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GrassRoots Meats Newsletter
April 2008
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in this issue
-- March Went Out Like a Lion
-- Fantastic Supplies
-- Better Shipping Rates and Times
-- Our New Packages -- Hanging Tenders, Flat Irons, Chuck Eye Steaks -- Lamb Recipe -- Lamb Whole Loin Sale -- Is Corn Making Us Fat? -- Soup/Stew Bones -- In Closing ...
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March Went Out Like a Lion ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The snow is melting fast in our yard and around town,
but north facing and shady areas are still piled high.
The creeks and rivers are running full stream, and it is
quite a sight to see. As the days get warmer and
warmer and the grass is promising to green up and
grow again very soon, we are getting quite excited
about the summer to come.
March was a wonderful month for GrassRoots Meats. Our sales were way up, and for the first time ever we not only ran out of Filets, New Yorks, and Rib Steaks, but we actually ran out of Ground Beef. If you had told us that would happen we would have told you that you were crazy. We seem to always have an abundance of ground beef. Many of you have told us that you love the ground beef and find it to be a great value, and each month the demand is greater. Thank you so very much for all the orders and all the words of encouragement.
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Fantastic Supplies ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We just picked up a trailer load of beef from the
processor, and quite honestly it is some of the nicest
looking beef yet. Allan's program is working and he is
producing some wonderful beef that we are really
proud of. Our stock is really good right now, so if you
have a need be sure to get that order in.
Our lamb stock is good as well. Good reports on the lamb. If you missed ordering some for Easter, Passover is April 19th and offers another great opportunity to have a lamb celebration. Our family celebrates the Christian Passover, and it is a very special occasion for us. We highly recommend celebrating it with your family. If you have any questions about the Christian Passover just email us and we will help you all we can.
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Better Shipping Rates and Times ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UPS just made shipping from Pagosa Springs to
Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York City,
Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Houston a 3 Day
UPS Ground shipment. For all of you folks living in
those areas your freight will be about half of what it
used to be.
We are really excited about this.
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Our New Packages ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We have had an unbelievable response to our new
beef and lamb packages, especially the beef Vaquero
Variety Package. So many of you told us that you did
not
have room in your freezer for a quarter beef, and we
thought you might like to have a sort of mini quarter. If
you have not checked it out be sure to do so. It is a
great value and has a huge variety of meat.
Do you have an idea for a beef or lamb package? If so, we would LOVE to hear from you. So much of what we offer is in response to your questions and wishes, and if we can accommodate you even more we would love to do it. Just email those ideas to us.
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Hanging Tenders, Flat Irons, Chuck Eye Steaks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Offered as cuts and included in some of the packages
are the Hanging Tenders, Flat Irons, and Chuck Eye
Steaks. Many of you have called or emailed asking
what they are and how to cook them. Got some info
from the Net for you: The Hanging Tender (Hanger
Steak) is a thick strip
of meat from the underside of the beef. It hangs
(hence the name) between the rib and the loin. It is
part of the diaphragm and, like a skirt steak, is full of
flavor, but can be tough if not prepared correctly. The
hanging tender has a grainy texture which is great for
many dishes like fajitas. While you can use
most any method to prepare the hanging tender it
does
have a tendency to dry out and get tough when
exposed to dry heat. When grilling or broiling you need
to use a marinade first to keep it moist. This is a very
tasty steak and you will really enjoy it as long as you
prepare it correctly. Be sure to use a little olive oil on
it when grilling. You might want to remove the
membrane from the middle, if there is one. Be sure to
let the meat rest for about
ten minutes after cooking and before serving. This is
a good idea for all steaks and roasts.
The Flat Iron Steak (also know as a Top Blade Steak), now appearing in grocery stores and on restaurant menus, was developed by teams at the University of Nebraska and the University of Florida. The problem was what to do with a waste cut of beef from the shoulder of the beef. Though a flavorful and relatively tender cut of meat, the top blade roast has a serious flaw in the middle of it - an impossibly tough piece of connective tissue running through the middle. So, after developing a method for cutting and presenting this steak, these friendly scientists have presented to us an amazing cut of beef. The Eye of the Chuck is a similar kind of cut, and while it does have some connective tissue running through it, the meat is quite tender and has wonderful flavor. It is great for grilling.
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Lamb Recipe ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some of you have asked for a recipe for the Rack of
Lamb. I have
cooked the following recipe for my family, and it was a
huge hit every time. It can be used for both the Rack of
Lamb and the Boneless Leg of Lamb.
Completely cover the meat part of the rack or the entire leg (with string removed) with Dijon type mustard. Any brand or type will do - nothing magical about brands. Then roll or coat it in seasoned breadcrumbs. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then 300 degrees until medium rare. Take out of oven and let stand 15 minutes before cutting. You can also cook this on the grill. I have done it both ways, and both are good, so pick what sounds best or is easiest for you. You could also use this recipe for rib, loin, or sirloin chops. Prepare as you would a breaded pork chop. Yummmm!
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Lamb Whole Loin Sale ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lamb loins will be on sale for the month of April at
$11.59 per pound, a savings of $3.00 off the regular
price of $14.59 per pound. This is a great value on a
great cut of meat. The boneless loin is the same cut
as the larger portion of the meat from a loin chop, only
it is the primal - the complete loin.
Our daughter grilled one last week for lamb fajitas, and reported that they were absolutely fabulous. The boneless loins average about one and a half pounds each. Don't forget to ask for some lamb or beef soup bones when you place your order!
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Is Corn Making Us Fat? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Perhaps by now you have heard about the new
documentary, "King Corn." It was produced by two
college buddies, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis. They
moved to the heartland to learn where their food
was coming from. With the help of friendly neighbors,
genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides,
they plant and grow a bumper crop of America's most
productive, most subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa
soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into
the food system, what they find raises troubling
questions about how we eat and how we farm.
Below is a clip from ABC news that I thought you might enjoy seeing. There are also some other very interesting clips listed on the page if you are interested. I am anxious to see the movie as it sounds like it follows the track of Omnivore's Dilemma and Fast Food Nation. Once again it reminds us how important what we are doing is, and encourages us to keep on trucking. We congratulate you on your decision to eat grass finished meats. |
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Soup/Stew Bones ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We have accumulated a lot of beef and lamb soup
bones and would like to share them with you. The
beef bones are great for your dogs as well. We are
including them free with your orders during April, so if
you are interested just tell us to include some when
you place your order.
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In Closing ... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why do you have to "put your two cents in" ... but it's
only a "penny for your thoughts?" Where's that extra
penny going to? And if corn oil is made from corn, and
vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby
oil made from? Too deep to ponder. Have a great
April!.
Lois & Allan |
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Quick Links... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Email:
grassroots@centurytel.net
Phone:
970-731-1471; 800-681-2260
Website:
http://www.grassrootsmeats.com
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