Cookbook highlight's Oregon's grass-fed beef leadership

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Lynn Curry's "Pure Beef" cookbook highlights Oregon's growing artisan beef industry. 

A cookbook focused on grass-fed beef by a Joseph-based chef and author is attracting attention around the country.

Last month The Washington Post named "Pure Beef: An Essential Guide to Artisan Meat with Recipes for Every Cut" by Lynne Curry among its favorite summer cookbooks and Vanity Fair magazine called the book a "choice cut" in its May issue.

Curry, a vegetarian turned grass-fed beef advocate, tapped into a growing interest in beef that's pasture raised and deemed healthier than conventional beef and better for the environment.

The book's first section takes a deep look at Oregon's Wallowa Valley where ranchers are increasingly turning to grass-fed beef as a way to produce a higher-value product.

"If this place is an indication, we're going to see more people moving into production and direct marketing of their own beef. We're going to see more grass-fed brands available locally at the retail level," Curry said in an interview with The Oregonian.

Pure Beef offers 140 recipes designed specifically for grass-fed beef. The book also serves as a handbook for foodies who have ordered sustainably raised cow shares and may end up with cuts of meat they're not familiar with.