Black Angus Beef

Black Angus cattle are naturally polled, which means that they are naturally hornless. This is beneficial because injury and/or death can be caused in crowded situations where animals with large horns can gore eachother or the people raising them. Many ranchers dehorn other breeds of cattle by various methods to avoid this risk, which is an unneccessary concern for the mighty Black or Red Angus.

When introduced in the Kansas area in 1873 they were considered FREAKS, because shorthorn and longhorn cattle were common. Some time later being without horns was considered a plus, and they are often used in crossbreeding programs to produce hornless calves.

Another reason to use Black Angus to crossbreed is to reduce difficult births for first time calving. A Black Angus bull is often paired with a young Holstein or Fresian breed of dairy cow (through means of artificial insemination) to produce a smaller calf which is easier to deliver. The males produced in this fashion are more favorable to beef farmers than a full blooded milking breed for marketing.

Black Angus Beef is well marbled, mildly flavored and subject to rigorous quality control so to most people it is superior in taste and tenderness. In many cases, a person's belief or disbelief of superiority in many cases will influence the perception of the meal itself. It tastes excellent because it's supposed to taste excellent, and if it doesn't then it must be due to an unsophisticated palate!

Gourmet restaurants and wedding caterers often include it in their menus to add an air of distinction.




"Certified Angus Beef" (CAB) is a special industry designation developed in 1978 that involves standards for marbling, tenderness, age, and color. According to the National Cattleman's Beef Association, only about 8% of U.S. beef is entitled to the label "Certified Angus." Just because something is labeled "Angus" or "Black Angus" doesn't mean it's the same quality as "Certified Angus Beef." Angus beef is further differentiated by USDA grades such as "prime," "choice," and "select," giving us such labels as "Certified Angus Prime," indicating the best Certified Angus Beef.

The above paragraph was taken from a fascinating and very informative page that's worth the read: Straight Dope - What's the big deal about aged beef and angus beef?

The lighter side of Black Angus...

Our family raises a handful of cattle each year on our very small hobby farm. We usually get four young calves in late January or early February and grow them until just before snowfall in late November so we don't need to overwinter them. This results in tasty, very tender baby beef that is primarily grassfed. Since the animals are so young we don't notice any significant difference between an angus or angus cross to the meat of a holstein, other than bone size. Dairy cattle have a higher ratio of bone:meat or rather frame:muscle than typical beefers.

We name them each year with what we think are hillbilly-ish names, or after local farmers that sell us hay or feed. I love to go out on the field and take photographs of these mild mannered, curious animals. Bucket feeding them milk in the early weeks gets them accustomed to our presence.They are not "pets" but they do tolerate us being out on the field with them if we are slow and calm.