Author Archives: Mark

Excellent NYT recipe. Chunked-up Hay Creek grass-fed beef chuck roast holds it’s own in the intensely flavorful sauce. Fat Tire “Belgian Style Ale ” worked well in the recipe and as an accompaniment. I used dried parsley and thyme and chopped-up bay leaves coarsely with knife and left them in with the beef. Sourdough bread […]

Dry aging (hanging carcass beef in a cool, climate controlled environment) has a long history but the modern beef industry has abandoned it in favor of a poor substitute deemed “wet aging” where all the excess fluids associated with a beef primal cut are supposedly captured with it in vacuum sealed plastic. Dry aging is […]

Hot Hanging Weight (HHW) based pricing is common in this business and can seem attractively priced but the freedom to chose (cutting instructions) comes with the twisted consequence of having been “provided enough rope to hang yourself”. Everyone else (farmer and processor) involved in the yield outcome takes 2 giant steps backwards and you are […]

It takes a decent breeding herd, fertile land, fencing, drinking water delivery works , expertise (luck too) and most of all;  time ( 6-12 months more than grain-fed) to produce a quality true grass- fed beef. It’s not about just jockeying random maybe-grass-fed cattle between a convenient “sale barn”  and processor. Nor is it waylaying […]

  There’s a region of the world where large-scale beef production is  relatively new and “grass fed” remains a disparaging term: the equatorial lands of Brazil and Australia where only Bos Indicus cattle breeds like Zebu can endure high heat, humidity, insect pressure and drought cycles to gain some very lean, tough weight over a […]

Aussie Sugar Intervention  Refreshingly frank NYT video on how a long-time sugar producing culture is dealing with realities of modern consumption. Couldn’t be done here: the industry is too powerful.    

Quarter orders are normally eligible to receive 2 packages each of soup bones, suet and liver for an up-charge of only $0.50 per pound- of these items- to cover both extra handling and delivery. Halves are eligible for double these quantities in addition to one (1) of the following: heart, tongue or oxtail. You must […]

  This recipe has evolved over the years from an old “Joy of Cooking” version. Better, easier and more healthy. Begin by browning 3-4 pounds of thawed Oxtail or Soup Bones (pictured) in a skillet w/lard or tallow.  Rotate each piece at least twice until browned on meaty surfaces. Transfer to a 5 quart lidded […]

  Disclaimer on “foodie” in that it’s prob’ly been overused to the point of meaninglessness but it seems to still possess instant recognition. Paradoxical in that hardly any modern farmers-those folks closest to the origins of the food supply-would call themselves or be considered foodies.  Most of them I know consider the Sysco-supplied stuff in […]