Okay, well, technically only an 1/8th of it! from a LOCAL farm. We had local cow, local corn and local tomatoes last night for dinner. Yummy. My freezer's pretty full. We're headed to a poultry farm about an hour and a half away tomorrow. YAY!
We're hoping to buy half of a cow this year. We wanted to last year, but no one would go in with us. Carl's cousin just starated raising them a few years back. So last year, my bil went hunting with Carl down on that cousin's land. The cousin got talking with him about it, and bil has decided that this is a great way to go. So hopefully we'll get half! But lmy freezer is pretty empty right now; you've reminded me I want to get some hamburger on sale today!
Awesome! Was it grass fed, grain fed or grain finished? I want to buy all grass fed, but my experiences so far have been chewy meat. Are you buying chickens anywhere near me?
Good for you! We have stopped buying meat from the grocery store...my DH calls the hamburger "ammonia burgers" - lol- if you've watched "Food, Inc" you know what I mean. We are saving to buy 1/2 a grass-fed cow and some chickens. Wish we could raise them ourselves but our city prohibits it. Has this been anyone else's experience as well? We found a brand of grass-fed organic hot dogs in our local grocery store and they do taste different, though not bad. Also, I noticed the organic milk we drink tastes different.
I'd heard that fully grass-fed beef did taste funny, and texture was not as good. This cow was pasture grazed, grass-fed until 2 months prior to slaughter. For it's last two months it lives on pasture, grazing AND being fed organic grains (that did include corn for flavor). This farm had done a bunch of studies and such, and the corn and grain are in their systems long enough to add weight, flavor and fat. But not long enough to produce the other issues common to grain/corn fed cattle. And it was NOT a feed lot. They don't live in their own stink...they travel around the farm, followed by chickens (Reading Omnivore's Dilemma, by guy who did "Food, Inc". and that is how Polyface does it). We're hoping to buy a pig later this year too...but have to wait until slaughter which won't be until fall. We're going to Lancaster County for the poultry - place is called Eberley Farms? Heard of it?
Nothing tastes better than fresh, local beef! I miss the farm we always had local beef, local chickens, local pork, and venison from hunting season.
We thought we had a cow that was being raised, but dh buddy only got one for him, so, we have to find another person to get a beef from.
Yummy! We raise 100% grass-fed and if it's done right and the steers are good for that.... then it's excellent.... we do Angus beef from amazing cows (the guy we get them from is some national guy who sells his bulls for ridiculous prices).....
Nope, but it sounds interesting. Are they organic? Were you happy with it? How were the prices? Ok, just tell me everything.
Maybe angus is the answer? We eat holstein...that's what they have at the farm where we buy our dairy products. And it is chewy, chewy, chewy!! I'm sure I could find grass fed angus around here though.
There's a reason that there are beef cattle and dairy cattle! Nothing beats 100% Angus beef! Well, for roasts and steaks and ribs, at least. I guess you could make stew and hamburger out of others....
I think it is important to know where your food comes from, and as unpleasant as it seems . . . . this includes meat. We buy 1/2 a cow when we need to, use our own chickens and goats that we put in the freezer and we buy piglets that we fatten up for the same reason. We give them a great life with lots of green grass, shelter and a large area to roam, so don't feel too bad when their time is up. Much better than the animals that are raised in a cage and crapped with some of their buddies!
It was interesting. We got lost finding it....google directions were NOT correct. The prices were okay. All told, we got about 45 lbs of poultry in various forms for $107. Price per pound after we cut away bone is about $3ish. The taste? OH MY GOODNESS. We had dinner the other night. We baked 4 of the bone-in-breasts with just olive oil, salt and pepper. Local Corn. And local tomatoes. the chicken was so goooooooooood. Chicken like I never tasted. I've been told there's a poultry farm closer to us, so we're going to check that out next time we need poultry. Our freezer is stocked and we probably don't need to buy meat for a long time. I'm glad it's summer, and I can buy local for a while. I'm hoping to score a big tomato crop and do some canning.
