Week 19: Brisket and Broilers

This week's share: Brisket &/or Skirt steak

Next week's share: Rib Steaks

Hi Folks--

Just a brief note this week as I'm pressed for time with moving animals and picking up inventory and other prep for Winter Meat CSA season. I moved what will probably be the last batch of broiler chicks for the season out onto pasture this past week. They are still in their "awkward" phase--partly feathered out--and I'm keeping busy opening and closing  their "tractor" AM & PM and giving them a little supplemental heat at night. The extra work of keeping them comfortable outside is worth it; the exercise and pasture greens are good for them and great for their flavor!

As promised, we're doing brisket this week. Skirt is an option if you'd prefer, but brisket is a bit of a treat because there just aren't that many briskets on a steer. I'm including this delicious crock-pot brisket recipe from Kitchn which seems perfect for this colder fall weather. This is best prepared a day ahead, and can cook all day (or all night--which is how I prefer to do it).

As expected we are filling up quickly for Winter Meat CSA, so if you haven't gotten around to signing up yet, please don't wait! The folks up on the North Shore are really taking to the Appleton Meat CSA offering!

Take care,
Jesse

Week 18: Winter Meat CSA FAQs

This week's share: Ground Beef

Next week's share: Brisket &/or Skirt steak

Hi Folks-- This week has been a whirl of prep for the Chestnut Hill Farm Harvest Festival and Southborough Heritage Day. Both are a great opportunity to meet folks and talk about the Winter Meat CSA. Plus they were fun events! We grilled beef skewers and burgers, made some pulled bbq beef, and had a blast!

Southborough Heritage Day

 As we move through Winter Meat CSA "signup season" I've gotten several good questions that I thought I'd address here.

I don't eat X. Can I substitute? With a few caveats, yes. This is the most common question I get! Whether you keep kosher/halal and won't use pork, or really dislike lamb, or whatever, I am happy to try to accommodate your needs. But, here are the caveats:

1. I need to know up front so I can plan distributions throughout the season. It is much harder to make a swap during pickup, so please don't ask! This will be a season-long decision, not a "can-I-have-beef-shanks-this-week-instead-of-lamb-shanks-because-my-relatives-are-coming-and-they-don't-like-lamb?" kind of thing.
2. Some meats are more limited than others. This year, broiler chicken and lamb will be harder to substitute in than pork or beef, and we will have more beef than anything else. So, everybody gets beef. If you'd prefer no pork, you'll probably mostly get beef in its place. If you're asking for no lamb, you'll get a mix of pork and beef in its place. No lamb and no pork will mean mostly beef with some chicken. (I don't have many people request no chicken!) All that said, I will have soup hens ("retired" layers) that I can substitute instead other meats upon request, and will do so at a discount--meaning that if you take a soup hen you'll get more than 7 pounds in your share to balance the lower value chicken.
3. Please try new things! This is directed towards the lamb skeptics, not the no-pork faithful, but if you haven't had good lamb in a while or ever, give it a chance. And soup hens make some delicious soup!

Will you let us know what's coming up next? Yes. Mea culpa: I didn't do a good enough job of staying on top of the blog during the summer beef CSA to give you a heads up for your weekly shopping and a few of you have asked for a longer lead time so you'll know what to expect. That's a fair complaint. I'm listening and I'll commit to supporting your meal planning with both "in this pickup" and "in next pickup" information.See up there at the top? Already implemented!

How will pickups work? As in, the actual pickup day logistics? In an effort to cut down on plastic waste, we won't provide a bag for each distribution, so plan to bring a reusable one. And unlike with Summer Beef CSA shares, we won't have you pick and pack your own--there will just be too many people picking up to manage inventory and hit our 7-lb/share target this way. Instead, we will usually bundle most of your vacuum-packed, frozen meat in butcher-paper-wrapped packages so you can "grab-and-go." If there is a choice of say, flank steak or hanger steak (like last week), we'll either have folks sign up for their choice the distribution beforehand or we'll wrap them and it will be the luck of the draw. Some larger items--broiler chickens and possibly larger roasts--we'll have you take separately.

Those are the big 3 questions I've been getting, but if you have others, send me a note or comment on this post!

Cheers everyone,
Jesse

P.S. -- I just have to share this picture of my daughter with that big sirloin tip ("flap meat") from the week before last. Oh my, grilling deliciousness!

Week 16: Fall Bonanza!

This week's share: Flap Meat aka Steak Tips or Sirloin Bavette

 Wow, this time of year is busy--and its the time of year when we turn the corner, inventory-wise. Rather than slowly emptying, our freezers have begun to rapidly fill! In the past week we picked up our lamb from Adams Farm Slaughterhouse and sent the pigs and the first trailer load of steers off harvest! Raised by Trustees staff at Katama Farm (aka The Farm Institute) on Martha's Vineyard, the lamb looks delicious: beautiful loin and rib chops, sweet and hot italian sausage, and kabobs to boot. Look for these in the winter meat CSA this year!


Speaking of which, the signup for winter meat CSA is almost live! Our web team is testing and double-checking the signup page and I hope to be sending current members the link in the next day or two with full public access next week! I expect a lot of interest--we've had really strong interest at Powisset Harvest Fest and at the Boston Local Food Festival, and I expect the same at Chestnut Hill Farm's upcoming Harvest Festival on October 8th. (Pssst, you should come! More info here!) What's more, we had a nice article in the MetroWest Daily News on Saturday, online via wickedlocal.com, here. What I'm trying to say is: don't delay when you get the signup email!

In other news: chicks! Our last batch of broilers for this season is just starting and boy-howdy they sure are cute when they're all tiny and fluffy.

Ok, enough about winter meat CSA. In this week's share we're offering "Flap Meat"--or sirloin bavette, if you're a francophone. here. The sirloin tips are a little heavy for our 2-lb summer shares (2- to 2-1/2 lbs), so take one each and enjoy! This is the classic cut for steak tips; delicious, with great beefy flavor, but needs to be cooked a little more done than some other steaks. Seriouseats did a great article (w/ recipes!) on it a few years ago, here.

And just because I'm so worn out with all the climate-disruption-induced havoc of the past few weeks, a reminder of what grass-fed cattle look and sound like when they are helping displace feedlot emissions and sequester carbon:

Take care, everybody!
Jesse

Week 14: Welcome to Southborough!

This week's share: ribeye steaks (2)

We are we going?

Well, it's a fair bit later in the season than I expected, but I hauled the first steers from Moose Hill Farm to Chestnut Hill Farm yesterday evening. The rainfall this season has meant that grazing pressure on the grass wasn't too bad at MHF. It was an easy ride over and they settled right in for the night after a quick walk around to explore the new pasture.  I like to walk with them, make sure they get a sense of where the fence is before dark and bring them to the water, but it's probably more for my benefit than theirs. They just want to find the best grass.

Dawn found them getting to know the new neighbors, my family's resident goats at Chestnut Hill Farm. The goats have been cleaning brush from around some old stumps up behind the "Hangar" barn, and everyone was very interested to meet each other.

Cheers,
Jesse

Week 13: Mid-season review and winter CSA preview

This week's share: ground beef

I thought it would be fun to do a little mid-season review this week. We're two-thirds of the way through the share, and here's what the summer beef CSA has included: ribeye steaks; T-bone steak, london broil steak, sirloin steak, skirt steak, chuck roast, porterhouse steak, ground beef (5 weeks including this week), and one members' choice selection. Prices vary of course, but I calculate that our running average is $13.69/lb based on our retail prices. That's a conservative figure using 1.8 lbs for the weeks when steaks were distributed, which can be difficult to combine into precise 2-lb pairs, and 2.2 lbs for the chuck roasts, which were a little larger. Figuring exactly 2-lbs per week works out to about $14.25/lb. Either way, we're running somewhere around a 20% discount off our retail prices. Not a bad return for your $11/lb investment!

While the money is always a factor, there is so much more going on that you are supporting. At Moose Hill, we're seeing really good regrowth of clover in the pastures. This is important because clover is a legume, which fixes nitrogen from the air, and is a key driver of soil fertility. At Chestnut Hill, the new fences will allow us to dramatically improve management of the former hayfields and improve the grassland both for livestock and ground nesting birds. At Powisset, some of our neighbors in the equine community requested changes to the fence system for the safety of riders, and the delayed start and good growing season produced more grass than we could keep up with. After nesting season we had the fields cut for hay to buy some more time to complete the fence updates.

As we look ahead to the winter season, we have most of the details worked out for the Winter Meat CSA. As last year, the winter shares will include beef, pork and chicken, and this year we are adding lamb from The Trustees FARM Institute at Katama Farm on Martha's Vineyard. Based on your feedback, we are simplifying the share offerings to a single 7-lb size and instead offering two distribution schedules, biweekly or monthly. If you want more meat, go biweekly. Less meat? Monthly is for you! Full paleo family? Get one of each! We are also extending the winter shares, going November through May this year, and adding a distribution at Appleton Farms in Ipswich. This aligns the Meat CSA offerings with Trustees vegetable CSAs, and will allow us to offer our members more-or-less-continuous year-round service. We haven't confirmed pricing yet, but we don't expect significant increases.

The sign-up page on the website is being updated, and current shareholders will have the first chance to subscribe. Watch your inboxes for the link and don't delay because we're expecting increased demand this year!

Take care,
Jesse

Week 10: Home again, home again, jiggety jig

We had a great time in Maine last week, but its also great to be home--there's a lot to do and too much time away from the farm makes me itchy! I dove right back into working on fencing at Chestnut Hill Farm and am making pretty good progress. So, back home, back in the field, and back to a full kitchen, its time for one of my favorite summer recipes: cousa mihshi. This ground-beef-stuffed summer squash recipe was given to us by a CSA shareholder about 10 years ago. Her father was Lebanese and she said that he made it every year only during the summer because that was when the zucchini were the sweetest. This has become the staple stuffed zucchini in our household and we look forward to it every summer as well.

Cousa Mihshi
1.5 lbs of cousa or zucchini squash up to 8 inches in length
1 small chopped onion
butter for sauteing
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 lb of ground beef
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp salt
pepper to taste
1lb can of stewed tomatoes

Cut the squash lengthwise and remove the cores leaving 1/2 inch of sidewall, careful not to pierce the sides. Rinse in cold water and drain. Saute onions in butter in a large pan. Place rinsed, drained rice in a bowl and add meat and seasonings, mix. Add half of the diced tomatoes to meat mix. Stuff the zukes 3/4 full. Arrange the stuffed zucchini over the onions and pour the rest of the tomatoes on top. Barely cover with water and a little additional salt. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 35 minutes or until the rice is done. Enjoy.

Good fences--and vacations--make happy farmers

Hello from Maine! I'm up in Acadia National Park with my family. As a farmer it's always a special treat to be able to take a summer vacation and it's been several years since our last one. So, a special thanks to Connor for handling chores this week!

In farm news, fence posts are all set in the big field at Chestnut Hill farm. This stage of fence construction is always interesting. I like to use Google Earth to plan fence systems and figure out gate locations for efficient rotations, cattle handling, and trail access. As much as the system needs to work for grass and livestock management, it also needs to allow the multiple use goals of various human activities: walkers, birders, etc, and at Chestnut Hill Farm, vegetable production with its need for deer exclusion fencing as well.

Then, of course, comes actually putting posts in the ground and the rocky landscape imposes its own constraints. It's a compromise. Next week I'll be stringing wire, which goes fairly quickly, and the cattle should arrive in Southborough soon.

The beef share this week is bone-in sirloin steak. These are nice, big, classic steaks, and a special treat because industrial meat cutting and packing practices have made them less common and more difficult to find. They present nicely on a plate, and are big enough to easily share if you prefer a smaller portion.

Another option is to trim them down. When camping, hauling big steaks around (and keeping them cold until ready to cook) can be a challenge. The following recipe for Korean bulgogi (BBQ beef) is a camp-friendly option that is equally delicious at home. Any flavorful cut of beef will work, steaks or boneless roast, but I prefer sirloin, round, or London broil. It's simplest to start with boneless steaks, but while bone-in steaks or rolled roasts add an extra preparation step, it's well worth it and a great option for a kid-friendly meal that can travel.

Camp-friendly Bulgogi Skewers

Meat:
 2 lbs boneless steak or roast, about 1" to 1-1/4" thick pieces, partially frozen

Marinade:

1/3 cup Sesame oil

1/2 cup Soy sauce

2 Tbs Rice vinegar

1/4 cup chopped scallions

2 Tbs Sugar

1 Tbs Ginger, minced, or 1/2 tsp powdered

1 Tbs Garlic, minced, or 1/2 tsp powdered

Supplies: 
A very sharp knife

Skewers

Ziplock gallon bags, or similar sized Tupperware container

If necessary, start by defrosting and boning out the steak, or removing kitchen string, unrolling the roast and cutting to 1" or 1-1/4" thick and anything over about 2" or 3" long, with the grain running lengthwise. Then, back in the freezer. You want the meat partially frozen so it can be sliced thinly--fully defrosted it will be too squishy to safely cut.

Using a very sharp knife, slice the partially-frozen beef as thin as you can manage--ideally less than 1/8." A deli slicer works great if you have one, but isn't necessary. 

Now you have a decision: do you want to do all the prep at home, and carry Tupperware, or carry a smaller ziplock package which can be frozen but will need more prep in camp. If you are traveling a long ways, the latter is preferable, but if you aren't going far and you want to speed up onsite prep you can carry finished skewers in Tupperware.

Mix up the marinade, mix in the beef, and give it a few hours to overnight. For camping, I mix the marinade and beef in a ziplock bag, press all the air out, double-bag, and refrigerate or freeze it prior to travel--which is nice because it helps keep the cooler cold. At home or at your destination, thread the beef onto the skewers in a zigzag pattern.

Grill over high heat, and enjoy!