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Meat CSA - April Recipes

I'm sure everyone else is as excited about the arrival of Spring as we are. While it now means a few weeks of mud season, it's far more enjoyable to be outside and working with the animals. It also means that we can start to think a bit more about grilling. Grilling means a lot of things, but when we think of grilling, we think of a perfectly seared steak. We kick off the start of the grilling season with the addition of some beautiful ribeye steaks. The smell and sound of the steak hitting the roaring hot grill is one of the most distinctive pleasures of cooking. The sizzle, the smoke, it embodies everything about that's great about cooking outside. steak

Cooking a great steak isn't difficult, but it does require a few key steps to ensure proper doneness and tenderness. This is especially true for the members receiving the 100% grass fed steaks, as they can quickly go from perfect to tough if you aren't paying attention. Here are a few tips and hints to getting the perfect steak.

1. Get your grill roaring hot. If you have the ability to use a cast iron grill, definitely use that, as it transfers heat much better than the typical stainless grill that most are accustomed to. If not, no big deal, as the main thing is to get your grill screaming hot.

2. Generously pre-salt your meat about 60 minutes prior to cooking and leave out on the counter, allowing the meat to come to room temperature. This will allow the salt to penetrate the meat, rather than just being a surface seasoning. 

3. When you're ready to cook, you're going to lay that steak down on the grill an do -NOT- move until you're ready to flip. For rare beef, we typically cook about 3 minutes each side. On average, you'll cook grass-fed beef about 30% less time than grain-fed/supplemented . If you're a fan of well-done meat, you're going to want to cook this meat in some sort of a liquid, as it'll just toughen up far too much to be tasty if grilled to that level of doneness.

Here is a quick guide to test doneness in your meat.  Hold your thumb and finger/s together as pictured, and feel each stage of cooking:

Temperature Test

*for those folks receiving the beef that has had free choice access to grain, you'll follow the exact same directions, just allowing for a slightly longer cooking time.

Chorizo and Eggs

In addition to ribeyes, you'll also find some chorizo, a chuck roast and ground beef. Here are some great recipes for those items as well.

Frittata with Chard and Chorizo

Braised Beef with Red Onion Gremolata