Buying beef/pork/lamb direct from a farm

[nomadfromcincy]

I have been reaching out to local ranchers that I found on the EatWild website (http://www.eatwild.com/products/washi...).

I was wondering if anyone had experience buying whole animals from any of these farms. We bought a quarter cow from Zion Acres last summer and it was tasty.

Would love to hear about positive or negative experiences. Thanks.

[kaleokahu]

No, but I have experience RAISING beef cattle for custom slaughter. You want to ask about the feed and be confident in the answers. 100% grass-fed is fine (great, in fact), but typically has less marbling. Corn-fed tastes better to most people (that's what's in the markets, so it's what they're used to). Of those 2 extremes, grass-fed's better for you, but you still should know what was sprayed on the grass or corn that was put into the animal. Personally, I like to feed grass and corn silage until about Oct. 1st, and then finish them off with local corn or barley. So I KNOW what may be getting into me when I eat them.

Completely apart from the beef itself, you get the ability to decide how the animal is cut and wrapped. Oxtails, offal meats, sweetbreads, shin, all is possible if you know what to ask for. Freezer life is extended by years over the crappy supermarket job, and you have basically the entire animal to choose from when you reach into your freezer.

If you buy only a quarter, and you want steaks, make sure it's the hindquarter. Likewise, if you split a half a beef with someone, make sure you divvy it up fair.

[JuniorBalloon]

Can you elaborate on extended freezer life? What can a home cook do to get the longest freezer life and how long would that be?

Thanks,
jb

[kaleokahu]

I can try.

First, let me say that fresh is always better. Any freezing and the inevitable thaw causes some cell discruption in the form of dehydration. That being said, you want to wrap the meat to keep it as close to fresh as possible. And the keys to doing that are to: (1) eliminate airspaces around the meat (inside the package); and (2) provide a vapor barrier. Both drastically cut down the movement of water out of the cut and oxygen reaching the cut.

If you buy your meat from a supermarket-type purveyor, chances are it's been put on the ubiquitous styrofoam tray and saran-wrapped. It's the nature of such packaging to be full of air AND to allow more in. These kinds of packages do not last very long if you just toss them in the freezer--within a short time you will see what looks like frost forming inside. The exposed wrap is also pretty thin and fragile, so it gets holes in it really easily. It depends on the meat and cut, but after 1-2 months, your meat is surely going to be freezerburned. And you may not like it much after a couple WEEKS.

If, on the other hand, you buy your meat from a a better quality butcher shop or custom kill butcher, chances are the meatcutter will completely wrap the cut in much thicker poly wrap (custom kill ground meat usually goes into heavy plastic sealed tubes), virtually eliminating air spaces. Then they usually wrap the cut again, with either 1 or 2 layers of butcher paper, which is usually waxed or treated on the inner surface. The paper is taped closed. You end up with at least 2 and sometimes 3 layers of vapor barrier. I routinely get 2-3 YEARS of useful storage life (maybe 1-2 years of "fresh-frozen quality) out of meat that is well-wrapped, longer for larger joints and cuts if you don't mind a little trimming.

What can the home cook do? Well, if the meat comes on the tray, you can re-wrap it. The poly film, butcher paper and butcher tape are cheap, but you have to have room to store them on rolls. I would not recommend Ziplock baggies--hard to get the air out and they always let it back in. Date and ID your packages as you go, so you can sort by age and cut.

Another option for a first layer is a vacuum sealer. If you go this route, buy a good one. (FoodSaver is not a good one). Outfits like Cabela's usuall sell better, heavier units at reasonable prices. Even then, I'd single- or double-wrap the vacuum pouch in butcher paper. The paper protects the plastic from sharp corners and impacts. If you vacuum seal AND double-wrap, you can push the "fresh frozen" line out past 2 years, and it will still be useful for all but gourmet use for 3-4. Aside: I would also paper-wrap the big "Cryocvac" cuts like whole pork shoulder or turkey for the same reason.

Let me give you an example of how well "no air" and "vapor barrier" can work. I occasionally buy whole salmon (guts, tail and all) for freezing. I spray them with a salt brine, and freeze them on a tray. After a few coats of ice, I bag them individually in regular trash bags. I use blue painters' tape to form-fit the bag to the fish, and do it 2 more times until the fish looks like a blue-tape mummy. The triple-bagged, ice-coated fish then gets wrapped in butcher paper and put to sleep. This summer I BBQd a silver that had been in the freezer for FOUR YEARS. I won't say it was as good as fresh (textural cell damage mostly), but it did not have any overtly fishy scent or oxidative damage. This is an extreme example, but it illustrates my point: multi-layer protection (in this case also including the ice and skin) + no air = really long freezer life.

Hope this helps.

[JuniorBalloon]

More than helps, above and beyond. Thanks. I am looking at raising some chickens and freezing them. Would like to do 20 or so at a time, but was concerned they wouldn't do well in the freezer.

Right now I always re-wrap, but do use a zip loc and dont' wrap with butcher paper. I have been looking at vaccum sealers and may go that route. At the moment I don't keep anything more the 6 months and that has been ok.

jb

[kaleokahu]

Junior: You're welcome. Chickens might pose a bit of a "hollow earth" problem. That problem is one of the reasons I like to freeze my salmon whole--to avoid voids. The turkey ranchers--kind of--minimize this problem by stuffing the giblet bag back in the carcass.

I DO hang my game birds uncleaned for awhile so I'm not easily squicked out or a germophobe. But I think freezing whole chickens might be pushing it. Off the top of my head, I'd suggest cleaning, washing, drying and filling the body cavities with sterilized glass beans like they sell in the craft stores. Or pie weights.

[GreenYoshi]

I'll also note that your butcher is freezing at a lower temp than you can acheive in your home freezer. Meat that's frozen at a lower temp freezes faster, helping to protect from textural damage (smaller ice crystals and what not...)

Vaccuum sealing is a good idea. A nice cheap option is that Press & Seal wrap that sticks to itself, helping to form an airtight seal.

[kaleokahu]

GreenYoshi: Maybe. I've been in my custom kill guy's freezer. It was definitely cold, but NOWHERE NEAR as low as the old rental locker operations or commercial cold storage or the mountaineering situation I was once in with windchill below -80F. The former is like: "Wow, I should have brought gloves." The latter are like: "HS! Get me outta here!"

[JuniorBalloon]

I just found that same site. Very interesting, no? I am planning a harvest party. The idea of the party is for the guests to head out to farms early in the morning, gather the food, chickens, fish, shellfish, potatos, corn, lettuce and such, bring it back home to make a huge meal. I was looking for a place to get pigs and or chickens and Homeacres farm looks promising. You can buy chickens, kill them and pluck them there and take them home that same day.

I'll let you know how it goes.

jb

[Lauren]

I order from Thundering Hooves regularly and haven't been disappointed in anything they have.