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Tenderness- Most folks will rank taste first then followed closely by tenderness when ranking the quality of beef cuts vs. what the cow was fed, vaccines received, nutrient density of the meat, and ecological & humane concerns. After all, who wants a steak that is tough! 😀 And the decision is complicated with USDA Carcass Grading - according to the latest USDA data, approximately 10-12% of beef is graded Prime (considered the highest quality with the most marbling), USDA Choice is 70-75% and 10-15% is graded Select.
Recently, I was discussing this with a farmer friend who also direct markets his beef. He stated "our farm went from hit or miss on whether people could cook grassfed without turning it into rubber to unending best most tender steaks ever!" The difference was we tenderized them with a Jaccard Meat Tenderizer. David said, "best decision ever."
So, I purchased one to test for myself. I took a NY Strip steak (typically can be a tough steak) and after tenderizing, spread a thin layer of teriyaki marinade and let it sit for about 10 minutes before Beth cooked it in her Air-fryer (7 minutes total time). I was totally amazed with the difference. The steak was very tender, juicy, and tasted great.
This is the model I purchased called the Meat Maximizer! Maximizes the taste and tenderness of any meat - ideal for all types of meat, poultry, and seafood. Marinades absorb in as little as 5 minutes. Reduce cooking time by up to 40%. And, easy to clean with a removable knife cartridge.
Chuck Roast - Chuck roasts always presented two problems: the big rib/spine bone and uniform size. I am happy to report that we have solved this problem. In hindsight the solution was actually simple. Instead of focusing on individual roasts we now first trim the whole chuck to remove the bulk of the big bone and shape the chuck before cutting individual roasts. Results are much more uniform weight & dimension (size) to fit customers' crockpots. Here is a picture. Let me know what you think.
Chubs - So, what is a chub? And why do you want (need) to change packaging? A chub is a round roll of ground beef, pork, sausage, lamb, turkey, etc.
Our current process to fill 1-lb vacuum sealed bags requires very repetitive labor at four different stages that can easily be handled by adding two pieces of equipment - a vacuum stuffer and a clipper. Imagine filling 1500-1800 plus 1-lb bags per day! While the work is not hard, the repetition wears you out. For example, my job is to sit on a short stool in front of the mixer/grinder and take a bag, place over the fill tube, press the foot switch & quickly release while trying to only put 1-lb in the bag, weigh the bag to confirm within range and repeat for 1800 times. The next step folks form the bag into a "brick" and stack in front of the vacuum sealer. The next step is load six bags in the vacuum sealer, wait about 30 seconds and then unload. The next step is labeling. This is done one at a time then each pack is placed in our green plastic perforated crates for freezer storage. Makes me tired just writing this.
And, this method is 99% impossible to make consistent portion sizes exactly 1-lb. each.
The stuffer and clipper does all of this automatically! Load meat into the stuffer, load the bags onto the tube, select what product you are packaging and hit start. And, have someone ready to catch chubs coming off the clipper and load into the crates. With a semi-automatic clipper the rate is about 1200 1-lb chubs per hour.
Additionally, the stuffer will also automate much of our link sausage process. Again, forming precise portion sizes within grams and dimensions that our manual process lacks at much greater speed.
So, our question is, Chubs or vacuum sealed bags? Do you have any preference? Ironically, when I discussed with some customers they said chub products they have bought never leaked while vacuum sealed bags sometime would leak.
Half-Beef Custom Processed Orders - we have our custom beef orders processed by Homestead Farm & Packing in Lucedale because we simply cannot handle all of the processing at our current level. We appreciate having this flexibility and believe it is important to support local processors as much as possible - that is the only way to keep them in business. Without consistent work, then cashflow becomes a problem. And, when you really need them - like during Covid - you need to be able to depend on them even more.
Oftentimes customers fail to report a problem they may have with their product. For example, one of my half beef customers is getting ready to reorder and emailed to say the last beef she purchased had bone and gristle in the ground meat - almost a year later. I had also heard from another farm I am mentoring whose customers mentioned they had bone and gristle in their recent purchases of ground that Homestead processed.
As humans we all make mistakes and are not perfect. The difference is how we handle problems with our customers.
So, last week I had a really productive chat with Ethan, owner of Homestead, about the problems. He fully understands that bone and gristle are serious issues especially where children are concerned. He described the following three steps taken to help resolve this issue. 1) found that the butcher would sometimes cut the same primals differently for no real reason. This presented a different look to the folks at the table. Corrective action - now the butcher makes all primal cuts consistently the same so as not to confuse the trim staff; 2) trim staff were adding large pieces of trim to the lugs for grinding. Corrective action - trim pieces will be cut into small pieces roughly 2 x 2 inches. This way if there is bone they would more likely feel it with their knife. Additionally, before adding the trim to the lug staff will squeeze the meat to feel for bone; 3) the grind staff will be observant of meat as he loads into the grinder to double check that bone is not included.
Personally, I was pleased with Ethan's corrective actions and the awareness of the seriousness of having bone in ground meat.
Half beef sales are more popular today than when we first started our business back in 2010. And, thankfully, we receive many repeat orders.
If you are interested in a half beef, our order window for April 7th harvest date is currently open until March 23rd. Follow this link to learn more and place your order. Customers ordering a half or whole beef will receive a free Jaccard Meat Maximizer (discussed above) with your order as part of our goal to have satisfied and happy customers.
Nature's Gourmet Farm product value proposition is to create a community that evolves around one of the most intrinsically important and critical needs of the ages, and that’s the provision of sustenance. That's our passion - to raise healthy animals to provide nutrient dense protein and saturated fat that nourish families and strengthens immune systems.
Our Beef is always grass finished with NO grains. Additionally, our animals are free of mRNA, GMO's (chemicals), Antibiotics, and Hormones. We ethically raise them on diverse forage pastures that regenerates our soils and protects our ecosystem.
Let me encourage you to "Be The Change" our food system needs by "Voting With Your Fork" at every meal.
** Product Availability Update **
NOTE: Restocks are made about 6 PM on the dates indicated below!
Chicken - Next restock will be Wednesday, March 25th
Turkey - Restocked on March 3rd
Eggs - Restock each Tuesday prior to your delivery date.
Beef - Next restock will be March 22nd. Please click the link below if you are interested in a half or whole beef
Pork – Restocked fresh cuts March 11th. Smoked Bacon restock will be March 22nd.
Lamb - Restocked September 29, 2025
Custom Half or Whole Beef- Next Order Window for custom half & whole beef is March 7th. Harvest will be March 31st with availability April 20th . Yes, I want to Order Custom Beef & Pork
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