeding and genetics of these guys, but they shouldn't taste much different from other cattle so long as all cattle are fed the same diet and treated the same. The Angus association came out with certified Angus beef which has now become synonymous with quality even though it is just a breed with a REALLY good PR team.
How about grass fed versus feed lot/finished cattle? Most cattle are finished on grain because because they fatten up quicker and you get better intramuscular fat deposition (i.e. the marbling in the meat gets better and the meat is more tender). BUT grass fed has advantages too. The meat tends to be higher in omega 3 fatty acids, and will be leaner. So it all comes down to what you as the consumer wants.

 Now to show you what we've done to Angus cattle with selective breeding over the past 130 years.

Lets start in 1867 with a drawing of a "beautiful" Angus specimen

1885 we get a picture of what they really look like. A bit different from the ideal

1902 a bit shorter and stockier

1911- this one looks like its heading to the Mayday fest!

1937 What happened?!?!

1938 now you can see it next to people and its gotten shorter!

Here is where the blogger.com cuts me off for part 1 of Time Travel with Angus. Will be back in just a bit with Time travel with Angus part 2