The Well-Traveled Steak

Is Your Steak Well-Traveled?

In our area, a stocker calf operator buys small calves, 300 to 400 pounds, and grows them on grass or wheat pasture until they reach a weight of 700 to 800 pounds and ready for the feedlot – then they become well-traveled! Many of these calves come from Mississippi, about 500 miles away. Due to the long distance, these calves arrive stressed.

The calves are given antibiotics and growth steroids and are watched carefully for 30 days. Any that are sick will be given another round of antibiotics. Sometimes the calves will be given another round of growth steroids when they reach 500 – 600 pounds. These steroids add muscle. It’s just like an athlete who takes steroids to enhance their strength and performance.

When the calves reach that 700 – 800 pound marker, they are prepared for their second road trip, this time to a feedlot. In our area, most major feedlots are about 200 miles away. Once at the feedlot, the process starts all over. Due to the stress of travel, they are given another round of antibiotics along with more growth steroids. A ration of grain is introduced at the feedlot and is continued until they are ready to go to the processor. An average time at the feedlot and on this grain ration is approximately 150 days when the calves will be weighing 1,200 – 1,400 pounds.

There is yet another road trip in store for these calves. They are now loaded out of the feedlot and hauled to a processor who may be 100 to 200 miles away. Once the processor finishes the processing and the meat is cut into steaks, roasts, ground meat, etc., a food service company picks it up and distributes it to restaurants and grocery stores throughout the United States. Then the last trip is the one you make to the grocery store and take it home for your next meal.

It is entirely possible that the steak or hamburger you purchased at the store or ate at a restaurant has traveled more miles in the last year than you have! This is the society we live in. It is a way of life that most people have accepted – that is until now.

Purchasing your live animal directly from BF Farms, where it has lived its entire life, fed no grain, given no antibiotics or steroids, and where you have control over how that animal is processed for your family’s enjoyment, is a blessing. This is such a simple concept, but it is not new. This is exactly how the “Family Farm” operated years ago - before big industry took over. Our family believes in this simple, natural, healthy way of raising animals, and we want to share it with you!

www.BF-Farms.com

BF-Farms, LLC, Oklahoma's source for 100% grass-fed beef and lamb

Slow Cooker Grass-Fed Meals

Slow Cooker Grass-Fed Meals for every lifestyle!

I am a firm believer in slow cooker grass-fed meals for EVERY lifestyle.

I am a mother of 2 beautiful, wild, hyper little girls. Their activities and potty schedules take up the majority of my day. When I worked full time, I envisioned my life as a stay at home mom to be full of creative projects, cooking together, and lots of naps. I chuckled to myself as I just wrote that sentence. I also had grand plans to cook or bake everything I had pinned on Pinterest...LOL!!! Lucky for me, there are ways to NOT have to spend your entire day in the kitchen with munchkins who do not want to help with a 4 hour meal prep.

I have decided that the crockpot is my best friend and I've noticed that it is very useful for pretty much every lifestyle, especially the busy one. Did you know you can cook steak in a crockpot?!? I did it for the first time a couple weeks ago as an experiment and yes, it was amazing. From steak to meatballs, from roast to chops, the slow cooker works for everything and it is so easy!

There is a noticeable difference between grass-fed and grain-fed meat though, even when slow cooking.

When I have cooked grain-fed meat in the past, it was always very bland tasting unless I added some kind of sauce. With grass-fed meat, you can forget the sauces, rubs, and seasonings you think you need to make an excellent meal! All you need is butter and maybe a little salt. The best kind of butter is also grass-fed. I recommend Kerrigold.

So go on and enjoy your jobs, families, and life without fretting over your meals! Throw that delicious grass-fed goodness in with butter in the morning and forget it until dinner!

Ingredients:

BF Farms grass-fed beef or lamb

Grass-fed butter

Salt

Preparation:

Open package of grass-fed meat and place in slow cooker.

Place grass-fed butter on top of your meat (as desired).

Add salt (as desired).

Cooking:

Set your slow cooker to it's low setting to cook your meat for 8 hours, or use it's high setting to cook your meat for 4 hours.

(Refer to your particular model's user's manual for more details on cooking times.)

www.BF-Farms.com

BF-Farms, LLC, Oklahoma's source for 100% grass-fed beef and lamb.

A Great, Grass-Fed Steak

How to Prepare a Great, Grass-Fed Steak

Did you know that what it takes to prepare a great grass-fed steak is different than any other? If you want a tender, melt in your mouth steak, thawing it out on the morning of your meal is not going to cut it. Planning and patience is key and here's why: Your grass-fed beef was not raised as a couch potato in some feedlot, but rather it was able to roam and get plenty of exercise. It is this lifestyle that produces a leaner and more healthful meat. With this leaner beef comes more toned muscle tissue with connecting fibers. These connecting fibers need to relax and soften in order for your steak to take on great, grass-fed steak status.

So, here we go. This is what we do …

 

Step 1

Take a steak out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator. Leave it there for a minimum of 2 days, but not more than 4 days.

Step 2

Take the steak from the refrigerator and put it on the counter for a minimum of 2 hours. (I leave my steak on the counter all day.) Your steak will now be at room temperature and will relax.

Step 3

This is the time when you determine how relaxed your steak is. To do this, simply take your finger and press down on the steak in various places. A relaxed steak will feel soft, whereas a less relaxed steak will feel firm. Your goal is for the entire steak to feel soft. Put it on a flat surface and lightly sprinkle with salt. (I use Pink Himalayan Sea Salt.) Rub the salt into the steak. Do this to both sides. Next, use a Jaccard tenderizer to poke tiny holes into the meat. This allows the salt to be dispersed all the way through the meat, and these tiny holes will allow cooking time to be reduced by about 40%. After this step is completed, allow the steak to mellow at room temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes. 

Step 4

Prepare your grill or skillet. When using a skillet, it should be medium hot. Add a generous amount of real butter. Heat until it bubbles. Add steak and sear for approximately 1 minute on each side. Turn off heat, cover and let set for 1 more minute. Remove cover and move skillet from burner. Let your steak set for about 30 seconds. It is now ready to enjoy!

Please note: This amount of cook-time is for a medium rare steak. Remember that each stove or grill is different. Have patience with the cooking time. You will quickly learn what is best for your appliance.

If you prefer to flavor your steak add this flavoring with the salt and then use the Jaccard tenderizer. Just remember that grass-fed beef has its own natural flavor so don’t think you have to add a flavor enhancer like you would grain-fed beef.

If you don’t have a Jaccard tenderizer, these can be purchased at Academy Sports for around $20.

www.BF-Farms.com

BF-Farms, LLC, Oklahoma's source for 100% grass-fed beef and lamb.

Diana's Verde Chili

Diana's Verde Chili

With fall approaching and cool weather in sight, go ahead and put Diana's Verde Chili on your meal plan for the week; you will probably want to use it again and again throughout the season! This fabulous dish features our farm's lamb sausage. We realize that lamb can sometimes be tricky to cook well. That's why we are here to help! Well actually, that is why the amazing Diana is here and we are lucky to call her friend! Check it out!

Ingredients:

• 12 tomatillos
• 2 jalapenos
• Small red onion
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 lb. BF Farms lamb sausage – mild
• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice

Preparation:

My first mistake was not cooking the brown rice first…so I gladly suggest that you cook the brown rice first. I always learn by trial.

Heat your oven to 450 degrees under a broil setting.  Cut your tomatillos in half. Then take the seeds and membrane out of the jalapenos (or leave them in if you like the extra heat) and cut in half. Peel the onion then slice it in half also.  Put all the veggies on a baking sheet with a lip (jelly roll pan).  Drizzle olive oil on the veggies, and toss with hands coating the veggies well.  Sprinkle with a 2 tsps. of cumin, salt and pepper to taste.  Put into oven and roast/broil for 5-10 minutes.  Keep a constant eye on the veggies, since they can burn quickly.  I like a little char on mine, so the tops looked burnt on mine.  Pull the sheet out and set aside to cool.

In the meantime… start browning the lamb sausage, with the minced garlic and salt/pepper.  While this is going on, toss your roasted veggies into a blender or food processor.  The cooler they are the better this is.  Process until it resembles salsa.  Add this “salsa” to the browned meat along with the cooked rice.  Add enough water to just barely cover the ingredients, put a lid on it and let it simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes or so.  Serve hot with either shredded cheese or sour cream.  I tried it both ways and loved it.

*A side note – Traditionally, Verde Chili is made with cubed pork, or shredded chicken and doesn’t include rice.  I had the beautiful lamb sausage from BF Farms, and used it instead.  I think it’s just as good, maybe better.*

www.BF-Farms.com

BF-Farms, LLC, Oklahoma's #1 source for 100% grass-fed beef and lamb.