Dutch Canyon Farms

is much more than skillfully hand-cut meat  from grass-fed, drug-free steers.  It  should include a superior breed for flavor, tenderness and healthy meat;  natural grazing on pure pasture land; at least 6 months of mother’s milk; a  stress-free, un-crowded environment; humane slaughter in a natural environment  and long, cool air-curing of the hanging halves.  Cutting by knife, not saw, and flash freezing  the vacuum-packed product is the final touch.

Scottish Highland beef is arguably the healthiest beef in the world.   Having long hair and a unique second coat of “wool”, they do not produce the heavy layer of fat surrounding the meat of “modern” cattle.  They are the oldest known breed, recorded earlier than the 12th century in the Northern highlands of Scotland. The Royal family of England still maintains a herd for their premium beef.

Links:
www.ansi.okstate.edu
www.Scotlandfarms.com

Grass fed, grass finished beef is more nutritious than beef that spend even the minimal 90 days in a feed lot (as is in case with almost all commercial “grass fed” beef).
And grass-fed, grass finished beef is kinder to our atmosphere, both in CO2 and methane produced.

Links:
www.motherearthnews.com

1. Lower in total fat (1/4 of grain-fed)
2. Higher in beta-carotene
3. Higher in vitamin E (4 times more than grain-fed)
4. Higher in B vitamins, thiamine and riboflavin
5. Higher in mineral calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
6. Higher in total Omega-3s (two to four times more)
7. A healthy ratio of omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids (1.0 – 1.65 versus 4.84)
8. Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans 11), a cancer fighter
9. Higher in vaccenic acid (TVA)
10. Lower in saturated fats.

Our artisan beef has no hormones or preventative antibiotics. Since it is not grain-fattened, the e-coli count is a tiny faction of conventional beef and what little there is cannot service the acidity of our stomach. Without the loads of antibiotics needed keep a cow alive on a feed-lot fattening routine, the production of antibiotic-resistant bacteria does not occur. The relaxed natural pasture environment is the only way to grow the animal needed to yield an artisan cut of beef.

You can make bad beef from a great animal, but you cannot get great beef from an inferior steer. Even a grass finished organic steer of superior breed can be spoiled in its final days. A true artisan cut of meat should come from a steer that never experienced the trauma of separation from its herd, a horrendously crowded journey in a manure-drenched trailer to the death-camp of a common commercial slaughterhouse. Only farm-killed beef under the control of a caring owner well versed in animal handling and sensitive to individual animals will yield the ultimate beef.

Not too long ago all beef was air cured. This is a process where the halves of beef are aged hanging in a cold-room with circulating air. The meat is gently aged for a month or longer, its natural enzymes tenderizing the fibers and enhancing the flavor. Up to 25% of the fresh weight is lost to evaporation. Today almost all commercial beef is immediately factory processed into boxed bags of large cuts. These boxes are then trucked throughout the country to be cut into serving-size at your local grocery.

Although a meat saw is indispensable in processing beef, its use is abused for the sake of saving labor. A band saw is fast, but it is messy, leaving bone powder on the meat and tearing the surface if the meat compared to the slice of a razor-sharp knife. It is best to knife-slice to the bone and follow with the saw.

Air and ice crystals are bad for meat! During the freezing process water forms crystals that can rupture the cellular walls which compromises the physical integrity of the product when thawed. Flash freezing is fast enough to minimize the crystalline grown to preserve the “fresh” characteristics. Vacuum packaging in hermetically sealed multi-ply barrier bags stops freezer-burn and preserves meats for a year without loss of flavor. Frozen meat should always be thawed slowly in the refrigerator, and never by microwave, as this tends to toughen the cut.

Lean artisan beef requires special attention when cooking, too. Steaks, hamburger, and premium roasts should be cooked rare (or, if you MUST, medium-rare). If you like beef well done, you are looking at the wrong site! The following links have further suggestions, but keep it red!

Links:
www.highlandcattleusa.org
www.oliverranch.com