Move over, Alberta. Prince Edward Island is gaining a reputation for its beautiful beef.

What sort of technology is driving this renaissance of beautifully marbled meat on the Island, you ask? In fact, it’s not a technology at all, but a basic principle of farming: let cows get on with the business of being cows, and allow them to do what they were bred to do—graze, and grow on grass.

Grass-fed beef is often considered an exceptional product—but not all grass is created equal, and that’s where Island farmers have an advantage. The word terroir is used often in the context of wine to describe the combination of factors—soil, climate, and environment—that influence a wine’s distinctive character. Many Island farmers believe the same concept plays a role in the quality of PEI beef.

Mike Nabuurs, president of Atlantic Beef Products in Albany, PEI, says PEI’s geography and landscape play a big role in the quality of the beef that is produced on the Island. “The way our agriculture sector works together is also an important part,” Nabuurs says. “The main crop on PEI, of course, is potatoes, and the crop rotation required for this production includes grass forages and grains—wheat, barley and oats—on a rotation of at least three years. These crops combine to make a unique, and probably more traditional, diet for cows on PEI.”

Canadian beef, when it is finished on a feedlot, is often fed a diet of barley, low-grade durum wheat, chickpeas, corn and oats. The term “finished on a feedlot” refers to the fact that a beef cow usually arrives at a feedlot when it reaches about 650 pounds; it is then fed a diet meant to induce rapid growth. The cow’s weight can increase by another 400 pounds during this three- to four-month period. It then is ready for market.

PEI cattle on the feedlot, however, are fed a diet of grass, grains and those famous PEI potatoes, and the strict timelines of commercial feedlots are not rigorously adhered to. Feedlot cattle are typically slaughtered at around 20 months of age, but PEI farmers raise their beef for an average of 24 to 30 months, which allows the cattle to mature naturally, without growth-inducing hormones. This diet is responsible for the marbling of fat that is prominent in Island beef, which creates a tender product and gives it outstanding flavour.

Ross Munro, executive chef at Sims Corner Steakhouse and Oyster Bar, in Charlottetown, started an in-house beef program at his restaurant focusing, naturally, on PEI beef. “I love it for its consistency and its great flavour,” he says. “It’s sweeter-tasting than most beef, while still having that meaty, sanguine flavour—a bloodiness to it, if you will. The diet of the cows here on the Island, namely grass-fed and potato-finished, makes for some serious marbling. As for my favourite cut of beef: it’s rib eye all the way, baby!”

PEI’s beef farmers recognize that what leads to a great product is not a new gizmo—it’s allowing a herd to progress and grow at its own pace. What I admire most about the Island’s farmers is that they are farmers first, and producers second—and that the welfare of their animals is important.

Recipes featured in this article:

• Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Maple Szechuan Pepper Glaze
• Grilled Sourdough Roast Beef Sandwich with Horseradish Mayo
• Grilled Flank Steak Salad with Maple Ginger Vinaigrette