Not only does the cow's diet affect the nutritional composition and flavor of the beef, but it also requires slightly modified cooking techniques. If you're investing in a quality piece of grass-fed meat, there are certain cooking techniques to ensure you end up with a juicy, tender piece of beef.

Grass-fed beef is easy to overcook due to its low-fat content, so it shouldn't be cooked to well-done, as it's best served rare to medium-rare, per the American Grassfed Association. The Organic Butcher of McLean suggests cooking grass-fed beef at a temperature at least 50 degrees lower than what you'd typically cook conventional beef.

Another element to note is time, which includes how long you cook the meat and the rest before you cut into it. The lower quantity of fat will cook off quickly, leaving you with a much drier and tougher steak than a conventionally fed cow cooked for the same amount of time.

Beef is an excellent source of protein, iron, and important vitamins and minerals, but grass-fed beef has some extra health benefits. Gram-for-gram, it contains fewer calories and less fat than conventionally-fed cattle, as well as five times the amount of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids as grain-fed cows (per WebMD).