Five Steps to Roast Beef Perfection

After almost 15 years of raising my own meat, I’ve gotten pretty good at cooking nearly any cut. Until recently, however, I lacked confidence when it came to preparing a beef roast. Over Labour Day Weekend I decided to conquer my fear and cook roast beef for a crowd. I’m happy to say I’ve discovered the secrets to success, and I’m here to share them with you!

Instant Pot Beef Shank

Shank is my favourite beef cut for winter meals. Meat that’s absolutely bursting with flavour surrounding a gorgeous marrow bone – what could be better? But you can’t just toss a couple shanks on the bbq and expect excellent results – this cut requires slow cooking to break down those walking muscles and produce the perfect shredded-beef texture.

Thai style veal stir fry

When is ground veal preferred over ground beef?  In recipes like this!  This stir fry is inspired by Thai flavours, which pair perfectly with the sweet, mild flavour of ground veal. Sometimes I find the strong, meaty flavour of our ground beef can over-power the delicate balance of the sweet, salty and sour flavours that make this style of cooking so special, but our veal is just perfect.  So give our ground veal a try in this easy-peasy, perfect-for-springtime, veal of a meal!

Spray Creek Sunday Sauce

From Farmer Mo: Now, I am not Italian, and I do not claim to be, but I definitely aspire to be able to cook like a Nonna. One of my best friends learned to cook Sunday Sauce from her Nonna and even though she can’t tell me the exact secrets, I have put enough research and love into this recipe that I can confidently say my sauce should make any Nonna proud. 

Stockpile Grazing and other Winter Wonders at Spray Creek Ranch

Winter is here and the farmers are spending a bit more time inside, catching up on bookkeeping and volunteer commitments, but the cattle remain out on pasture all year (barn? what’s a barn?).  All summer we plan our grazing carefully to allow for the most ‘stockpile’ come winter, so that our cows are truly pasture-raised year-round.

News from the Ranch

What goes on at the ranch between our bi-weekly market rounds? A lot!  There are the regular chores that always keep us busy: moving the cows onto fresh pasture, feeding grain to the meat chickens and layers, delivering greens to the baby turkeys in the brooder, collecting and washing eggs, towing the egg mobile to new paddocks, and of course keeping you all updated with our newsletter, and packing the trailer with delicious meats for market!  But we also make time for new projects, facility improvements, educational adventures, and sometimes even invite new animals onto the farm…