Quality of Highland cattle meat

[ChadMR82]

Got a local preserve that wants to get rid of a Highland bull causing problems. Its a pretty good price and would have a lot of meat. He ran me out of a pasture back in the summer. Curious to hear if anyone has ever ate Highland beef before? I put this here because its a bow only operation and I would be using 50# black widow. I have a lot of reservations about it to be honest but I have killed pigs and rams at preserves with no problem, this cattle looking thing though just feels wrong lol. Just figured it would be a good way to test new bow and fill the freezer

[Bisch]

As long as you’re going to eat it, don’t sweat it.

Don’t know anything about that particular type of cattle though!

Bisch


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[tex4k]

No personal experience but folks in the modern homesteader movement raise them for meat and milk and I haven't heard any complaints (but them folks eat sheep and goats too). As for as shooting it goes, don't look at it as hunting, if you were gonna home butcher a steer it would have to be killed too! Would you rather go shoot this particular animal or try to coax his mean, trouble making arse into a trailer to haul to the processor?

[Dkincaid]

Most grown bulls are good for ground meat or tough steaks. If you process it yourself be prepared for some work. Loading a dead bull will be problematic and quartering one is no small task.


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[Kingfisher789]

What’s he been eating? Good grass or dirt?

[Walker]

Bull meat is bull meat. Don't expect anything better.

[Phillip Fields]

The Highland breed is raised for beef so the meat should be as good as could be expected from a grown bull. The Highland breed is fairly popular in the mountains of NC.

[dmk]

I agree, depending on age you may have a full freezer of just ok. Figure in about $1 a lb. to process on top of cost for the bull too.

[MetalMan2004]

Only time I’ve eaten highland cattle was halfway through a 2 week trip in Scotland. It was the only non-seafood meal I had seen at that point so I ate 2 burgers and it was fantastic.

If the price is right go for it.

[60 Deluxe]

I killed and butchered a heifer that had prolapsed. She had been on grass and pasture only, including wheat. It was a lot of work to butcher her and get everything cut and wrapped. Chilling the meat was a bit of a problem as well. I borrowed a freezer and also used our huge chest type freezer. Unfortunately, the meat when cooked smelled like hot cow manure. I ended up using it all for dog food. It was terrible. I'm no stranger to meat processing either, having spent my entire career in and around the meat packing industry. It was nothing that we did that caused the poopy smell. I suspect that her diet caused. Bulls do not get fat. A packer friend of mine had hundreds of bulls spread between several feed lots as a reserve for when he needed lean meat to mix with the boned out cow meat. They were selling a ninety percent lean product to the meat grinders that were then selling to the large burger chains. Expect the meat from a bull to be close to fat free. If you have tried to eat fat free beef, you know that it is not pleasant.