The Year of the Cow

Technically February 3, 2011 begins the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese Zodiac Calendar. However, for our family it will be the Year of the Cow. Well, half a cow.

As 2010 drew to a close we purchased a side of local, grass-fed beef from a family friend just entering the finishing business. We were comfortable with the purchase because we have known these farmers for many years, have been to the farm and have seen how happy and beautiful their Charolais breed cattle are. When we found out they needed to finish one of their steers instead of send it to market, we jumped at the chance to share it with them. No more waiting in lines at the farmers' market to get the right cut of meat. And--at a cost of $7/lb--it isn't inexpensive, but it beats the prices at Whole Foods and the Farmers' Market, and I have the satisfaction of really knowing what we are purchasing. After all, the difference will show up in our health. Grass-fed beef has lower fat and higher Omega-3s, betacarotein and Vitamin E than grain-fed, feedlot meat. We aren't just talking a little. The difference is noteworthy. Grain fed beef has almost 4 times the fat of grass fed. The Omega-3 profile of grass-fed beef is astounding. The levels are 2-4x the amount found in grain-fed beef. In addition, the ratio of Omega 3:Omega 6 (think of it as good:bad) in grass-fed beef has been shown to be 16:1. This ratio is even better than wild Alaskan salmon. So, we are hooked on the grass and will not be eating any further grain-fed beef in this household. As a result, we packed 140 lbs of most of the namable cuts into our deep freeze and hoped for a continuous power supply for all of 2011.

I thought it might be interesting to keep track of which cuts we ate and when--how we prepare them, what we think tastes best. It's almost literally a different animal. It isn't of course, but you are what you eat (to use a cliche that works wonderfully in this situation). Are you corn or grass? Anyway, it doesn't always cook up just the same as the grain-fed stuff you may be used to and that your recipe most likely assumes you are using.

We used our first package of ground beef (first of 40!) to make a fantastic Lasagna Bolognese for a Christmas dinner party we were hosting. The meat had come in literally the day before--right when I realized that the initial lasagna I had made would not be enough food to feed the 15 people coming for dinner. However, I do love it when food presents itself as the solution to my problems. That large package of ground beef would be our initial foray into this side of beef. It was divine. Really. It made me so excited to prepare every other cut in that freezer.

Let me just take a moment to say that when I stared down at the cooler full of meat I received, I was a little hesitant to open it. I thought for sure that knowing I had seen this animal when it was alive (though couldn't pick it out of a lineup and certainly didn't name it) and being able to relate so closely to its life I wouldn't be able to mentally and certainly not physically eat it. I was extremely nervous about this, as I knew that either way I owed my farmer friend upwards of $1,000. In fact, I ignored the cooler for the entire afternoon. As I have learned through many lessons in my life, ignoring your problem does not make it go away. It was approaching the 11pm hour when I finally felt I needed to deal with this meat or else it would completely spoil and then I really would be out a grand. Facing that cooler, I lifted the lid, and I almost hate to admit it--but I was like a kid in a candy store. So many beautiful cuts of meat (they were smart and put all the ground beef on the bottom). There were NY Strips followed by NY Strips. Then Ribeyes, Filets, Flank, Hanger. There were countless roasts, ribs, brisket. It was like purchasing the grab bag and then finding out it was actually filled with tons of goodies. I guess I had envisioned about 4 steaks and the other 100 lbs ground beef. Of course the irony is that the very first thing I opted to cook was the ground beef--and it was outstanding. Now you can see why I am giddy about cooking up this grand steer.

I have been unable to Google the Williams Sonoma Pasta Cookbook recipe, so I'll be typing it out tomorrow.