Wednesday, June 20, 2012

VICTORIAN FARMSTEAD




We love to go on Meat Adventures. Today our journey only went as far as the Santa Rosa farmers market.’ Victorian Farmstead’ located in Sebastopol California sells their ‘all natural and pastured’ meats at this Saturday market. Local beef, pork, chicken, and lamb are sustainable, kindly, stress free and humanely grown. The beef is raised on certified organic pasture and grass finished. The pork is a Berkshire/Duroc hybrid. This meat vender is pushing all the right buttons for today’s demanding consumer. Does it taste good?


Some of you may know that I am not a big fan of grass fed beef. The attributes of grass fed beef has been overly hyped to the politically correct food connoisseur. You need to use caution cooking grass fed beef because of its lack of fat. It also has a flavor that proclaims that it is the original beef flavor. Boulderdash! If you have to tell me that it tastes good something is not right. Give me a ‘Midwestern’ corn fed beef any day. That is what beef should taste like. With that said, we purchased a 18 ounce rib-eye steak. It set us back 22.80 cents.


This steak had nice fat marbling. This was one impressive looking rib-eye. This would be cooked over a very hot mesquite charcoal fire. Cooking grass fed beef can be a little challenging. It should be cooked rare or medium rare to guarantee tenderness. You really need to be careful with the carry-over cooking. A medium rare can turn tough in an instant. We cooked our steak to the rare stage and after a 10 minute rest it was a perfect medium rare. Now, for the taste verdict.


Sometimes one must admit that trying different styles of meat can be flavorful. This rib-eye was very tender. There was a rich beefy flavor. Victorian Farmstead must be doing something right because this was one great steak. I still am not a convert to grass fed but I will keep an open mind.



7 comments:

  1. I think maybe the cows broke into the cornfield next door! ;)

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  2. The grass-fed beef I eat never tastes strange. So proud of you for trying.

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  3. Glad you kept an open mind so you got a delicious dinner. And, no need to choose one or the other - you can have both!

    I have a little present for you coming soon.

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  4. We were pleasantly surprised with this beef. My experiences with grass fed beef in the past have not been nice. Tough and flavor that was less than desirable was the norm. I believe the cooking technique helped.

    Greg, I was wondering that myself.

    Cookiecrumb, We had a beautiful looking grass-fed rib eye from Esparto Meats. It was so bad tasting and tough I would not even feed it to my dogs.

    Zoomie, I have always had an open mind but still have preferences. I am not totally sold.

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  5. Bacon b*&%#h I scout, hunt, for you for years never a mention. I pre-scout and find grass fed you like, no appreciation. You are dead to me. GWH

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  6. I'm on your team, I am not a fan of grass fed beef. I prefer corn fed any day of the week.

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  7. greatwhitehunter, Those are the kindest words you have ever said to me. Also it is the first ever comment. You must be in love. Good for you and Anna.

    Chris, I am trying to keep an open mind.

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