Looking Ahead to Independence Day -- Freedom to Choose!

As I've been thinking about what to put into the share this week, I've wrestled with how best to support your 4th of July grilling aspirations next week. Should I offer something new and interesting? A premium cut like porterhouse? But not everyone wants to experiment on a holiday, and 2 lbs doesn't go far if you're throwing a party... Maybe some folks didn't cook those ribeyes yet, and a few more would make a perfect batch for you and a few of your friends. Hmmm... Or maybe just ground beef, so you can pick up a few more lbs at retail and make a mess of burgers without breaking the bank for your party? A real head-scratcher for your farmer.

In a traditional, strict pricing model, any decision I make won't be optimal for some CSA members, and will push our per-pound-price average in one direction or another. Porterhouse, or ground, or chuck steaks would all need to be balanced later in the summer by something else. But this is CSA, and the thing I love most about CSA is that it offers the farmer a little more flexibility in terms of strict pricing and lets us focus on relationships. While I don't know what will fit your plans the best, you do! So here's the deal, in honor of Independence Day and our many freedoms, individual and collective:

You pick! Take any two pounds of beef that will round out your plans. Rather than worry about whether you take porterhouse or ground, I'm just asking that you honor the spirit of CSA and our cooperative freedoms and let us know what you selected and how it turned out. If some more burger is just the ticket, go for it. If you've got some steaks in the freezer from winter CSA and need some more, go ahead and match them.

In the spirit of this, I think Connor's Instagram post from last night is perfectly appropriate:

Yep, we're all in this together, yet free to make our own choices. It's what makes life good and makes America great! Post a comment to this post next week and let us know how your 4th of July grilling adventures turned out.

Keep being excellent to each other, and Happy Independence Day!

--Jesse

Week 2 - Burgers!

Hey everybody-- Week 2 brings us burger, or rather, ground beef, and I thought I'd share my approach to turning ground beef into burger.

First, defrost. Seriously, it doesn't work otherwise. Either in the fridge overnight or put the cryovac package of ground in a pot under cold running water for 20 minutes or so. If you have a lot of faith in your microwave defrost settings, that might work but in my experience I end up with some parts hot and some frozen.

Second, divide the meat. I like to put a little oil on my hands, mix it all well, and first form all the meat into balls so I end up with even-sized burgers--or the right mix of bigger and smaller ones for the kids. This is also the time to add anything, like cheese, onion, mushrooms, etc. Because I like to cook burger medium-rare, I pre-cook any onions or mushrooms so they don't prevent the meat from cooking evenly, and make sure to let any cheese warm at least to room temp before adding it. I have been known to throw in a dash of salt, fresh cracked pepper, garlic, etc, but less is more when making additions so that the grass-fed flavor will shine through and the burger will hold together.

Third, I make the patties about 3/4" thick, and then I firm up the outer edges if they have cracked by pressing a dimple into the centers while compressing from the outside in. The idea is to get the outer edge nice and smooth while leaving the centers a little bit thinner, to help them cook evenly without puffing up.

Finally, cook over medium-hot heat, about 2-3 minutes on the first side and about the same plus 30 seconds more on the second side. They stay juiciest if they only get flipped once and never pressed. Ideally that little dimple puddles up with juice and helps keep everything moist. As I noted above, Des and I like mine a little on the rare side, medium for the kids, which usually works out if I give them the thinner ones and we take the thick ones.

Cheers,
Jesse

Summer Beef CSA starts next week!

Jesse with steers; photo by Tim

I’ll discuss distribution details below, but first let me introduce myself: Hi, I’m Jesse!

 

As Connor mentioned in his last post, I’ve recently joined the livestock team at the Trustees. I live with my family at the Trustees’ Chestnut Hill Farm in Southborough, where my awesome wife Desiree is the farm manager and CSA vegetable grower. I just may be the luckiest guy alive. :)

In addition to being thrilled to get back to farming fulltime, I’m particularly excited about how the Trustees and this meat CSA operation can improve our stewardship of these beautiful landscapes, the community of people and wildlife who live within and near them, and the broader environment. Not all land and not all soil is the same, and much of Massachusetts and New England can’t compete in producing staple crops. Worse, our landscapes are badly fragmented by poorly-planned development. But our soils are great for grass and good agricultural stewardship can begin to restore our special places and improve the connections through these landscapes. Grass-farming, by producing delicious, quality protein with minimal inputs, can help reduce our carbon footprint while providing quality lives for our animals. Fewer trucking miles, shorter supply chains, no corn, no feedlots. More soil carbon sequestration, better water infiltration, more diverse and productive habitats, and the sound of contented cattle cropping the forage. What’s not to love?

Steers under a darkening sky; photo by Connor

Since I started, Tim and I have been hard at work building fence and growing the herd. We brought in a group of White Park steers from Appleton Farms, in addition to more of the Belted Galloway cross steers from our friends at Holiday Brook Farm that we had last year. Pigs are out in the woods, we expect lambs from the Farm Institute soon, and we expect another group of cattle next week. 

Pigs headed out to the woods; photo by Jesse

In a small change from our management approach last year, we are planning to keep the cattle in one large group that we rotate between farms as well as within each farm. This lets us get better grazing  impact on the pastures, but for shorter periods of time with longer rests in between, providing benefits to both the cattle and the land. It also lets us better integrate our ground-nesting bird reserve areas, as we will be able to more rapidly move animals into those areas after the fledglings leave their nests, which should help improve the habitat value of these fields over time. So if you live near Powisset Farm or Chestnut Hill Farm and have been wondering “where are the cattle?,” they’re coming, we promise! We’re making good progress at Moose Hill and they will go to Powisset next. We expect to start fencing at Chestnut Hill Farm soon, and anticipate that the cattle will arrive there in the later summer.

In exciting, and entirely happy news, Connor and his fiancé Kate were married at Moose Hill Farm over Memorial Day weekend. Congratulations Connor and Kate! And in exciting, but a little sad news, Tim will be leaving to go to law school later this summer. Congratulations, Tim, and I’m glad we have you for a little longer!

Ok, distribution logistics: because the summer beef CSA is more of a steady weekly trickle than a biweekly flood, the logistics are really pretty easy. Show up at your favorite farm during one of the regular distribution times, and the beef shares will be waiting for you in a freezer. Check your name off the list, grab your share, and you’re good to go grill! As a reminder, pick-ups are offered at the following locations and times:

• Moose Hill Farm, Wednesdays 4-6PM
• Chestnut Hill Farm, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 2-6PM, PLUS Saturday 9-2
• Powisset Farm, Tuesday 2-6PM, Thursdays 10AM-6PM, Saturdays 10AM-4PM
• Weir River Farm, Saturdays 11AM-3PM

If you are picking up at Chestnut Hill Farm or at Powisset Farm, come whichever day of the week is most convenient for you! If you do have any questions, there will be folks there you can ask. Because two pounds per week isn’t much, you should expect shares to alternate between higher value and lower value cuts—this lets us give you two steaks at once so you don’t have to fight with your friends, which is good, right? But the next week it will be 2 lbs of ground, etc. Sometimes we may need to go a little heavy or a little light depending on the weights of the cuts, but it will balance out.

So, to start the season off right: ribeye steaks this week! Don’t use a recipe, just rub them with some salt and pepper to taste, slap them on a hot grill, flip them once, and get them off there while they’re still rare or medium rare!! Serve with salad from your favorite local farm. 

Enjoy!

--Jesse

P.S. We still have several shares available, so please spread the word among your friends!