Meat CSA?
I heard a story on the radio this morning about a meat CSA in the Boston area (Stillman Farms - http://www.stillmansfarm.com/meatcsa.... Does anyone know if something like this exists in the bay area? the peninsula in particular?
Thanks!
jcarlile
Jun 25, 2007 03:51PM
Sounds like a great idea, although the price per pound is a little high (compared to what I pay for sustainable/organic meat at the butcher).
My friends and I go in on a lamb every year from a local CSA, and it's wonderful -- the best lamb I've ever eaten (just cooked some yesterday, as a matter of fact). They sell by the half or whole lamb, and depending on yield after butchering, it works out to about $4.50/lb. I know you can buy beef that way as well, but I don't know of anyone using the model they're using at the farm you linked.
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There actually is one here - we get a box about once a week. The prices are a bit high but the meat is excellent and well worth it.
http://groups.google.com/group/bamcsa/
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Sorry! I miswrote- once a MONTH.
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Another friend of mine is a member of that meat CSA, and they report great great meat out of it.
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That's similar, but from what I can see without joining the group, it's a co-op buying group, not a farm or group of farms that provides a "box" type service to consumers.
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Actually, from what the people that I know who have joined have said, it is a group of farms who provide a box service to consumers once a month.
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To "subscribe" you have to join the group, and the group is run by the buyers, not the farmers: "The Bay Area Meat CSA (BAMCSA), a project of Slow Food Berkeley, is made up of over 100 consumers ...." That's a buying co-op.
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May I ask, why are you specifically interested in obtaining meat directly through a CSA? Are you looking for low prices? Connection with a rancher? Sustainable and natural ranching practices? Ease of pick-up? I ask, because there are excellent ranchers who sell meat directly through local farmers' markets and butcher shops. Prather Ranch is the best of the bunch, but there are others. I find that this is the easiest way for a reliable supply of high quality meat, and I don't end up with a freezer full of chuck.
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I've never had a decent piece of meat from Prather -- everything has been tough and I don't care for the flavor (part of that is that I'm not used to the taste of grassfed beef, but I didn't like the pork I bought from them, either). What have you bought from them that has been good?
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Beef cheeks.
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Wow - I'm shocked and you are the first person I've heard complain of Prather meat... I cooked up some of the short ribs a week or so ago and everyone raved they were the most flavorful and tender they have ever tasted!
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I've just recently started buying their meat regularly, but so far I've loved the oxtails, rib eye, and the sirloin (for crudo). I have only tried the Prather beef (not the Vitelloni, pork, lamb or buffalo). I'm sure I'll try many more cuts over the next few months.
I agree with you that much of the local grass finished beef is too tough to grill as a steak or chop. However, Prather beef is not grass finished. The steers are pasture raised and finished on a mix of grains (not unlike the Niman and Creekstone beef you will find at Baron's meats; though Prather doesn't finish with corn). Between the grain finish and 21 days of aging, Prather beef is firm but stil yielding, well marbled with fat, and a joy to eat. It has a deep earthly flavor, the mustiness of a good aging, and hints of spring grass that come out when you eat it raw. Frankly, I think a lot of corn fed beef is soft and mushy, with a one-dimensional taste profile, but beef is often a matter of personal preference.
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Besides anticipating delicious meat and supporting local ranchers with sustainable practices, the main reason I want to obtain meat through a CSA is that I cook more adventurously when I give up some of the control of the ingredients I have on hand each week. I really enjoy my Mariquita Farms vegetable share, and think that having a similiar situation for meat would be great.
BAMCSA looks very interesting. Thanks to Bonnie for organizing it!
Also, are there any favorite sellers at peninsula farmer's markets / butchers (Palo Alto/Mt View/Menlo Park/Los Altos specifically)?
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Here's a sfgate story about "going to the source" for meat from last September....
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article...
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Ted at Highland Hills Farms (sells at Berkeley Farmers Markets) has been talking about starting a meat CSA. Haven't heard details yet, but he's had a sign up sheet at his stand (Saturday and Thursday markets) for a few weeks now.
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Hi all -- my name is Bonnie, I started the Bay Area Meat CSA here because none of the local meat farmers had one (meat CSAs are pretty rare around the U.S., too). Unfortunately, there are a lot of logistical and regulatory challenges associated with meats that veggie boxes don't have to deal with, and yes, the meat is expensive because the ranchers' costs around here are expensive, too (real estate for pasture, much more labor intensive, longer time to market = more feed costs, very little infrastructure for slaughter etc).
BAMCSA is now sponsored by Slow Food Berkeley, and our ultimate goal is to help every farmer around here who wants to set up their own CSA, as that would be ideal. But in the meantime, we offer a monthly-ish box of mixed meats from Marin Sun Farms (sells at Ferry Plaza), Black Sheep Farms (Mendocino County), Soul Food Farms (supplies eggs and chickens to Chez Panisse), and Clark Summit Farm (sells only off the farm), with three different weights for various family sizes.
You can find out more about it at our wiki: http://bamcsa.pbwiki.com/ -- email me if it doesn't answer your questions (dairyqueen AT ethicurean.com).
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I haven't been happy with most of what I've bought from Highland Hills. I think the problem's more with the butchering than the meat.
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Right on, Robert. Ted's meat has a fantastic flavor, but the butchering work is shoddy at best. Plus, the meat is often frozen and never dry aged, so the beef in particular is very tough. I feel for Ted, because he's fighting the good fight, but it's a hard world for small ranchers. The lack of good butchering facilities is one of the biggest challenges for small, organic meat producers today.
The one cut of Highland Hills meat I've been consistently pleased with is the goat. I think that the small size of the animal makes butchering easier. He usually sells it all in one day, so I've never seen it frozen. The flavor of his goat is incredible. The lamb is more hit and miss, though I have had some luck with it. I'm not so fond of the beef and pork.
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Boccalone's doing that. One or twice a month for $29 or $49, pickup at Incanto.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi...
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I signed up but never heard back - has anyone else?
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I signed up as well and have not heard back.
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ditto.
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I just got a response from Boccalone, but it got shunted to the spam box (hmm. Salumi in the spam box . . . there's a joke in there somewhere). I almost missed it. Perhaps other responses have had a similar fate? Here's what it said:
"Thanks for your kind note about Boccalone. As you can probably
imagine, we have had our hands extremely full these past few months getting Boccalone built and up and running. We have just now gotten around to answering the several hundred email messages that have been submitted to our website the past few weeks."
There is going to be an open house to taste their wares, but since I don't know if they intend to extend invitations to the general public or only to those who have expressed interest, I won't post the details here.
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Hmmmm... I don't use a Spam filter and I still have received no response.
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Ditto. I do not use a spam filter and have not received a response. I sent them another note.
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This is wacky. I told a good friend about the Boccalone CSA, and SHE got a response (which she forwarded to me), but I still have not heard from them.
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I received the same response, but also a note explaining that their East Bay CSA will start later. Wish I could go to the open house, but I'll be in North Carolina that weekend.
Once school starts I travel for work most weekends, so my Fatted Calf option will disappear. I was hoping this would fill the void, but without an East Bay option, I'll be out of luck (at least for a while). I don't suppose there's anyone out there who works in the City but lives in Oakland/Berkeley who'd be willing to pick up in SF for me (assuming you're picking up for yourself anyway)? Please contact me at lexdevilATmindspringDOTcom (rather than on this board).
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When did you get the email? I check my spam before emptying, and I didn't see anything. Want to be sure that I don't miss that Open House.
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Last night around 9:00 PM.
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Sometime last night/early this morning.
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Adding a link:
1924 International Blvd, Oakland, CA 94606, USA
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I signed up for the Slow Food Monthly Meat group and got my first delivery last week -- http://groups.google.com/group/bamcsa
The quality seems good and the experience is pretty fun. We're going to continue it for another 3 months to see how we like it over time and what amount to get.
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No, I was curious if anyone who has signed up for the Incanto CSA has had a response yet...
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Uh, note that I was responding to the original OP with an update, not you.
See how my reply is indented on the same level as Lauriston's post, not Atomica's?
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As an added to the report, I went to their website directly to sign up for the The Boar and their "Sign Me Up" link only refreshes the page - it does not link through to actually provide payment information.
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The "Sign Me Up" link from the home page brings you to the page with sign-up info:
http://boccalone.biz/newsletter.php
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The "sign me up" function is to sign up for the newletter and email list called "The Salumi Society." The CSA is a different deal that you enroll in. They had a form to fill out at the tasting on Saturday and told me they'll be updating the website soon to include the ability to manage your CSA. For now, try contacting them by phone.
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Just to be very clear "The Salumi Society is not a Meat CSA (direct purchase of meat from the farmer/rancher).
The Salumi Society merely is the direct purchase of meat products from the producers, its like going to Schwartz Sausage and buying there instead of Safeway - admittedly Boccalone is much fancier, smaller production and you have to order in advance.
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Good point lacrochelle. I was using the CSA term a little too loosely there. To be more accurate, the Boccalone monthly meat box is "modeled after farm CSAs" as stated online by them.
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