Wow! What a totally awesome dining experience at Prime 1000 in St Louis this week.  Prime 1000 hosted Rain Crow Ranch night at the restaurant on Washington Ave. Along with wine from Royalty Importers the chef and staff presented a truly memorable dinner.  The evening created an eclectic bridge from the rustic old farm to the modern elegance of Prime 1000.  The restaurant balances modern aesthetic taste with rustic, reclaimed industrial design aspects. So it captures “down on the farm” and envelopes it in total modern elegance, sophisticated taste and charm to present local, sustainable and fresh foods.

Our own Peter Whisnant from Rain Crow Ranch got an opportunity to speak to the 85 or so diners who had reserved places at the table.  Peter was able to tell this audience the story of Rain Crow Ranch, our family farm on which he was raised.  Today along

with the efforts of the entire family Rain Crow Ranch is bringing the finest grassfed beef, heritage breed pasture raised pork and pasture raised poultry to the table from the farm.

Rain Crow is a sustainable family farm located in southern Missouri that sells directly to customers. We value and take pride in the ethics of the food we produce and would be willing to put it up against any in the country.  Yet, of equal importance to us at the farm is the developing of strong and warm relationships with those who believe with us in how the food world should work.  These end-users lend support to our farm (and others like ours) when they buy what we raise.  We like to say we grow the food and chefs like those at Prime1000 make it great.  Farm to the table just doesn’t get much better than what was experienced on Monday night. 

On the farm side of the conversation we often talk about how great protein is produced by attention to the right genetics, a quality pasture environment, attention to high animal welfare and just the right processing.  Yet, we know equally well that to carry that product forward for an awesome dining experience requires knowing just how to prepare and present it exquisitely.  Ray Carpenter, chef de cuisine of Prime 1000 did a magnificent job of taking our local pasture bounty and transforming it into the elegant 6 courses presented.  Each course was paired beautifully with 6 wines.

The first course was a salad with lobster wrapped in pancetta with orange, pickled coriander, celery and radish.  This was paired with a 2010 Azlend Agricola Branko Pinot Grigio.  Cooked to perfection the pancetta wrapped lobster made a perfect start to a memorable dinner.

Course 2 featured an inverted ravioli of grassfed tenderloin using horseradish, truffle, fine herbs and fingerling potato for this salad paired with 2009 Riofava Barbera D’ Albo.

The third course was our roasted farm grazed chicken served with a corn custard, crispy chanterelles, pearl onions, banyls vinegar, and asparagus.  This feature was paired with 2007 Deluco Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo “DiRe”.

Fourth course was our Berkshire, pasture raised pork loin with nasturtium rounded with cauliflower, parsley risotto, crackling and pork sauce.  It was paired with 2007 Riofava Barolo ‘Suri”.

The highlight course was our Rain Crow Ranch Roasted strip loin with barley, carrot, roasted onion, nebrodini bianco and sauce bordelaise paired with 2003 Triberini Vino Noblle di Montelpulciano ‘Riservo.

Finishing off the evening was an apple crumble with macadamia, burnt caramel, bourbon served with Fracarolli ‘Valerie’.

Our many thanks to Prime 1000 owners, general manager Tom Sutliffe, Chef Ray Carpenter and the Prime 1000 staff who allowed the Rain Crow Ranch family to be a part of the evening.  But a special thanks for all the diners who came out and supported the restaurant and our farm.

Ingredients:

1 Chuck roast
2 Onions
1 tbsp. Pepper ( Fresher ground pepper is better)
1 tbsp. Onion Powder
1tspn. Sea Salt

Preparation Option #1 (shown in pictures below): Pot with Lid

Pre-Heat oven to 225° F. The key is to match the Chuck Roast to the size of the pan (this is the secret to a juicy roast). Sprinkle pepper, onion powder, and sea salt over the roast. Then slice the onion and distribute evenly over the entire roast. Cover and place in the center of the oven for 5 to 8 hours. The roast will be ready in 5 hours however the longer the cook time the more tender the roast will be.

**Additional cooking methods below**

Chuck roast vary in size, typical chuck roasts weigh between 3 to 5 pounds

 All ingredients needed

 The key is to get the roast to fit snuggly into the pot, even if it means trimming the chuck roast

 Ready to go into the oven

 The finished product

Preparation Option #2: Medium to Large size crock pot

Place roast in crock pot.  Sprinkle pepper, onion powder, and sea salt. Slice onions and distribute evenly over the entire roast. Place in the crock pot for 6 to 8 hours on the low setting. Do not worry your cook time is over the 8 hours it will become more tender the longer it is cooked.

Preparation Option #3: Wrapped with aluminum foil

Sprinkle the chuck roast with pepper, onion powder, and sea salt. Slice onions and distribute evenly over the entire roast. Wrap the roast as tight as possible (this is key, if the juices escape the roast will be dry and lose flavor) place in the center of the oven for 5 to 8 hours. The roast will be ready in 5 hours however the longer the cook time the more tender the roast will be.

Our Favorite way:

For all preparation methods after the roast is cooked add a tbsp. of flour to the juices to make gravy

Favorite sides:  Mashed potatoes, Baked Potatoes or Rice

Grass Fed Braised Beef Short Ribs by Rain Crow Ranch

 Here at Rain Crow Ranch we are always looking for new recipes to utilize all cuts of beef. Although short Ribs are not typically the most popular cut of beef we have found, when cooked correctly, that they are the most delightful, tendor cut of beef packed full of flavor. This sensational recipe is sure to ignite your taste buds. It is so simple and easy to prepare, in 30 minutes or less you will look like a five star chef.

 All Ingredients needed for this Delicious Short Rib Meal!

 Oil Cast Iron ( you don’t have to use a cast iron, it is just our favorite). Turn stove on high heat.

 Cut Short Ribs into one Rib Sections

 Sear Grass fed beef short rib sections until all sides are equally brown (You sear to lock in flavor)

 Apply salt and pepper then add cubed potatoes and onions to pot with your short ribs and allow to cook for a couple of minutes

 After onions and potatos are warm, add red wine ( the dryer the better) and beef broth

Cover pot with a lid and place in oven at 350 degrees for two hours. Remove and serve !!!

Prep Time: 15 Minutes      Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

Serves 4 People

4 3×2 Grass Fed Beef short Ribs

2 potatoes – cubed

1 onion – sliced

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/3 cup Dry Red Wine

1/4 cup Beef Broth

1tbs Pepper

1 tspn Salt

Preperation Instructions

Heat Oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil on high heat in pot (we prefer cast iron). Cut short ribs into 1 bone sections. Sear short ribs in extra virgin olive oil on all four sides. Once all sides are seared (should take around 5 minutes) add salt and pepper. Add cubed potatoes and spread sliced onions on top (you can’t use too many onions). Remove from heat. Add red wine and beef broth. Cover. Place in oven for two hours.

Remove and serve.

Whenever we are in town and close to one of the restaurants that uses our beef we absolutely have to go and try it.  The hero chefs have made the effort to seek out farms and farmers from which to source product directly.  Over the years we have developed some great relationships and friendships with these guys.  It is such a privilege get to know chefs who make food an art.  It is a thrill to see, smell, taste the efforts of their art in the preparation of what we have raised.  It reminds us that what we do it not simply produce livestock but we produce food that is part of an incredible eating experience.  It humbles us to see the full circle from farm to table, especially a table other than my own.

We had never eaten at YaYa’s before and were full of anticipation.  First off it was a thumbs up when the restaurant proudly displayed a sign on the front of their building, YaYa’s Buy Fresh Buy Local and the names of the farms from which they purchase product.  This idea and philosophy carried through to the menu which offered a bit of information about the farms, proud to see Rain Crow Ranch American Grassfed Beef there.

The atmosphere at YaYa’s was an upbeat casual, the crowd and activity pretty vibrant on a Saturday night.  They were very busy and glad that we had made reservations.  As is a habit with my husband when we go to a restaurant that uses our beef and they do not know us he innocently inquires of the waiter about selections on the menu that feature our beef.  He wants to hear what they have to say and how well they handle questions.  (Mark likes to play games with people.) Darrell did a great job and told the story of our beef beautifully.  We of course introduced ourselves and made a great new friend.  Later in the meal, Chef Rob Uyemura came out for a chat and what an honor it was to meet him. 

There were two selections on the menu tonight that use our beef.  One was a Hickory grilled flank steak, fresh corn sauté, okra, white cheddar-chile polenta, and sorghum steak glaze. The other was beef tenderloin, potato puree, seasonal vegetables, cracked black pepper gorgonzola Chianti sauce.  Both were fantastic.  Should I admit I am also a little bias?  No, it was really really good.

Thank you Chef Rob and YaYa’s for a great evening.

It was my great pleasure to participate in the Chefs Collaborative National Summit 2010 held in Boston October 3-5.  I spoke on a panel about rare breeds and pastured animals.

 True to the theme of the event we looked at the past and how before industrial-scale factory farming with livestock raised in CAFOs became the norm most of our country’s meat supply came from many breeds of pasture-raised livestock.  These breeds raised on pasture land were suited to regional cultures and cuisines.

  With the advent of surplus corn production after WWII the livestock industry began to consolidate into factory production.  Today, however, heightened awareness of the ecological and public health risks associated with industrial animal production has put the pasture-based system into the spotlight.  Pasture based agriculture is not new but it is rather looking back to our roots to discover a more sustainable future. 

Our purpose was to explore how chefs and producers can work together to supply a quality and dependable source of pasture protein for restaurants.  The first step is finding and forming relationships between the chef and the farmer to make that happen.  Then both need to pull their heads together to work out the specific logistics in a way that is fair, dependable and sustainable.

  It takes effort and some outside-the-box thinking at times but the rewards are great.  Dealing with and understanding chefs can be a learning curve for the farm but at the same time understanding how that animal is produced is a learning effort for the chef.  For a chef used to the boxed beef world it is easy to order the number of premium steaks needed.  For a farmer faced with selling the whole carcass (when only a small percentage is steak) the challenge is to sell the large percentage that is ground beef.   

The couple of days I spent in the community of chefs dazzled my palate with the wonderful flavors of great food, opened my mind to the thoughts and challenges in the restaurant, and renewed my passion that what we do on our farm is not to just produce livestock but that we produce food.  Food that deserves care and pride in its production as well as respect and reverence in what it does to nourish our body, soul and culture.

Chefs Collaborative is the leading nonprofit network of chefs that fosters a sustainable food system through advocacy, education, and collaboration with the broader food community.  They advocate for sustainable food in the greater culinary community.  They provide chefs with the information and tools necessary to make sustainable purchasing decisions – through workshops, publications, and events. And they connect chefs and sustainable food producers.

Several times in the course of events the board of the Chefs Collaborative read aloud their statement of principles which created in me a renewed passion for the food system which our farm is a part. These principles are:

1. Food is fundamental to life, nourishing us in body and soul.  The preparation of food strengthens our connection to nature.  And the sharing of food immeasurably enriches our sense of community.

2. Good food begins with unpolluted air, land, and water, environmentally sustainable farming and fishing, and humane animal husbandry.

3. Food choices that emphasize delicious, locally grown, seasonally fresh, and whole or minimally processed ingredients are good for us, for local farming communities, and for the planet.

4. Cultural and biological diversity are essential for the health of the earth and its inhabitants.  Preserving and revitalizing sustainable food, fishing, and agricultural traditions strengthen that diversity.

5. By continually educating themselves about sustainable choices, chefs can serve as models to the culinary community and the general public through their purchases of seasonal, sustainable ingredients and their transformation of these ingredients into delicious food.

6.  The greater culinary community can be a catalyst for positive change by creating a market for good food and helping preserve local farming and fishing communities.

The Chefs Collaborative has a vision that as a result of their work, sustainable practices will be second nature for every chef in the United States.  As a farmer who supplies the building blocks of what they do I am very proud and happy to be a part of this group.

Food Network chef Marc Bynum joined with Rain Crow Ranch/ American Grassfed Beef to wow a packed crowd at Taste of St. Louis this weekend.  Chef Marc is thoroughly delightful and entertaining as he cooks.  Filled with energy as he prepared our bone in rib eye he explained how, “the food talks to me and I listen.”

 In this case listening was watching him prepare a rib eye loin as he frenched the bones and then cut into steaks.   When you “French” a bone you cut away the meat from the end of the rib bone leaving that part of the bone exposed.  Chef Marc explained that he much prefers to use bone in meat as it has better flavor and juiciness.  The “french” part contributes a nice esthetic look.

The beef was beautiful.  Of course in my eyes I feel the pride of a producer looking on the fruition of a long patient toil for a magnum opus.  Well marbled for grassfed the cut promised to be a real tasting experience.  It was exciting to have Chef Marc work his culinary magic to simply dress the beef with freshly ground salt and pepper.

He seared the thick cuts of french boned rib eye on both sides of a hot skillet then removed to finish slowly in a warm oven.  The flavor of great beef should never be covered up with lots of seasoning and sauces and it is totally taboo at our house to think of the blasphemy of A1 or catsup.

 This tasting experience was in progress for over 2 years, handled with care, pampered with the highest quality chain of forage available, and carefully processed to bring this beef to this time in the spotlight.  To take pride in the beef we produce is why we have on our label, “Raised with Pride on Rain Crow Ranch, an American Family Farm.”  It is for this reason that many consumers today are seeking products produced with care and pride on smaller-scale family farms.

Chef Marc is a new upcoming chef that has gained some amount of spotlight through his participation in the Food Network show,Chopped. 

Chef Marc flew in from Long Island and met with our family who traveled up from the farm to bring the grassfed beef and smoked bacon that he would be using in his demonstrations and competition.  It was our great pleasure to spend some time with this chef who not only is a great culinary artist but a man with a message and a platform.

Chef Marc tells how he battled many things in his teen years until he found his way when he was introduced to the art of food.  Creating something good from raw materials gave him a sense of empowerment and accomplishment that carved out his life and fueled his passion. 

Chef Marc’s focus is to touch this generation of neglected young people. He stands as an aggressive participant in the fight against childhood obesity and teenage depression. His labor and his joy are to teach children and adults the lessons he received through thoughtful culinary practice. His hope is to show others that if you follow your dreams and work hard, then you can be successful.  He is a great motivational speaker as well as exceptional cook.

 

Ethical Food is at the foundation of grass roots food politics.  Indeed people have begun to vote for what exists in the world by how they spend their dollar.  This food movement is not an outcome of policy set by the government or even health and wellness groups, rather it is a movement generated from the consumer level.  

The new consumer wants to know where their food comes from and how it is raised.  A recently published research report by Context Marketing, http://contextmarketing.com/sources/feb28-2010/ethicalfoodreport.pdf, has tracked the ethical claims that matter most to people today and how these attributes influence their food purchases. 

Ethical food is defined by the attributes and perceived benefits that can be linked to how a food is raised and processed, its effect on the environment, its quality and safety.  These attributes can be highly personal. 

When those in the survey were asked to identify what they mean by “ethical food” over 90% said that they believe it is a food that protects the environment by using sustainable production methods, meets high quality and safety standards and has high regard for animal welfare.

In this survey 70% of the respondents went so far as to say they are willing to pay more for food they consider to be produced with higher ethical standards.  However, trust is given conditionally to ethical claims and in the report three out of four consumers said they have some skepticism when viewing ethical claims because they do not always mean what they imply.

At Rain Crow we are an American family farm and raise our cattle on certified organic pastures, never in confinement.  We never administer antibiotics, we never use synthetic hormones.  We allow the animal to fulfill its natural biological instincts (grazing) and we have high regard for animal welfare from birth to harvest. 

 These are all ethical claims that you can find on our retail label.  Yet, we back up these claims by 3^rd party verification audits.  Our organic pastures are inspected yearly by One Cert.  Our grassfed claims are inspected yearly by the American Grassfed Association and our animal welfare standards are inspected yearly by Animal Welfare Approved.  We strongly feel that these certifications help to assure our customers that we are who we say we are and that they can have confidence in what they receive from our families farm.

Spring time always brings out the renewal of our outside spirit and with that comes the grill.Naturally,our family is beef eaters and that makes for our major protein consumed.We love steaks but there are times that nothing quite satisfies like a good ol American hamburger cooked on the open grill.

I read a consumer survey recently that said 85% of Americans eat a hamburger at least once a week.  That just may top any other food type. Many of these burgers are from fast food sources and may not help the nutritional level of our kids or us.

Yet,consider this favorite of all American foods in a new and healthy version.Burgers out of grass fed beef! The varieties are endless.

A few of our favorite burger fixens include sautéed wild mushrooms on top of the burger, blueberries added directly into the meat, a blue cheese topping, the unbeatable combination of bacon and cheddar cheese, red onions, and a endless combination of condiments from as simple as ketchup and mustard to exotic homemade twists of Mediterranean,Mexican and Indian cuisine.

This weekend to kick off the burger season I think I will go basic with the classic burger and lettuce, tomato and onion.Can’t wait.

At American Grass Fed Beef we are also excited about a new product which is a half-pound burger patty.Though not for the faint and dainty, none of my boys are that, this will be an exciting new and convenient way to enjoy grass fed beef.Not even on the website yet, look for it in the next week or so.

On Sunday a California meat company issued the largest beef recall in history.This recall by Westland-Hallmark Meat Company in Chino, California comes after an undercover video by the Humane Society was distributed.The video shows workers kicking, shocking, and pushing crippled and sick animals with forklifts.Some animals that were unable to stand even had water sprayed down their noses. You can see this video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OjhPVL48Ks&NR=1 and at https://community.hsus.org/campaign/CA_2008_investigation?qp_source=gaba89.

This certainly has been the age of beef recalls; each one seems to be bigger than those prior.The Topps recall this year was huge but this current recall of 143 million pounds is the largest in history.It is 4 times bigger than the previous record of 35 million pounds by Thorn Apple Valley in 1999.Contamination of our food supply by E.coli 0157:H7 (the deadly pathogenic form) or salmonella have been in the news all year and certainly a source of concern.There were 21 recalls due to E.coli 0157:H7 last year which in itself is significantly higher than the 8 in 2006 and 5 in 2005.However, this current recall brings an already shaky red meat consumer to question the very core of the livestock industry.

Further,this time the recall is for beef harvested from downer cows which could pose a threat of mad cow disease.A downer cow is one that though alive is not ambulatory prior to harvesting.Symptoms of mad cow disease may present as showing neurological signs of ataxia and paralysis.Slaughter of downer cows has not been allowed since the occurrence of the threat of mad cow disease. It is prohibited to harvest an animal that cannot stand unless it is for reasons of an acute injury such as a broken leg.But even then the USDA veterinary inspectors on hand are to pass judgment on these animals.  The USDA has strict rules under the 1958 Humane Slaughter Act as to the humane treatment of animals including downers.

The current recall is considered a Class II recall, indicating that the chance of there actually being a health hazard is remote.  The USDA has explained that there is little health risk from this meat because the animals had passed ante-mortem inspection prior to going down.In addition, the officials noted that it is required that the brains and spinal cords (called SRM–specified risk materials) from any of these animals would have been removed as required since it is believed that these are the areas most likely to harbor the disease and therefore would not have entered the food supply.A Class I recall would indicate that consumption of the product would pose a serious health problem or death.Such has been the case in some of the E.coli outbreaks.

Of great concern to many consumers and consumer advocate groups is the fact that nearly a quarter of all the recalled beef had been sent to the school lunch program and that most of it had already been consumed.It has caused many of these groups to question the efficacy of our food safety system.These groups charged that the USDA should do a better job of ensuring that questionable beef does not enter our food chain.

While consumers, beef industry spokesmen, processing industry spokespersons and producers all agree that the in-humane actions of workers at this particular facility are to be condemned the question is posed by many as to whether this is just an extraordinary and egregious incident or if it is indicative of a larger, industry-wide problem.Of consumers and customers who contact us through our website one frequently asked question has to do with the manner in which we slaughter our animals and whether it is humane.Many consumers come to grassfed and pasture raised meats that are sourced directly from small-scale family farms for the health benefits and safety issues.However, the umbrella of interest in pasture based agriculture goes beyond these attributes to include those folks who are not opposed to eating meat but want to make absolutely sure that the livestock is cared for, transported and harvested in a humane manner.  Additionally, there are some who come for the environmental issues.

For this reason, we decided some time ago to have third party verification of our humane pastured raised management at the farm, when the animals are transported and when they go through the harvest process.  We are very proud to have passed two humane audits.We bear a certificate of approval from the American Humane Association as well as Steritech.We feel that this gives extra assurance to our customers that we are passionate about the well being of our animals.

My advice to consumers who are concerned about this revelation of animal abuse at a facility in California not extend the judgment to all animal harvesting facilities.  The proverbial, Don’t throw out the baby with the bath…need not apply and the consumer stop eating meat altogether.  Please continue to enjoy the health benefits of beef but investigate from where it is sourced.  Choose small-scale family farms that personally care for their animals on open pastures.  Choose meats that are processed in third party audited facilities where the humane treatment is a priority.

Grass fed is not at this time legally defined.The USDA did publish for comment a standard in May 2006 which if it passes into regulation will establish a grass fed standard.This definition would allow the Grass fed label to be applied to animals whose energy/feed source for 99% of their life time has been from forage and herbage and no grain.  Simply put,Grass fed refers to those ruminants born,raised and finished on grass and forage (herbaceous plant material).This minimal proposal by the USDA addresses the feeding practice only.

Grass fed producers organized under the American Grassfed Association want the label Grassfed to mean the following primary points:
• Animals raised and finished 100% on a forage diet
• No antibiotics
• No synthetic growth hormones
• No grain or grain by-products
• No animal by-products
• Never confined or fed in a CAFO,but raised on pasture