In my other new post today I share a couple healthy meat stories with you, one about a new healthy food I can't believe I like, and another about a little Thanksgiving Day frustration…
Today, though, I thought I'd give you an update and let you know what we thought about our first grass-fed meat order. (Read more in the other healthy meat post and find info there on where to buy it.)
Our first order included:
- Veal Bones – I had heard these make an extra healthy, delicious stock, and I found this to be true – what a great base for soups, casseroles, Shepherd's Pie, beef stroganoff, etc.
- Braunsweiger – I had to try it at least once and as I explained in the other post, I'm geeked that I like it! Here are the ingredients: beef, beef liver, water, sea salt, onion powder, honey, white pepper, coriander, marjoram, allspice.
- Beef Tallow Shortening – we tried healthy homemade french fries! They were so good! But I've got to get a thermometer so I can get them just right the first time. They weren't done enough at first, but the 2nd batch was crispy and wonderful! They didn't last long here, and I loved knowing they were cooked in healthy oil.
- Spicy Beef Jerky – good for a healthy, easy, quick snack. Our teenager loves jerky.
- Plain Beef Jerky – he didn't like this one.
- Beef Bacon – the jury is still out about whether or not pork is good for us, even if from pigs raised in healthy ways, so I try not to serve it too often, just in case, but we love bacon, so I thought we'd try this. I didn't care for it, though. It was more chewy than crispy, and I loooove my bacon crispy. (There are pretty good arguments on both sides of the pork issue, anyone want to comment and join the debate?)
- Beef Head Cheese – I got this thinking Kent might eat it, because just the title was enough to turn me off…oh fine, maybe I'll take a little bite. Surprise! I really liked it! Similar to the Braunsweiger, It just tastes like a mild sausage, but more of a sausage consistency than the softer Braunsweiger. It was great on a cracker, too. Here are the ingredients… or maybe I shouldn't tell you. Just disregard this part if needed, and think of all the nutrition! Beef Head Cheese: beef, beef hearts, beef tongues, sea salt, white pepper, onion powder, coriander. Uncured. Fully cooked. Not preserved.
In case you're curious, I also wanted to tell you how this meat arrived… it was rock solid frozen, and it came from a few states away! It was sealed tight with an ice pack around it, in a styrofoam cooler, in a big box. I was impressed.
- You CAN eat beef heart – you don't even taste it when it's with ground beef, I promise!
- Does your grass-fed meat or raw milk ever taste “off”?
- Rookie Tips
- Organ Meats – ICK? Or Super Food?
US Wellness Meats says
Hi Anna,
Here are some organ sausage storage guidelines:
REFRIGERATOR/THAWED –
2 weeks, unopened
1 week, opened
FREEZER/FROZEN –
1-2 years (or more), unopened
6 months, opened but sealed
If you will not use one pound at a time, I recommend thawing the sausage in the refrigerator until it is just soft enough to cut through – package the portion you’re not using in the most airtight packaging possible before freezing. A vacuum sealer would be best . . . I noticed the Reynolds Handi Vac (?) sealers at WalMart for less than $4 recently. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, wrap sausage tightly in multiple layers of freezer paper and/or press-n-seal and use a zip bag made specifically for freezing.
E-mail me if you’d like more details or have specific questions – and enjoy the sausage!
McKenzie @ US Wellness Meats
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
Hi Anna,
Just guessing, but I think it would freeze very well. In fact, I just ordered a bunch to freeze (because of their minimum order requirement), but it would be unopened. USWM is VERY responsive to emails (M-F), and I know they’d answer this for you quickly. You could email McKenzie, and she’ll get you the scoop: [email protected] As a matter of fact, I’ll email her and ask her to respond here, so everyone can read the answers.
Thanks, Anna!
Kelly
Anna says
Got a question –
US Wellness sells their headcheese and braunschweiger and similar products in 1 pound sausages. What do you think is the “shelf-life” of these – unopened, once opened, etc. We’re an small family, so I’m not sure how fast we’d go through 1 pound. Wonder if half a sausage would freeze well?
Anna says
I’m a big pork fan; except for a few cultures that had prohibitions on pork, pigs have fed people all over the world. It’s not surprising, given that pigs are omnivorous and can consume the whey leftover from cheesemaking, as well as other kitchen and crop craps. They don’t take up much room and until recently, could even be raised in a urban backyard.
Traditionally wild pigs were hunted after they had fattened up on the forest acorns; later the same strategy was used with domesticated pigs. Pigs naturally root round and can do some of the farm work, turning compost piles (read Joel Salatin’s descriptions of his “pig workers”). Properly raised pork is very healthy, with a good balance of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, and without excessive polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Plus, pork meat and fat is very versatile, with a mild flavor that works well with many cuisines and tastes (Asian, Polynesian, European, American, etc.).
Kelly, have you read (or listened to an audio recording of) Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, with its painstakingly researched and detailed Civil War-era descriptions of the food, food prep, and the way people lived off off the fruits of a farm? The incredibly interesting details were glossed over in the movie version unfortunately. WAPF gives the book a thumbs up, btw, and I can definitely see why.
There is a powerful chapter of a very poor woman trying to hide her hog from the Civil War armies, so that she and her infant can survive the winter without starving. Also, one of the main characters’ long walk to his home across North Carolina (east to west, which having lived 10 years in NC, IS a long journey) is sustained by eating enough pork fat, carefully wrapped in paper. I was fascinated by how much pork and pork fat figure into the story.
Michigan Mom2three says
Kelly – I lived abroad in France as a student…. I had always heard about “fois gras” in French class and of course thought it as gross – but let me tell you, I LOVED it when I had it in France. I don’t know how to make it, and I never buy it (it’s so expensive), but I sure have fond memories of it!
Oh – and yeah, we like our pork from Creswick too. In fact – I’m making ham and beans today…… slow cooked all day and will eat it with some homemade organic cornbread for supper.
Shauna
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
Horse fat? Oh my, not sure if I could do that one!
Have you posted a liver pate recipe? If so, will you add the link here? How does that taste compared to Braunsweiger?
Thanks!
Kelly
cheeseslave says
I think pork is really good for you — especially pig fat (lard).
And I LOVE anything made with bacon or sausage.
Read this article about how it prevents wrinkles:
https://www.cheeseslave.com/2008/01/24/does-eating-lard-prevent-wrinkles/
My favorite things made with organ meats are:
Liver pate (especially foie gras)
Braunschweiger or liverwurst sandwiches (with lots of butter)
I need to post my recipe for French fries. They are so wonderful in beef tallow, aren’t they? In France, they traditionally use horse fat.