Blog

Pork Steak!

Thank you to all of our returning Members and welcome NEW Members to the second pickup of Fall 2023.
  • NEW Member Numbers! Returning Members: PLEASE note your new Member number. We’ll have an accurate list available on the customer freezer and the refrigerator. We had a few members grab the wrong bag last pickup and we want to ensure you are getting the correct cuts.

Your meat cuts for Friday, September 15: 

Lamb: Our returning members will recognize our lamb shoulder steaks from Box #8 from the summer. We wanted to get more of these out now while the weather was still warm and our grills are still hot for the late summer/early fall. For the uninitiated new lamb customers: Lamb shoulder steaks are a cut from the shoulder and oh man they are absolutely delicious. Make sure they are super dry on the outside, sprinkle with a generous amount of kosher salt and cook on a medium hot/hot pan or grill for just a few minutes per side until 135 in the center. It won’t take long at all to get there. We’re also sharing a few more of our lamb shanks for your next braise. You’ll start to see slower-cooking fall lamb cuts over the next few weeks.

Pork: PORK STEAKS! Our pork steak is the sole feature this week for our pork subscribers. We wanted to share these big, thick pork steaks now while we’re all still grilling. This is our favorite cut of everything we offer across every protein. Cook these heritage pork steaks to medium/medium rare after salting and airing out in the fridge for a few hours uncovered. Keep an eye on temperature and treat this cut like a prime beef steak. You’ll notice this cut is unlike any store-bought pork: deep red, well-marbled and ready for the grill.

Beef:  We’ve got you covered for breakfast and dinner this week. We’ve shared our beef breakfast sausage, which is our ground beef blended with our pork breakfast sausage seasoning. We wanted to bring the best of both worlds to your breakfast table. Serve this with an over easy or poached egg from our chickens and enjoy the richness. We’ve also shared our tri-tip steak, which is a popular but lesser-known cut from the bottom sirloin. Honestly, it’s not every day you see this cut in stores and especially not always available grass-fed. Scroll to the end of this email for a detailed write-up on how you can prepare this steak.

Cheese: Sue at Boss Mouse dropped off her famous Chive Montasio this week! Herbs and fresh cheese: a perfect combination.

Flowers are ready!
This is our last flower pick-up for this summer! Thanks to everyone who supported our flower share. Your flowers are ready!

Great Lakes Garlic:
Our close friends and fellow local farmers Kevin and Tiffany from Great Lakes Garlic Farm dropped off a few bushels of beautiful, Certified USDA Organic and Buckley-grown chesnok red garlic for our members to purchase. We’ve simplified our garlic pricing: $2 per bulb. Leave cash in the box or send us Venmo @anavery if you want to grab garlic. It’s absolutely amazing.

Farmers Maddie Klingelsmith and Dave Waeltz slinging 170+ sausages and burgers straight from the farm to the attendees at the September 13 TC Ticker Recess event at the TC Botanic Gardens. Thanks everyone for coming out and for the kind words about our meats! Photo: Rachel Straughen
Farm Manager Dave Waeltz fired up the smoker last weekend to experiment with smoked lamb shoulder and for his classic smoked baby back ribs. Lamb shoulder was a touch over-cooked but delicious nonetheless. Next time maybe a little less time and a little more care with the positioning of the thermometer.

The Tri-Tip

The tri-tip beef steak isn’t one you see everyday so we wanted to offer a little more wisdom on how we approach this lesser-known cut. Cut from the bottom sirloin, the tri-tip first gained notoriety in central California in the Santa Maria region. This steak is full of beefy flavor and cooks quick. It takes well to just about any of your favorite marinade. Called a tri-tip because of it’s triangular shape, keep an eye on the thickest part of the steak with your instant read thermometer.
  • Classic: coarse kosher salt and pepper. Grill it. Enjoy it.
  • Santa Maria Style: Marinade with plenty of our Great Lakes Garlic and a jar of your favorite salsa. After a few hours in the marinade, grill it hot and fast.
  • Sweet and Spicy: Mix up a thick rub of brown sugar, garlic, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper and coriander. Slather it on and let it soak in for a few hours. Grill it and enjoy with seasonal vegetables from Oryana or any of your favorite local vegetable farms.

This piggo has been enjoying the cool weather!