It's good to be friends with the farmer

[Jolly]

@Rich said in It's good to be friends with the farmer:

That's great---especially for something locally raised.

Even with a large family, we've never been ones to stock up---Being less than 10 minutes from half a dozen major grocery stores, allowed us to get into the habit of shopping almost every day. I didn't mind it, since it kind of helps ensure things don't go to waste.

Sort of regretting not having a big freezer right now though. That'll change for sure after this.

A few things to keep in mind...Uprights are more convenient than chest freezers. Uprights take up less floor space than chest freezers. Food in frost free freezers doesn't last as long as freezers that are not frost free, but the latter must be defrosted every now and then. A full beef will fill a 20 cubic foot freezer.

So...Longest storage will be in a chest that is not frost free. Those also tend to last a little longer, as they don't run as much. But, if you have a large family and turnover in the freezer is pretty good, a frost free upright would be much more convenient.

Just some thoughts...

[Rich]

@Jolly

I'm with you on the convenience of an upright freezer---I like being able to see exactly what I have. Undecided on the frost-free or not.

[LuFins Dad]

Just placed our beef order, looks like we're coming in at 1/6th a cow. My friend also gave me a recommendation for getting a butchered hog and some fryers...

We wound up with a 15ft standup frost-free freezer. We were fortunate that a friend was getting rid of theirs at the same time we started looking.

[brenda]

@Rich
We were already buying our meat from another local farm family that does grassfed beef, pork, lamb, and goat. They used to do chickens, but have stopped that for now.

This additional purchase will not be grassfed, but that's alright. It will still be good and the price is right. We're buying some extras from the grassfed folks, too. We think it's time to fill the freezers. We have two upright freezers, each 20.2 cf, and the kitchen fridge has a freezer side, too.

I'll clear out a few things that don't need to be in there anymore, such as flours that I got on sale and stocked up there. Some old leftovers that aren't good anymore can go, too. The leftover stuffing from 2017 should go away. LOL

By the time I get those things done, there will be plenty of room for the hog, the whole hog.

Is this what they mean by going whole hog? LOL

Seriously, ask around with your friends who know some farmers. There might be someone looking to move their livestock. It's a huge issue here.

[Jolly]

We never butchered cows that were only grass fed. The meat doesn't taste as good and it doesn't have good marbeling.

[brenda]

@Jolly
We prefer the taste of the grassfed here. Could be different types of grasses in different regions. We find it tastes more beefy, and is less fatty. We tend to cook steaks medium rare, which doesn't require so much marbling. The ground beef is also more actual meat per pound when cooked. No grease to drain. Just enough to keep the meat juicy, not greasy. It's supposed to be healthier for us, too. Leaner meat seems consistent with that.

[Larry]

One reason so e grass fed beef has little flavor and is tough is because a lot of smaller farmers tend to not maintain their fields properly. They don't rest them every so often, let the cattle overpick them, and the cows end up eating whatever happens to grow. Some won't spend the money to keep mineral blocks out for the cattle to lick, and they rarely supplement the grass the cattle eats in the field. You can't grow good beef on poorly maintained fields.

You've got to sow alfalfa every couple of years so there's a good balance between that and plain grass. You've got to keep mineral blocks out. You've got to rotate out of fields and let them rest. And you've got to supplement what they forage for with sileage. It's a waste of time to take a cow thats meat is as tough as shoe leather from spending it's whole life eating Johnson grass and putting her in a pen and feeding her corn for a month or two to "fatten her up". The old girl is already beef jerky, and that's all she'll ever be. So there is a difference in taste and texture between grass fed beef that's had a lifetime of good balance in what there had to eat and grass fed beef jerky that ate nothing but scrap grass out of poor fields.

[brenda]

That all makes sense, Larry. Glad our local farmer is doing it well, because the end product is wonderful.

[Mik]

I don't know what my guy feeds his hogs, but they are wonderful. Such great favor and enough fat to bump up taste and texture. Their beef is pretty great too. Chickens are fantastic.

[Horace]

I'll have to try some of this good grass fed beef. I've tried the expensive variety, but never the good variety.

[LuFins Dad]

Hmm, now you have me concerned. This beefalo we’re buying is grassfed.

[jon-nyc]

Don’t be too concerned, you sampled it.