Handling and Cooking Tips 

The beef we produce at Jim Frank’s is different from what you will find at supermarkets. This may require some adjustments in handling, cooking, and eating grass fed beef. First, our beef is extremely fresh. You will be receiving meat directly after processing while even at the best of markets their product is somewhere around 30 days old. We only process and package a controlled single animal at a time unlike a commercially produced product that uses a conveyor mass production line with hundreds of employees to do hundreds of cattle all at the same time. This requires them to chemical wash the meat to control pathogens, which leaves residue behind. We provide beef with lesser pathogen risk simply by not exposing to massive contact levels of the large chains, as such our processing is chemical free. Excellent news for chemical-sensitive folks! The following are some helpful tips that we have found to store and prepare our grass fed beef for best enjoyment.

Ground Beef

We suggest you store in your freezer right away and then thaw out as you need it. When ready to use, It is best to thaw in a bowl or container in the refrigerator overnight allowing natural juices to release from packaging. Because of the freshness it will stay good for weeks to come. Placing a frozen package in the sink to thaw during the day that will be cooked that night is perfectly fine as well. 

*Tip: when placing the chub bags in your freezer, keep them tail-upright until frozen. This will prevent the weight of bags on top from squeezing the bottom bags out and making a mess in your freezer! Once they are solid frozen, they can be re-arranged however you prefer.

Grass fed beef is a lean meat that can sometimes be difficult to form into patties, meat balls, and loafs. There are some hacks that work well to achieve this. First, place the ground beef in a bowl then mix in your salt, pepper and other desired seasons then form into a patty or ball. Sometimes an extra binder is necessary for a stiffer patty, our go to is Parmesan cheese but egg, nut flours, soy flours, bread and panko crumbs all will help. A 1/3 cup or less is all that is needed for a 2 lb package. 

Roast

The roasts in our calf share packages are normally: the briskets, eye of round, tri-tip, bottom round, and sirloin tip. These can be smoked and slow roasted. Most of our roasts fit nicely in a crock-pot.  Grass fed actually does very well cooked slow and allows for meat to naturally tender.  All these roasts can also be cut into stew meat or sliced thin for making jerky. We do recommend that they are frozen right away and thawed when ready to use. They are packaged by vacuum double seal which allows natural juices to stay in packaging to add flavor while thawing. These juices can also be used to make gravies and sauces. 

Steaks

Our grass fed/finished steak cuts: Ribeyes, NY strip, Filet, Chuck, Denvers, Fajitas, Skirts, Flanks, Spinals can actually be benefited by allowing these cuts to get some age before cooking. This can add flavor and tenderness. Grass fed/finished beef will in general be chewier than grain produced products. There are two approaches to getting to this age, but leave steaks in original packaging during aging. 

First method, do not place these cuts in the freezer right away but instead store them in a refrigerator for at least 8 days up to 3 weeks before placing them in the freezer. These cuts can be used at any time during this process. After 18 to 20 days the cuts should be frozen and then once thawed eaten right away. 

Second method, is to go ahead and freeze the steak cuts right away and then allow them to thaw and rest in the refrigerator for 8 to 18 days before cooking.

Cast Iron Skillet

A cast iron skillet is without a doubt our preferred method to cook our steak cuts high heat and fast to medium. Supply an ample amount of olive oil or butter to the pan, give the cast iron some time to heat up, and then 3 1/2 minutes for each side. Allow the steaks to rest for at least 5 minutes before eating by placing them on a wood cutting board and covering with foil or a glass, or metal bowl. Lean grass fed beef steak has no tolerance for overcooking. It will become a chewy old boot if overcooked! Grass fed is best cooked rare to medium-rare for maximum tenderness.

Marinades 

Marinades are also helpful to add flavor and tenderness. We still suggest allowing the steak cut to age for 8 to 16 days then remove from the package and marinade for 8-12 hours before cooking. We prefer a simple buttermilk marinade: 2 cups buttermilk, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 3 tablespoon of lemon juice mix up in ziploc bag add steak and place in refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours remove steak, salt and pepper to taste and sear in cast iron skillet, rest covered for 5 minutes as above. 

Round Steak

Our share packages will have some thick cut bottom round steaks, we recommend aging as above but pan searing times will take a minute longer for each side. These round steaks can also easily be cut into stew meat. One of our favorite dishes with this steak cut is shredded beef for sandwiches, baked potato topping, or zucchini topping.  Simply, place the round steaks in a crock-pot set on low for 8 hours, the meat will easily shed apart with a fork, then just mix in your favorite BBQ sauce. 

Grass Fed/Finished Fajitas

We suggest cutting the fajitas to size before high heat fast pan searing instead of trying to cook the whole fajitas. This cut is lean in general especially with grass fed with no forgiveness for overdone. The key to keeping the fajitas tender is the cutting. You want to go against the grain of the meat and this seems unnatural from the way they lay out. Start by cutting with the grain in 3 inch slabs then come back across the grain in 1/4 to 1/2 slices.  

Freezer Space

Your normal icebox and freezer combo found in most homes will have enough space to hold 50 lbs of beef. Our packages are sold by: 1/4 Calf approximately 50 lbs, 1/2 Calf approximately 100 lbs and Whole Calf approximately 200 lbs. The standard 17 cu feet stand-up freezer will hold up to 200 lbs. Chest freezers do a nice job, you don’t lose all your cold when you open the door and 8 to 12 cu feet will hold 100 lbs.

Advantages of Purchasing Beef Direct from a Farm

Cost Saving. Especially when we get to our 1/2 and whole calf packages, because they are sold at a flat rate instead of individual cuts that can range from $9 to $27 a pound for grass fed/ grass finished beef. On individual grass fed cuts of steaks, roast, and grind on 200 lbs of beef the average is $16 for a total $3200.00 , our price is 1/3 less due flat rate bulk pricing.

Low Carbon Footprint. Our cattle are raised on the farm and never go to a feedlot. That alone reduces the carbon footprint drastically. On top of that our meat is processed one animal at a time and shipped fresh the next day direct to you or picked up on the farm if you wish. Whether it is supermarkets and small corner butcher shops, that cattle is shipped to larger processing facilities for dispatch, shipping to another processor to break down into cuts, shipped to the distribution center, then shipped to store for sale. 

Buying Local. Sadly most of the large packing companies that supply our grocery stores are foreign owned so the profits they make leave the country. We are a small family farm that shops the same stores and pays the same school, property, and income taxes just as you do. The money we make stays and gets reinvested in this community.