Life On The Ranch:
As I am writing this we have a cow being harvested at the meat locker, this cow lived a great life and now she is serving a great purpose. Many think it cruel to kill an animal for food, but I've seen first hand how sad it is for an animal to be killed by nature ( I'll spare you the unpleasant details). We gave that cow everything she could want, she didn't even need to work by raising a calf. She had a stress free year grazing in wide open, green, native pastures and now she doesn't even have to endure another harsh winter.
The night before her scheduled departure, we brought her in from the pasture and put her in a large pen with water to drink, along with our milk cow to keep her company. This was likely the only night in her life that she had to spend in pen. I (Denver) had her loaded in the trailer before 5 AM and started down the road to the meat locker. Reasons for the early start are: the closest federally inspected meat locker is a four hour drive and they wanted me there by 9 AM, plus traveling in the early morning is nicer for cattle because temperatures are cooler and traffic is lighter. Once the cow was unloaded at the meat locker, I gave them some instructions then turned around and drove the four hours back home. The sunset picture up top (photo credits to my wife) was taken that evening while we were out checking the main cattle heard.
The actual harvesting process is not my experience, but the basics involve killing the cow, removing the hide and innards, then the carcass is hung in a cooler for a couple weeks before being cut up and packaged. Now the time spent hanging in a cooler is important as it lets the meat relax which makes it more tender. Big butcher plants skip this step and go straight from killing to cutting. One more comment on hanging a carcass, I see that often people selling beef advertise as being 14 day or 21 day "dry aged". That bothers me a little because I don't consider that short of time to truly be "dry aged", personally I like to see a "dry aged" carcass hung for 60 days or more. But as I said I'm no expert and that's just my 2 cents.
To get the cow from the meat locker to your freezer we will ideally ship most of the cow straight out from the meat locker, for everyone who had pre-ordered their beef by buying a deposit. Planning the shipping day involves ordering dry ice and scheduling a Fed Ex pick up. Procuring dry ice is the biggest factor, because there are only a few places where you can get it, and most places that you can get dry ice only have it a couple days a week because it can't be preserved. So trying to schedule a shipping date for a Monday or Tuesday, to make a delivery before the weekend probable, can be challenging. Once everything is arranged we load up the shipping materials, go pick up the dry ice and head to the meat locker to box up the beef. Once the pre-orders are shipped out we pray that there are no major shipping delays so that the beef can be delivered frozen. But if there happened to be an incident where the beef was delivered in an unsatisfactory condition, we will stand behind it and make it right.
Now why do we do deposits and pre-ordering with our beef you might ask? Well there are several reasons: First, it ensures that you are getting your beef as fresh as possible (not something that's been berried at the bottom of the freezer for a year). Second, it reduces the issues with storage and Inventory. Third, it lets us know how many cows we need to have ready to harvest. It can also help you plan out your freezer space, knowing in advance that you will have beef coming. There is a commitment on your end, you pay part of the cost with a deposit (which is your pre-order), then you have the security and peace of mind that high quality beef is headed your way in the future. Prior to shipping your beef we will contact you to confirm that the timing works well, then the remaining cost will be paid just before your order is shipped.
Order & Shipping Update:
The wait is almost over, our fall beef harvest is currently in motion so don't be late! We are still taking pre orders on all our Beef Bundles, so head on over to the website, and secure yours before they are all spoken for!
