Certified Piedmontese Review: Tender Beef Without the Fat

Everyone knows that the most tender, juicy steaks are the ones with the most fat marbling.

Fat = flavor afterall.

But what if that wasn’t always the case?

Certified Piedmontese beef comes from humanely-raised Piedmontese breed cattle on farms that practice a ranch-to-fork approach, ensuring traceability and environmental sustainability.

I’ve tasted Piedmontese once before and remember loving it, so when Great Plains Beef meat delivery service offered to send some my way I was excited to give it a try and document miy findings.

Great Plains Beef sent a selection of meat for free in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What is Piedmontese Beef?

The Piedmontese is a domestic cattle breed that was first discovered over 100 years ago in the region of Piedmont, in north-west Italy.

This breed can boast a noticeably heavy musculature compared to conventional cattle. Due to the tender muscle fibers and no excess marbling, this beef is considered both lean and tender.

Some people like to say Piedmontese beef is the next “Wagyu” due to the tenderness. The big difference of course is that Wagyu has incredibly high fat content so if you are trying to minimize your fat consumption Piedmontese beef is well worth trying.

Great Plains Beef is the exclusive provider of Certified Piedmontese to premium restaurants and specialty retailers throughout the United States. Certified Piedmontese Beef is preferred by meticulous consumers who require a healthier beef without sacrificing flavor or tenderness.

Ordering and shipping

The Great Plains Beef website is well maintained and has lots of vivid pictures of delectable beef cuts.

The website boasts a variety of offerings from jerky, hot dogs, and dry seasonings to ground beef, roasts, and steaks. They also have select options for bison and chicken products as well.

I found the website easy to navigate to find the cuts that I was looking for. The descriptions of each meat offering were helpful.

I had some degree of control over my ship date as the company ships Mondays through Wednesdays with shipping being free via 2-day air if the order is over $99. 

We received a good variety of different products including:

• 36oz Tomahawk
• 48oz Chuck Roast
• 32oz Sirloin Roast
• 32oz Picanha
• 14 lb Brisket

As I opened the arrived package from Great Plains Beef, I found a large thick styrofoam cooler inside.

Packed inside the coolers were my meat selections along with small amounts or brown paper packing to keep the meat from bouncing around.

Although there were no ice packs, dry ice, or any additional cold material, all the meats were still frozen solid with no hints of thawing.

How good was the meat from Piedmontese?

Here is a breakdown of how I prepared and cooked each meat, as well as my verdict.

Tomahawk 

Seasoning/Preparation Method: Coarse salt, pepper, garlic powder.

Cooking Method: Grilled using Camp Chef Woodwind and Sidekick deluxe grill box.

Presentation: Served with seared green beans with melted butter.

Verdict:

This was a fine meal! The steak was massive, juicy, and tender. It was like having a filet that weighed 2 lbs. I really enjoyed cooking this and would get it again, especially for a special occasion or party.

I took a video of the cook on my Woodwind if you want to see it in action.

Chuck Roast

Seasoning/Preparation Method: Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onions, red radishes, celery, and green beans.

Cooking Method: Slow Cooker (crock pot).

Presentation: Old fashioned style in a big bowl.

Verdict:

We have busy lives. Sometimes, you don’t have time to fire the grill up.

Today was one of those days. So we fired up the slow cooker instead and made an old fashioned pot roast (keto style) out of this beautiful piece of beef. It was right on the money.

It was: flavorful, shredded perfectly, and fed the whole family.

Sirloin Roast

Seasoning/Preparation Method: marinated in teriyaki sauce.

Cooking Method: sliced into sirloins and grilled on Camp Chef Woodwind with Sidekick deluxe grill box.

Presentation: Served with butter cauli mash.

Verdict:

These steaks were just ok. Not sure what happened. They tasted good; they just weren’t real tender. 

Seasoning/Preparation Method: marinated in Allegro original style marinade.

Cooking Method: sliced into sirloins and pan fried on the stove top.

Presentation: Served with fried eggs.

Verdict:

Steak and eggs, what more can you say?? Actually, plenty!

I’m not sure why these sirloins were different than the first ones, but these were very tender and mouthwatering. They were everything that I had hoped for from the first ones we cooked. 

Picanha Roast

Seasoning/Preparation Method: Coarse salt, pepper, garlic powder.

Cooking Method: Sliced into 1-1/4” thick slices and grilled on Camp Chef Woodwind with Sidekick deluxe grill box.

Presentation: Basted with butter and served up with fresh avocado and roasted broccoli.

Verdict:

I will always speak the truth in my reviews, good or bad. Here’s the truth: these steaks were disappointing.

I’m not sure how I failed this beautiful cut of meat. They had an amazing taste, but all of the steaks were tough.

And now for both sides of the story: I have NEVER cooked this cut of meat before. It is very possible that I simply did not cook it in a good way. Some meats don’t cook well in certain heat ranges or methods.

It’s entirely possible that this is one of those cases. 

Brisket

Verdict:

At the timing of this review, I haven’t smoked the brisket yet. So I can’t comment on it. I will go back and update after I have had a chance to smoke it though!

This brisket is a monster at 14 lbs. I am soooo looking forward to it!

Final thoughts

The great debate over what meat is the best has raged on for years and will continue well into the future.

No two people will always share the same opinion. While one person swears by a ribeye, another will prefer a filet. Some people want lean beef. Some want fatty cuts. It’s just that simple. 

With all that said, if you are one who loves lean, flavorful cuts that are ALSO tender, Piedmontese steaks are right in your wheelhouse.

Great Plains Beef markets to this crowd and they offer a dang fine product. They are serious about their beef, and it shows in every piece I received.