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The U.S. Food Safety Inspection Service defines natural as:
A product containing no artificial ingredient or added color and is only minimally processed (a process which does not fundamentally alter the raw product) may be labeled "natural meat.” The product must contain no artificial color or flavoring, no chemical preservatives, or other synthetic ingredients.
Dry aging means that, immediately after harvesting, our beef hangs in a refrigerated cooler, where temperature and humidity are strictly controlled. The beef then hangs a minimum of 21 days after harvest. During this time moisture evaporates from the beef, leaving a greater concentration of rich, beefy flavor. In addition, the beef’s natural enzymes break down the more fibrous tissues, tenderizing the meat.
Our customers deserve the best beef we can provide. One of the qualities that make our beef so delicious is the tenderness. We insure tenderness in a number of ways from our breeding program to select the best traits to our feeding and weaning schedule. We also harvest our beef at a younger age than the national average. Our beef is harvested at 12-18 months on average. Harvesting younger and dry aging are some of the keys to providing you with tender, delicious beef.
These three qualities (dry aging, tenderness, and marbling) create the quality beef that you can expect from Jacoby Brand Beef. We take great strides is assuring that each quality is present in our beef, making it the naturally delicious product offered to our customers. |
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Available at Jacoby's Cafe |
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In 1976, we bought our first set of heifers. Fast forward to present day, and you'll find approximately 400 head of momma cows grazing our pastures deep in the Heart of Texas. Jacoby Beef is bred, born, raised, and processed right here in Central, Texas. Our cattle receive only the best in nutrition including pasture grass, hay, and a finishing ration specially mixed by Jacoby Feed and Seed and are never given any type of growth hormone. Our beef is hand-cut and dry aged a minimum of 21 days to ensure exceptional tenderness and grades a minimum of choice—guaranteed. You can find Jacoby Brand Beef served daily in our cafe located in quaint, downtown Melvin, Texas. 
To qualify as “organic” by federal standards, our feed would have to include ingredients that have never been treated with pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizer. The cost of those feeds is extremely expensive and getting more so each year. Feeding our cattle organically would raise our price considerably and would require that we pass it on to you our customer, raising your prices by at least 50-100%. We believe our natural methods are more than sufficient to provide healthy, high quality beef at a price our customers can afford.
Marbling is the small white flecks of fat that appear throughout a cut of beef. As a general rule the more marbled the beef, the better the taste – and the higher it will be rated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Prime beef has the most marbling, Choice has less, and Select the least. As you would expect, the more desirable cuts (Filet, Ribeye, etc.) are those that contain the most marbling. 