Skagit River Ranch and Organic Grass-Fed Beef

J and I are spoiled. We've managed to create this wonderful and fulfilling relationship. We not only love each other, we like each other. We can see Puget Sound from our living room. We have both committed to living a greener lifestyle. We both enjoy cooking. We both enjoy food. And we live in an area with such amazing farmer's markets that we can support these habits.

We visit at least one farmer's market every week. Most weeks, we visit two: the University District Farmer's Market and the Ballard Farmer's Market. During the summer, we buy enough at the markets to need two large canvas bags every week.

One of our favorite market vendors is Skagit River Ranch. They sell organic grass-fed beef and pork, as well as pastured chicken and eggs. Eating locally (and organic) is more expensive than shopping at the mega-supermarkets, but we've decided it's definitely worth it.

I'm going to get onto a short soapbox here for just a bit and talk about a few differences between grass-fed beef and grain-fed beef. I've compiled this information from the book The Omnivore's Dilemma as well as my own research and information from Skagit's website.

Cows have evolved to eat grass. It's why they have those ruminating stomachs. Much of the beef sold today however, is grain-fed beef. Grain-fed cows grow faster. A grain-fed cow can reach a weight for slaughter in a year. Grass-fed beef often takes two years. So a farmer's return on investment is quicker for grain-fed beef. Unfortunately, feeding a cow grain - a food for which its body was not designed, presents a few problems. The cows often suffer from health problems, including bloat and infection. Grain increases the acidity of the cows' stomachs and digestive track which can foster the growth of E.coli. This requires the cows be dosed with antibiotics along with their food. I'll skip further gory details, but I encourage you to read The Omnivore's Dilemma. Just don't read the first few chapters right before dinner out at McDonald's.

Feeding a cow grass instead of grain, helps maintain the health of the cow. This should be pretty obvious. Cows evolved to eat grass. Cows eat grass. Cows are happy (at least, as happy as a cow can be). The amount of saturated fat in grass-fed beef can be as low as 10%. Grain-fed beef can contain up to 20% saturated fat! In addition, grass-fed beef contains almost 6 times more Omega-3 fatty acids than grain-fed or grain-finished beef. Omega-3 fatty acids are the same fatty acids found in salmon. Grass-fed beef also contains higher levels of beta-carotene and CLA (both anti-oxidants).

The end result of these differences is that grass-fed beef cooks and tastes differently. If you typically buy grain-fed beef, try a taste test for yourself. The grass-fed beef should taste cleaner, with less pasty mouth feel. That pasty feel is from the saturated fat in the grain-fed beef. Make a note of how the beef smells when you cook it. Even the smell should be cleaner and meatier.

Now, off the soapbox and back to Skagit River Ranch.

We've bought a wide variety of beef and pork from Skagit and one thing we've always noticed is that there's very little fat when the beef is cooked. If we're making a recipe that calls for us to "drain off any excess fat", there is usually no excess fat to drain. The beef also cooks faster. This can be a bit tricky as we've overcooked their beef more than once. Even overcooked, though, their beef is still tender and flavorful.

They sell more than beef and pork. They also sell whole chickens and eggs as well. If you want eggs during the summer, you'd better get to the farmer's market early (like possibly right when they open) as there's always a line for Skagit's eggs.

This year, we're planning on buying beef bones from them as well to make beef stock.

If you live in Seattle and have access to the University District Farmer's market, the Ballard Farmer's market, the West Seattle Farmer's market, or Madison Market, I highly recommend you pick up some of their beef, pork, chicken, or eggs.

If you live elsewhere, look for grass-fed beef in your area. It's well worth it.