Eating Local: Me and My Meat
Eating local is a huge trend right now. The books by Barbara Kingsolver and Michael Pollan (among others) have inspired many people to search out their local food options.
**A warning to tender-hearted vegetarians! This is a post about finding and eating local meat.**
My family does eat meat and dairy products. We try to do so somewhat sparingly - using the meat as more of an addition to a meal of veggies and grains instead of a main focus. There are a couple of reasons for this, but the one that is most relevant to this post is that local, organic meat is expensive! If I can spread a large roast into 3 or 4 meals (and I can) it’s better for everyone (cows, the planet, our digestion, our budget, overall balance of flavors during the meal…).
Somethings to know about finding local meat: start at Farmer’s Markets and small (local) butcher shops. Ask around. Here in Lane County we have a wonderful publication for local farms and what they sell - The Willamette Farm & Food Coalition Locally Grown Directory 2009.
When you have found a couple of meat farms, get to know the people who run the farm, the variety of meats they stock, how they kill/butcher/package their product, and anything else you need to know from them. Any really decent meat farm will give you the option to have a farm visit and meet the animals, see where they slaughter, and in general be very transparent about their process. Some meat farms will invite you out to help with the Chicken or Turkey slaughter. I chose my favorite meat farm when I was talking with the farmer about how he kills the chickens and he said something along the lines of: “I have the hard and beautiful job of looking each chicken in the eye before I kill it.” That’s kindly killed meat - appreciate the life and honor the process.
Once you have a meat farm (or farms), continue to build a relationship with them. They will likely be in a position to help you get affordable and high quality meat, because they are small and local and (after time) they will know you. Some farms offer a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) that comes with a deal. Some have a raw-milk program. Some have large mixed boxes for a good deal. Often you will also have access to eggs and dairy too! Ask what your options are.
If you know find that you are just loving your local meat (and I know I do - I can taste the difference between my happy pork and the occasional time I eat factory-raised pork), go the next step. For this you will need a large deep freezer. Order a hunk of cow or pig and pack it in your freezer. Now you have meat whenever! Does that sound overwhelming? Let me break it down for you.
The ‘hanging weight’ of a butchered cow is around probably 600-700 pounds (Holy COW! How will we eat that much??) but your farmer is likely very happy to sell you a portion of this cow. Or (even better for the farmer) you find a group of 5-12 people (depending on how much cow you want) and split it up yourselves. The farmer will have the cow slaughtered and butchered, and give you bags and bags (and bags!) of various wrapped pieces. Roasts, steaks, ground beef, tail, tongue, heart and liver (if you don’t want it, your carnivorous pets do!), bones… Then you and your cow-sharing buddies divide it up.
Is this really so much better than just buying what you need, as you go? It is if you want to save some money. Here’s my math: I bought 1/12 of a cow last fall and paid $150. I estimate that I brought home about 45-55 pounds of meat. So let’s be conservative and say I got 45 pounds.
$150/45 = 3.33 per pound.
That was a mixed bunch - steaks (sirloin/rib eye/t-bone), roasts of all kinds, stew meat, ground beef, bones for stock, organs for the pets…
Non-Organic (factory-farm raised) Ground Beef in the grocery store is usually around $3-4 per pound. Steaks can go from $10-$25 a pound. You begin to see why I pack down a huge amount of meat in my freezer. It is the best way to make meat affordable.
Some of the meat farms I have bought from:
Deck Family Farm
Looking for local meat other places, try Local Harvest. You input your zip code and what you are looking for, and it brings up a list of what you are looking for in your area. Fun!
A final note about cooking free range meats: Because the animals are getting lots of exercise and eating a balanced diet (not all corn!) the meat tends to be a little tougher than what you might pick up at the big grocery store. You get used to it. Marinate a little longer, chew a little better, and enjoy the much deeper flavor that happens when an animal actually uses its muscles!
Now go forth and eat your good meat!
