Finding locally produced beef at a restaurant is not exactly common, no matter where the establishment is located.
But thanks to a recently formed partnership between Houston’s TQ’s House of Barbecue and some local cattle producers, TQ’s is now offering burgers and steaks made with Taylor Angus beef.
The meat comes from animals raised in Texas County by long-time producers Dr. B.C. “Doc” Taylor, his wife Carla and their son Logan. TQ’s owner Tony Bieller said hooking up with the Taylors means keeping money local, and plating great food.
“I believe I’m doing this with the right people and the right product,” Bieller said. “I feel like if we just do our job right, people will be more than just satisfied with what they’re getting.”
“We’re putting our name on the line, but I feel confident enough in our product that this is going to work out great,” Carla said. “Tony is doing such a great job in his restaurant and it’s doing so much by being in Houston, and I think this is just going to add another level.”
Both Doc Taylor (who is also a long-time veterinarian in Houston) and Carla were born and raised in cattle-producing families. Logan is a 2012 graduate of Houston High School and is working toward an agriculture business degree at Missouri State University in Springfield, with an emphasis on enterprise management (he’s also in an accelerated master’s degree program in natural applied sciences).
Logan began producing registered Angus in 2005, and since then he and his parents have gone to great lengths to breed cows with the right genetic makeup that results in a combination of optimal inter-muscular fat and marbling along with large rib eye area and low fat content.
“We breed for docility, growth and carcass,” Logan said. “And we pay close attention to marbling because it’s pretty much equivalent to flavor and texture.”
“Logan does all of the mating, and you can select for all those qualities,” Carla said. “That has definitely come to fruition.”
Carla said docility is a Taylor Angus priority, and leads to a better result with regard to what ends up on someone’s plate.
“That’s actually the No. 1 thing in our herd,” Carla said. “It of course makes things easier for us to handle, but these cattle concern themselves with eating instead of fleeing. They don’t care if you’re standing out there in the pasture.”
Together, the Taylors currently run about 150 registered Angus cows and 250 commercial Angus cows. The beef being used by TQ’s is USDA inspected and approved.
“These animals are ‘all natural,’” Carla said. “We use no hormones and no antibiotics, and they eat a corn-based feed with no animal byproducts in it. And this is a closed herd; I’ve known their mommies and daddies for generations.”
Taylor Angus cows are also raised on natural spring water that flows from 14 gravity-based “spring boxes” on the Taylors’ property.
“The cattle will walk through a running creek to drink at a spring box,” Carla said, “and they’ll line up to take their turn.”
Logan said he prefers Taylor Angus steaks to all others he has tried.
“Mom and dad would tell you the same thing,” he said, “we’ve been to some of the very best steak houses all over the United States – like in Fort Worth, Kansas City, St. Louis, Louisville, Reno and Louisiana – and we have an awfully hard time finding anything that comes close to comparing to our beef. We might be a little biased, but you know you’re doing something right when you can go home and have a better steak than you can at a restaurant.”
“We like producing a steak that will be as tender when you’re eating it medium-well as the guy sitting next to you who’s eating it medium-rare,” Carla said. “You can always get better, but we have an excellent, superior product, and you can cut a steak with a fork and the meat melts in your mouth. It’s exciting to share our product with other people and let them know there is a choice out there that’s healthier than the fast food joints and comes from a local source.”
TQ’s will serve all the choice steak cuts, including filet, rib eye, sirloin and strip, and all burgers on the menu will be made with 100-percent Taylor Angus (various steaks will likely be offered on select days). Bieller is utilizing Summersville’s Zimmerman Meat Processing to have his local beef prepared.
“People who order our meat at TQ’s can expect a home-grown, corn-fed, naturally-produced product that’s superior to a wide variety of other products they’ve been exposed to,” Logan said.
“I think knowing where the animal you’re getting is coming from and how it’s raised is just the right thing to do,” Bieller said. “And when you can keep your money local by utilizing a producer in your community, that’s always a good thing. The whole process is really exciting – we’ve received such great support from the community and any way I can give back, I’m glad to do it.
“I like the fact I’m doing this with a reputable local producer with a long history of doing things the right way. Now it’s up to us to consistently serve Taylor Angus beef the way it deserves to be served – and I guess I’ll need to be careful not to eat myself out of all the profit.”
TQ’s phone number is 417-967-5555.
“You know you’re doing something right when you can go home and have a better steak than you can at a restaurant.”
LOGAN TAYLOR