Piedmontese beef is high in protein, and has a very "beefy" flavor, making it a health-conscious approach to steak night. The Piedmontese Breed
The Piedmont region of northwestern Italy has for centuries been famous for its wines and its rich cuisine. It’s also the home of the Piedmontese breed of cattle, which originated there over 100 years ago, amidst the region’s green, rolling hills and lush valleys, in an area bounded by France to the west and Switzerland to the North. The original migration of cattle to the Piedmont area of Italy is believed to have occurred about 25,000 years ago, and a “double muscling” characteristic began showing up in Piedmontese cattle in the 1870s: The term describes the breed’s unusual predilection for developing extra muscle mass but very little fat. The result is an efficient source of lean meat that, in spite of the absence of the fatty marbling typical of standard breeds, remains tender and juicy. Naturally Lean, Naturally Tender
The Piedmontese breed is unique in having an inactive myostatin gene that produces a ‘double-muscled’ beef that’s rich in protein and nutrients,
The genetic nature of the breed doesn’t produce heavy levels of marbling or surface fat; Piedmontese beef doesn’t consist of the typical ‘stringy’ fibers, and the result is a natural tenderness that doesn’t require electrical stimulation, needling, or aging. That inactive gene creates beef that’s delicious in spite of the fact that it’s very lean. “In Piedmontese cattle, there is an increase in the number of muscle fibers, a condition called hyperplasia, which results from the inactive myostatin gene,” Other effects include a shortening of muscle fibers and a reduced amount of connective tissue and intramuscular fat. These things combine to result in a consistently lean and tender beef product.
