Friends and Neighbors
In a mutually beneficial move, these folks have pitched their tents on our hill.
This gives them a chance to make a few preparations for bigger things to come, gives us all some close-by church-family fellowship; and they are helping us around the farm some, having already helped with fencing, etc.
We're tremendously enjoying having them so close, and are looking ahead to more good times with them.
Freezer's Full!!
Yes, the freezer is full of good, home-raised, grass-fed beef.
On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, our friends and Ribeye's co-owners, the Wiggins, arrived here after breakfast with gear in hand. Keith and Sherman did the cutting up—it took all morning and a good bit of the afternoon. The boys did the grinding and the delivering of meat to the packers (That would be us: moms and daughters).
The whole thing went very smoothly, but definitely took awhile. I think it would, even with a good bit of experience. But now we are so thankful to have half a cow in the freezer!!
We had some of the t-bone steaks last Tuesday, when friends from Georgia stopped by for dinner on their way to Thanksgiving with family in the Nashville area. My steak was wonderful—best I've had in years! (But then, I rarely order steak out anymore, because it is generally disappointing, but expensive. We used to live near a small country market that kept prime steaks during the summer months; then it was worth buying some and Keith grilling them. Otherwise, it just hasn't been worth getting a steak.) But back to my T-bone: it was so tender, and moist, and flavorful. Truly the best steak I've had in a long time, with the enormous added benefit of knowing exactly where it came from, where it's been, and what's in it. My hope, after reading and seeing so much about our industrial food supply, is that we will have only our own beef from now on. Same goes for chicken (which we're almost out of, but are going to butcher a few—but only a few—more this weekend. We have more in the pen, but they are still very small and young, and are not Cornish Cross, and so will take a lot longer, yet.) We could easily go through 100-150 chickens a year, I'd guess, although that number may decrease as we produce other kinds of meat here, such as Ribeye. Maybe one day we'll produce our own pork, too.
I wish we had the commitment (or close neighbor??) to get a milk cow. TNFarmgirl's post certainly encourages that desire.
Mary Susan
This gives them a chance to make a few preparations for bigger things to come, gives us all some close-by church-family fellowship; and they are helping us around the farm some, having already helped with fencing, etc.
We're tremendously enjoying having them so close, and are looking ahead to more good times with them.
Freezer's Full!!
Yes, the freezer is full of good, home-raised, grass-fed beef.
On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, our friends and Ribeye's co-owners, the Wiggins, arrived here after breakfast with gear in hand. Keith and Sherman did the cutting up—it took all morning and a good bit of the afternoon. The boys did the grinding and the delivering of meat to the packers (That would be us: moms and daughters).
The whole thing went very smoothly, but definitely took awhile. I think it would, even with a good bit of experience. But now we are so thankful to have half a cow in the freezer!!
We had some of the t-bone steaks last Tuesday, when friends from Georgia stopped by for dinner on their way to Thanksgiving with family in the Nashville area. My steak was wonderful—best I've had in years! (But then, I rarely order steak out anymore, because it is generally disappointing, but expensive. We used to live near a small country market that kept prime steaks during the summer months; then it was worth buying some and Keith grilling them. Otherwise, it just hasn't been worth getting a steak.) But back to my T-bone: it was so tender, and moist, and flavorful. Truly the best steak I've had in a long time, with the enormous added benefit of knowing exactly where it came from, where it's been, and what's in it. My hope, after reading and seeing so much about our industrial food supply, is that we will have only our own beef from now on. Same goes for chicken (which we're almost out of, but are going to butcher a few—but only a few—more this weekend. We have more in the pen, but they are still very small and young, and are not Cornish Cross, and so will take a lot longer, yet.) We could easily go through 100-150 chickens a year, I'd guess, although that number may decrease as we produce other kinds of meat here, such as Ribeye. Maybe one day we'll produce our own pork, too.
I wish we had the commitment (or close neighbor??) to get a milk cow. TNFarmgirl's post certainly encourages that desire.
Mary Susan
posted by The Bradshaws at 4:24 PM
4 Comments:
Mary Susan,
How long did you age your beef? Most processors are reluctant to do it for more than a few days anymore, but we may have one nearby that will age it as long as we want (for a price).
Rick,
Keith had read a bit about grass-fed beef being tougher, and that aging it longer could possibly counteract that. As a result, we aged Ribeye 28 days. Certainly seems to have worked.
Keith wonders if maybe 21 days might not be long enough (going in 7-day increments to fit in with his work schedule). It's something to consider, and to experiment with.
Mary Susan,
We haven't raised beef yet,but we did raise chickens for the meat.We also raised several hogs. I was amazed at how easy the hogs were to raise. I was also amazed at how much my grocery budget went down just by having pork in the freezer. We will be raising some more hogs as soon as we get our fences in better shape. I would encourage you to look into hogs. It was great for our family.
grace and peace,
julie
We find milk goats are a good compromise for out family - we milk two, that way we get at least close to a gallon a day, which is enough for drinking, yoghurt, and cheese. - Shannon, http://www.silverforgefarm.com
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