No Recipe This Tuesday
Usually on Tuesday, I show up in your inbox with something for supper.
A steak to throw on the grill.
A roast for the slow cooker.
Maybe an easier way to get dinner on the table when 5:30 rolls around faster than you expected.
But this week, I don't have a recipe for one dinner.
I'm thinking about the next 100.
Because there has been an awful lot of talk about beef lately.
Packing plants. Cattle numbers. Imports. The Mexican border. Beef prices.
There will probably be another headline tomorrow.
I can't tell you exactly what the beef market will look like six months or a year from now.
But I can tell you where your beef can come from.
Right here. From ranchers you know.
Amber & Al with some of our replacement heifers here at T Bar J Ranch in Molt, Montana.
When you buy a T Bar J beef share, you don't have to study a grocery-store label and wonder about the story behind that package of beef.
You already know.
You know your ranchers.
You know our cattle are raised here on the short-grass prairies of Montana.
You know we don't use growth hormone implants or antibiotics.
And if you've been reading these emails for very long, you know quite a bit about how we take care of them, too.
You've come along for pasture moves.
You've seen us check water.
You've watched us prepare for calving, make hay, and get ready for winter.
Because good beef doesn't begin at the butcher.
It begins out here.
Learning early that taking care of cattle means paying attention to the little things.
Cattle don't all need the same thing at the same time.
A first-calf heifer raising her first baby isn't the same as an older cow that's been doing the job for 14 years.
That's one reason we body-condition score our cattle.
We're looking.
Who is holding her condition?
Who might be getting a little thin?
Who may need some extra feed?
Would one of our older cows be better off closer to home, where she doesn't have as far to walk for water?
We'd rather notice the little things now than wait until they become big things later.
This is #213. She's 14 years old. Older cows like her are one reason we pay attention to each animal rather than simply looking at the herd as a whole.
That's part of knowing your rancher, too.
It's not simply knowing our names.
It's knowing what happens before your beef ever reaches your freezer.
And eventually, all those days of checking cattle, moving pastures, testing hay, filling water tanks, and paying attention become something much simpler at your house.
Dinner
Burgers on a Wednesday night.
Tacos when everybody is going a different direction.
Spaghetti when you need something easy.
A roast on Sunday.
Steaks on Saturday night.
And tomorrow night?
There's beef in the freezer for that, too.
That's the part I want you to picture.
Not buying one package of beef for one meal.
Opening your own freezer and having good beef there for meal after meal after meal.
Beef your family enjoys.
Beef raised by people you know.
And when the next beef headline comes across your phone, you don't have to wonder where your family's beef is coming from.
It's already in your freezer.
That's why this week's Cut of the Week isn't really about one cut at all.
It's about making the next 100 dinners a little easier.
Our fall beef shares are available now, and you don't have to start with a huge freezer or a half beef.
Our 1/8 beef is approximately 45 pounds and is a good fit for couples, smaller households, and families trying bulk beef for the first time.
For a household serving beef around twice a week, that's roughly six months' worth of beef meals.
Need more?
A 1/4 or 1/2 beef can put an even longer supply of T Bar J beef in your freezer.
And every beef share does something beyond your own family's table.
For every share reserved, we'll donate 5 pounds of T Bar J ground beef to the Montana Veterans Meat Locker in your name through our Montana 5 for Those Who Served.
So while you're putting meals in your freezer, you're helping put good Montana beef in someone else's, too.
FILL MY FREEZER WITH T BAR J BEEF
Choose the beef-share size that fits your household
This may be the most useful “recipe” I've ever sent you.
Put beef you trust in the freezer.
Then when someone asks, "What's for dinner?" you're already halfway there.
See you Friday for the Ranch Roundup.
Thank you for supporting a local rancher.
Amber, Al and Fritzie
T Bar J Ranch
P.S. If you're not sure whether a 1/8, 1/4, or 1/2 beef is right for your household, just email us. Tell us how many people you're feeding and about how often you eat beef, and we'll help you figure it out.
