Breaking Down The Beef With Australian Fire Cook Jess Pryles

There’s more to beef than just throwing it on the fire and watching it sizzle. Australian fire cook and writer Jess Pryles breaks down the cuts and varieties of beef, from grass-fed to dry aged and beyond, and offers a recipe from her 2018 cookbook, Hardcore Carnivore, for the perfect fajita.

Get Behind The Cuts And Varieties Of Beef

Grass-fed vs. Grain-fed

Grain-fed beef on left, grass-fed beef on right.

Grass-fed: “Grass-fed has a much gamier, grassier, more robust flavor, leaning towards venison but definitely still in the beef stratosphere,” says Pryles. “The grass-fed product in the grocery store is usually very red and very lean. Generally, the more an animal is exposed to oxygen and runs and moves during its lifetime, the deeper the color the meat will be. That’s why venison is so deep in color.”

Grain-fed: “Grain-fed has a more mellow, smooth, nearly buttery flavor,” Pryles says. “When cattle are finished on grain, it puts on that intramuscular fat [aka marbling], which are all those little seams of white that you see in the meat. That’s where the flavor is. That’s what makes it tender, and that’s what makes it tasty.”

What To Know

• Health: Grain-fed and grass-fed beef both have high levels of iron, zinc, and vitamin B12. “But grass-fed has few additional nutrients beyond that. It’s not that one is bad for you and one is good for you; it’s that grass-fed beef has a couple of bonuses. It comes down to the flavor and what your preference is.”
• Labeling: The label ‘grass-fed’ can be misleading since all beef in America is grass-fed before being ‘finished’ on either grass or grain. “Look for the terminology ‘100% grass-fed’ or ‘grass-finished’” if you want a truly grass-fed product.

Wet Aged vs. Dry Aged

Wet-aged on left, dry-aged on right.

Wet Aged: “The easiest way to age beef is wet aging, which just means that the meat has been vacuum-sealed,” says Pryles. “It will make the meat more tender, but it will not enhance taste. Nothing in the flavor is changing or developing.” Freezing meat stops the aging process.

Dry Aged: “Dry aging is basically just taking a big piece of meat and putting it in a refrigerator unbound, naked, as is,” she says. “You see the funky, nutty, blue cheesy flavors coming through.” It’s also today’s biggest buzzphrase in beef. “There’s no direct way to do it, there’s no guide, and a lot of people are going out on their own and trying new things” — including Pryles, who has a “giant” dry aging chamber in her garage.

What To Know

• Price: Dry-aged beef is more expensive because it loses water weight. “You’re shrinking the meat, which shrinks the weight, which means your price per pound goes up. You also have loss from trimming the outside off because it becomes hard, like a rind.” 
• Days Aged: “Wet aging does not have any benefit over 28 days … two weeks is a pretty good sweet spot.” For dry aging, “just seeing the number of days aged on a menu doesn’t tell you much.” Different aging chambers result in different tastes. 

Prime vs. Wagyu

Prime (top), American Wagyu (left), and Japanese Wagyu (right).

Prime: Prime is the highest grade of meat ranked by the United States Department of Agriculture. It tops the scale above Choice (the second-highest grade) and Select (the most widely produced). Marbling, texture, and age all help to determine the grade.

Japanese Wagyu: Wagyu has its own five-level grading system encompassing four breeds of Japanese cattle. “They are genetically predisposed to put on intramuscular fat at a better rate than any other breed.” Wagyu fat also has a different composition and lower melting point for an incredibly rich, buttery experience. “It’s going to melt in your mouth.”

What To Know

• Unless labeled ‘100%’ or ‘Japanese’ Wagyu, most Wagyu in the U.S. is actually American Wagyu—a crossbreed (usually with Angus) with at least 50% Wagyu genetics. “Generally speaking, Americans like a big piece of steak, but you can’t eat 16 ounces of [Japanese] Wagyu. Well, you can — you’re just not going to feel great afterward.” American Wagyu delivers the best of both worlds: big portions with some of the fattiness of Japanese Wagyu. But don’t be fooled, says Pryles: “There’s a huge difference between Japanese and American Wagyu.”

Grilled Bloody Mary Fajitas

Ingredients

• 2 pounds outside skirt steak
• 1 cup Mexican lager-style beer
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup tomato juice or Clamato
• 2 tablespoon Hardcore Carnivore Tex-Mex seasoning
• 1 poblano pepper, seeded
• 1 white onion, peeled
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 fresh lime
• Queso fresco for garnish (if desired)

Instructions

1. In a shallow container or zip-top bag, combine the beer, salt, and juice (or Clamato if using). Add the skirt steak to the mixture (it may help to cut it into manageable pieces) and place it in the fridge to marinate for 60 – 90 minutes. 
2. Prepare a grill for medium/high cooking. Thinly slice the onion, poblano, and bell pepper and toss them in the olive oil.
3. Once the grill is at 400 – 450 degrees, remove the bag from the fridge and discard the marinade. Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel, then season generously with the Tex-Mex rub on both sides.
4. Place the steaks onto the hot grill and flip every 3 – 4 minutes, cooking for about 12 – 15 minutes total or until they reach an internal temperature of 130 degrees.
5. While the steaks cook, heat a skillet on the grill and then sauté the vegetables until the onions begin to caramelize, then remove from heat.
6. Once cooked, rest the steaks under a piece of foil for 10 minutes. Slice against the grain into strips, then combine with the onions and peppers. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the top, garnish with queso fresco (if desired), and serve.
7. To serve as sizzling fajitas: Place a cast iron skillet or fajita pan in a 400-degree oven to preheat for 15 – 20 minutes. Tip the steak and vegetable mix onto the hot pan, which will start to sizzle, and serve immediately. Use caution; the pan will be exceptionally hot.

Grab yourself a copy of Jess Pryles’ cookbook, Hardcore Carnivore, to try your hand at more mouth-watering beef recipes.

Learn about Jess Pryles’ journey to the world of beef.

From our January 2025 issue.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy of Jess Pryles, Agate Surrey