Welcome to the Ranch!

First of all, I want to thank the people who send me information or let me know about articles in other publications pertaining to grass fed beef.  I cannot possibly know each time a television show, news report, or printed publication does a story on grass fed beef; therefore, I am sincerely appreciative of the help.

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article by Peter King entitled, “Ordering Up Beef that Roamed the Range.”  Mr. King wanted to find out if grass fed beef was really tastier than traditionally raised beef.  First, he explains what grass fed beef is.  Then he gives an interesting statistic.  He writes that “3 % of  beef sold in the U. S. is from grass fed cattle. ”

He looks online for mail-order grass fed beef.  Cross Creek Cattle Company is not one of the ranches.  We do not sell our beef this way yet.  Mr. King finds and orders from five different ranches.  He purchases comparable cuts of steak from each ranch .  Then he rounds up a group of people to be his taste testers.

He gives a very fair and honest critique of each ranch.  From the ease in which you order online to the taste of the steak, he was interested in the whole grass fed beef experience.  The taste of course was what prompted the entire article.

I believe that Mr. King and his taste tasters were pleasantly surprised at the quality and flavor of the grass fed steaks.  He writes, ” our tasters agreed that all the grass-fed beef tasted fresher and less greasy than supermarket beef.”

He is absolutely correct.  You can tell a difference between traditionally raised beef and grass fed beef.  At the end of the article, he inserts a chart with a row for each of the five ranches from which he bought.  You will notice the price per steak and the shipping charges.

As I stated earlier, Cross Creek Cattle Company does not sell by the cut nor does it ship our meat yet.  However, we are working to accomplish that goal.  We sell 1/4, 1/2, or whole orders for $3.50 a pound based on the hanging carcass weight.  You get the most bang for your buck this way.

I am excited anytime grass fed beef is the topic of conversation in the public arena.  It just means that interest and awareness is growing about the alternative to grain fed cattle on a national scale.  To read more about our grass fed beef and its health benefits, click here.

Ready and waiting for their turn in the ring.

On Saturday, June 5th, Jake represented Cross Creek Cattle Company at the Grimes County Fair.  He raised, halter broke, and practiced with the fifteen month old heifer as his 4-H Beef Project.  This is his first year as an official 4-H member; therefore, this project was also his first animal project.

On our ranch and family farm, we raise animals from rabbits and chickens to cows and horses with other species in between.  Raising an animal for the show is an entirely different experience.  This is especially true when comparing grass fed beef to show beef.  To be competitive, show animals need grain in order to fatten them up.  Judges look for good conditioning, which in my mind means fat.  Needless to say, this heifer was taken out of our grass fed program.

We learned a lot this year.  With the help of our county extension agent, Jake fed his heifer as directed.  She began really putting on the weight.  She got her hooves trimmed and her hair clipped.  She also received several baths.  A fan blew on her during the heat of the day.  The heifer was the most pampered animal on our ranch.

The last two weeks before the show, Jake really began working on his showmanship.  Different family members would pretend to be the judge.  We would ask him to do a variety of things with his heifer.  When he set her up, we would walk around her, touch her, and speak to Jake.  This was very good practice for what was to come on the 5th.

Jake in the show ring with Sugar.

Jake arrived at the Grimes County Fairgrounds excited and ready to participate in his first heifer show.  He had the heifer, who he named Sugar, looking show ready and beautiful.  He was all dressed up, too.  Jake was very smart in that he watched a few of the first classes before his class to get a better idea of what the judge would have him do in the ring.  He watched some experienced showman and got some good ideas.

When it was Sugar’s class, Jake was ready.  He walked in the ring with such great confidence.  He looked like he was an experienced showman.  He followed the judge’s requests.  And, he set Sugar up beautifully for the judge.

The judge said as he was giving his reasons for placing the class, “The more that you look at this heifer (Sugar), the more that you like her.”  He also called her “refined and feminine.”  These are all desirable qualities for a heifer in any breed.

Jake and Sugar won the class.  He received a $25.00 gift certificate from Producer’s Co-op in Bryan, Texas.  Jake was excited that he won and we were so proud of Jake.  His hard work paid off.

Now the show bug has bitten him.  He is looking for more shows in which to participate.  I will let you know how he does in his future shows.  His goal right now is to enter the Houston Livestock Show next year.  Wherever Jake shows Sugar or any other heifer, he will make Cross Creek Cattle Company proud.

From time to time, I like to post a grass fed beef recipe.  One of my favorite cuts of meat is ground beef.  I know that it is not the most sought after nor the most sophisticated cut, but it is probably the most versatile.

I love to make hamburger patties, spaghetti, tacos, lasagna, meatloaf, etc. with ground beef.  Have you ever made hamburger patties with store-bought ground beef and were disappointed when the finished product was half the size of the original patty?  The fat shrinks.

Grass fed beef is naturally lean.  You will notice that your ground beef, especially in patty form, does not shrink much if at all.  Therefore, you are not spending much money on fat.  You are mainly paying for beef.

But what about flavor?  Does grass fed beef then not have much flavor without so much added fat?  It is quite the contrary.  The beef has more flavor than store-bought or traditionally raised beef.  The difference is hard to describe, but noticeable on the very first bite.  Trust me, grass fed beef is delicious and full of flavor.

Today I wanted to give you a recipe for something that is not typical.  In fact it would be considered a seasonal recipe if you eat from your family garden.  However, you can almost always find summer squash in your grocery store.

Right now in Texas, we are in the midst of summer squash season.  At Cross Creek Cattle Company, we have squash coming out of our ears.  We are always looking for different ways to use it.  Boiled, steamed, grilled, fried, roasted, in casseroles, raw, etc. are all ways that we use summer squash.

The following is a delicious recipe that incorporates seasonal ingredients and of course our grass fed beef.

Stuffed Squash

6 lg. squash
1 pound of grass fed ground beef
1/2 cup of rice
1 egg
1 med. bell pepper, chopped
1 sm. onion, chopped
salt and pepper
1 can of tomato sauce or a fresh tomato chopped finely

First you must prepare the squash.  Cut off the bottoms of the squash so that they will stand up.  Cut off the crook-neck, too.  Chop up the neck except for the very end in slices and set aside.  With a vegetable peeler core the squash and clean out all the seeds.

In a bowl, mix together the raw grass fed beef, uncooked rice, egg, bell pepper, and onion.  Add salt and pepper to your liking.  Mix it well.

Fill the bottom of a large pot with about 1″ of  water.  Stuff the squash with the ground beef mixture.  Place standing up in the pot.  If you have extra meat, then make meatballs and add to the pan.  When all the squash are filled and standing in the pot, add the extra slice of squash from the neck to the pot.

Now spoon the tomato sauce on top of each stuffed squash.  This adds moisture and flavor to your dish.

Cover the pan and cook for 1 1/2 hours.  Check periodically to ensure the water level is good.  You may have to add more water throughout the cooking process.  You are cooking the dish with steam.

The beef should be cooked, the rice cooked, and the squash tender when it is done.  Serve with a fresh salad or vegetable.

For added flavor, you can stuff a bell pepper with the same grass fed beef mixture and add it to your pot.  Not only is it delicious in its own right, but its presence flavors the squash, too.

Rain, glorious rain!  It started raining last night and I believe I heard it still raining early into the morning.  At about 8 o’clock this morning it began again.  We are so excited here at Cross Creek Cattle Company.

It is the perfect rain, too.  It is not accompanied with a storm system.  We were not under a tornado watch.  We did not lose our electricity due to high winds.  We were not kept awake with thunder and lightning.  It is a steady rain.

Not only is this rain steady, but it is a soaking rain.  The water is doing exactly what we need it to do; the water is seeping into the soil nourishing the roots of our plants and grass.  It is not running off our pastures into creeks that eventually flow into the Gulf of Mexico.  It is not flooding our pastures and putting our herd in peril.  As I said before, we consider ourselves blessed with this perfect rain.

As you would expect rain plays an important role on a grass fed ranch.  Grass has to have sufficient rainfall to thrive.  I know that our cattle and grass fed operation did well despite a drought last summer, but two back to back droughts would have been tough to pull through without many problems, which is why this rain is absolutely glorious.

I have a more selfish need for the rain that goes beyond the pasture conditions.  I have a big, organic vegetable garden that badly needs the rain, too.  Despite my seemingly constant watering, the plants are turning yellow.  The soil is never muddy; the soil has been soaking up all the water.  For some reason, watering with a sprinkler is not as good as rain falling from the sky for your garden.

I don’t know the reason, but I have made this observation countless times.  The garden always seems refreshed after a rain like this, but not when I water it myself.  Maybe it has something to do with the rain bringing cooler temperatures and overcast skies.  Whereas when I water, the skies are clear and the sun is still baking the plants.  Evaporation of the water might be a key issue as well.  Regardless of the reason, I am celebrating the fact that my garden is being refreshed and soaked by rain.

We want the rain to stay, but obviously we don’t want it to rain forever.  That would be unhealthy for our grass fed operation and my garden.  We want the rain to continue treating us with its blessings throughout the summer.  We definitely don’t want to endure another drought.  This great rainfall is a good sign that we will not.