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How to Participate in a Beef Share

Beaver Brook Ranch

By Stefan Schoen (Owner/Rancher of Beaver Brook Ranch located in Hope, NJ)

Beaver Brook Ranch

5 Easy Steps + 1 Delicious Step (Summary):

  • Step #1 : Select the quantity of Beef you want
  • Step #2: Place your order (Payment #1) to reserve your slot in the beef share
  • Step #3: At Checkout, Select Free Shipping or Pick Up at Ranch (Hope, NJ) & Save $$
  • Step #4: Fill out the Butcher Instruction Sheet
  • Step #5: Final Invoice Sent (Payment #2) w/ Pick Up and Shipping Details
  • Step #6: Enjoy Your Beef!!

Follow the Details Below:

Step #1 : Select the quantity of Beef you want.

Each cut is flash frozen, (stays fresh for 12 months), individually vacuum packaged, weighed and labeled. 

  • 1/4 Beef Share – 100lbs* (3.5 cu ft freezer space, think roughly 4 milk crates)
    • If you eat 2lbs a week, it will last you roughly 12 months, 4lbs a week = 6 months etc
  • 1/2 Beef Share – 200lbs* (7 cu ft freezer space)
    • Split with a friend or 4lbs a week, it will last you roughly 12 months, 8lbs a week = 6 months
  • Full Beef Share – 400lbs* (14 cu ft freezer space)
    • Share with up to 4 friends or 8lbs a week, will last you roughly 12 months

Organs, Bones and Fat are available at no charge on the butcher instruction sheet

* The weight listed above is the actual weight of the meat (not hanging weight).

Step #2: Reserve your slot in the beef share by placing your order (Payment #1).

The next available date (when ready) is listed on the product page*. We typically do pick ups 9-12pm on Saturdays. If you can’t make it, please let us know and we can make alternative arrangements. If you select to have your order shipped, it will ship that upcoming Monday.

*Depending on the time of year we run 45-90 days out, so plan ahead 🙂

Step #3: At Checkout, Select Free Shipping or Pick Up & Save $$

  • 1/4 Share – Free Shipping* or Pick up & Save $100
  • 1/2 Share – Free Shipping* or Pick up & Save $200
  • Full Beef Share – Pick Up Only (Pick Up $ Save Discount applied to the price)

*Free Shipping to the following states:  NJ, NY, CT, PA, DE,DC, FL, MN, IA,WV,AL,OH, MD, MA, RI, NH, ME, VT, VA, NC, SC, GA, TN IN, IL, KY & MI or Pick Up at the Ranch & Save $$.  If you are located outside of these states, unfortunately we do not ship to your location.

Need More Freezer Space? 7 cu ft chest freezer $250

Step #4: Fill out the Butcher Instruction Sheet

Once you order is placed, you will receive, via email, an order confirmation with your order # and a link to your butcher instruction sheet. Our recommendations (standard cut) are checked in green

* If you don’t see a particular cut you desire on the cut sheet, please place a note on your butcher instruction sheet

Step #5: Final Invoice w/ Pick Up and Shipping Details

The Monday before your 1/4, 1/2 or Full Beef Share is ready (date listed on original order) we will email you the final invoice (Payment # 2)  with your shipping details or your pick up date/time (if you can’t make it on that date/time, please let us know and we can find an alternative pick up date/time).

Step #6: Enjoy Your Beef!!

How to Cook Grass Fed Beef

Got Questions? Give us a call or text 908-509-7102

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Cooking Tips

100% Grass Fed Beef

“Slow and Low”

 With the fat profile being different then your normal meat, if you are heating ground beef to a temperature any higher than 212 F you are in fact turning the protein strands into rubber bands. 
Any protein strand when heated higher then 212 F contracts squeezing whatever moisture/fat out. (Example: when you accidentally overcook the meat and all the water and fat is at the bottom of the pan).
Slow and Low’ is now becoming the recognized way to cook all protein.  Grass fed beef is full of flavor and extremely tender if cooked right. However, the first time you try it, you might be disappointed. The reason is, (I’m guilty), you will cook grass fed beef as if it were the same as conventional grain fed beef.  Not accounting for the leanness of the meat and over cook it

Grass Fed Beef Cooking Tips

1. Lower the cooking temperature. If your grill, oven or stove top is too hot, you will cook off the beneficial fat and dry this beef out quickly. Slow and Low is the way to go with this beef. A general rule of thumb is cut the temperature down by at least 50 degrees. For roasts, cook at 225 degrees or in a crock pot. For steaks, you can sear on medium, but then quickly move to low heat to slowly finish the cooking process.  Unlike grain fed beef which requires a higher searing temperature, grass fed beef will sear on medium.

2. Invest in a meat thermometer. Most people can cook a conventional grain fed steak perfectly just by eyeballing it. But with grass fed beef, there’s less wiggle room because grass fed beef cooks quickly and can go from perfectly cooked to overcooked in less than a minute. Remove it from the heat source when it is 10 degrees below your desired cooking temperature. Don’t worry, it will continue to cook once it’s taken off the grill.

The suggested internal cooking temperatures for grass fed beef are 120 – 140 degrees Fahrenheit (which is lower than the USDAs guidelines for beef which is 145 – 175).  Here’s how the grass feed beef cooking guidelines break down:

  • Rare — 120F
  • Medium Rare — 125F
  • Medium — 130F
  • Medium Well — 135F
  • Well — 140F

Just remember, if you like your meat more on the medium to well done side, make sure you turn the heat way down to allow the meat to cook slowly. Your patience will be rewarded.

Cooking Chart for all pastured meats.

 
Meat Grass Fed Suggested USDA Recommends
Beef & Bison     120 – 140 degrees      145 – 175 degrees
Ground Beef                  160                  160
Veal             125 – 155              145 – 175
Lamb & Goat             120 – 145              145 – 175
Pork             145 – 160              160 – 170
Chicken & Turkey                  165                   165
Turkey 165 165

3. Let it rest on the counter top for 10 minutes. While your meat was cooking, all the water molecules were heated up and excited. Resting it allows the juices to redistribute. Cutting into it too soon will allow all the moisture to drain out. The result? More moisture on the plate than in your mouth.

4. Start with steaks and roasts that are at room temperature before cooking. Thaw your meat in the refrigerator, or if you are in a hurry, in an air tight bag submerged in cool water. But never thaw it in the microwave. Once it is thawed, allow it to come to room temperature covered on the counter top before cooking. This prevents the meat from being shocked when you put it on the hot surface.

5. Tenderize. One great way to tenderize grass-fed beef is to use a tenderizing marinade.   This basic marinade involves rubbing beef with 2 or more tablespoons of Organic, Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive oil.  The unfiltered oil contains enzymes that help tenderize the beef and enhance the flavor.  Let the oil soak into the meat for two hours at room temperature (overnight if in the fridge).  For some of the tougher cuts of beef, try a more physical approach.  Cover the beef with plastic and pound your steak a few times to break down the connective tissue. But no need to pulverize it! A few whacks should do the trick.

Follow these tips and you will experience an extremely tender, flavorful and healthful piece of meat!

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Our History

beaverbrookranch.com

Our History/Background:

Prior to starting Beaver Brook Ranch, my father and I had a 330 acre ranch in Meredithville, VA (in the boondocks) about 1.5 hr south of Richmond,where we had a herd of Black Angus breeders (mom cows) that had a calf each year. When we bought the ranch in VA in the mid 2000’s, we didn’t have a clue about what we were doing.

A fellow farmer helped show us the ropes and for the first few years we were excited to raise our own calves. The breeders would “calf” in the spring and the calves would nurse on their mothers for 6 or so months and be on grass permanently for another 3 months thereafter. At around 9 months 450-600lbs, the fellow farmer would bring our calves, along with his calves, to the auction and we would get a check in the mail from the sale barn, which was pretty cool, since we started the ranch from scratch with out knowing much about ranching etc.

Being new to the whole ranching thing, we never looked below the surface to find out exactly where our calves were ending up. Just about the time, the word “Grass Fed” was becoming a popular term among the main stream consumer, around 2011-2013, my father and I started reading more and more about the commercial beef supply chain and asking more and more questions to fellow farmers about how the whole thing works. We knew we were delivering calves that were 100% Grass Fed, but what led us to ultimately build Beaver Brook Ranch, was our lack of control from the time the calves left our ranch to when they ended up on someone’s dinner table.

100% Grass Fed Beef

Commercial Beef Supply Chain:

Phase 1: Cow/Calf Operation: (What we were doing prior to Beaver Brook Ranch.)

Raising calves until 9 months and selling at the sale barn(auction). Ranchers get paid extra if the calves are exposed/trained to eat corn/grain prior to delivery (many times the calves would get sick at the time of corn/grain intro and have to be fed antibiotics) and if the calves were injected with hormone implants behind the ear (help them grow more quickly), the rancher would get paid an extra $10. We never bothered with either, that said, this wasn’t our main source of income so I can’t say we wouldn’t have back then, if this was our only source of income.

Phase 2: Sale Barn(Auction)

The calf drop off would occur a day or two before the actual auction. The sale barn had corrals setup and each ranch would be given a designated pen. We were a small timer compared to some of the cow/calf operators who had weekly deliveries and 100s of calves. Every Tuesday, the sale barn would have auctions and buyers would come and bid on the calves. At this point, in the process, the calves are called feeders. Some of the female calves “heifers” were sold as replacement heifers/breeders to cow/calf operators but most of heifer and steer calves went as feeders to ranchers who owned either intermediate ranches (feed the calves from 600-900 lbs) or to the calf’s final destination, feedlots.

Phase 3: Feedlots

The majority of calves purchased at the auction, are hauled by the tractor trailer load, to commercial feedlots, where they will live in stock pens and fed/fattened up with a mixture of corn and other grains. You seen the pictures, so enough said.

Phase 4: Slaughterhouse/Processing/Wholesale Distributors

Once the cows reach peak weight, they move on to the next stage which may be up to three separate stops. The slaughterhouse where the cows are brought down to the hanging carcass “hanging weight” , the butcher/processor where they are cut up into individual retail cuts and moved on to wholesale distributors who sell the individual cuts to grocery stores and restaurants etc. Some of your larger retailers have their own wholesale buyer/division who will buy direct from the processors.

I think you get the point, there are a lot touch points involved before it ends up in your refrigerator/freezer.

Why we started Beaver Brook Ranch:  

1.  Quality:  Utilize a rotational grazing program which produces ultra pristine 100% Grass Fed and Finished Beef
2. Transparency: Provide a fully transparent supply chain that only includes 2 touch points before being delivered direct to you. Our ranch and our local USDA inspected gourmet butcher, who Dry Ages the beef for 12-15 days and custom cuts the steaks and roasts to your specification.
3.  Value:  Provide high quality locally Raised, Dry Aged 100% Grass Fed Beef in 1/8 (45-50 lbs) or 1/4 (90-100lbs) shares at a reasonable price that includes free local delivery.

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Viewer Discretion is Advised

Beaver Brook Ranch Grass fed Beef

Pretty Disgusting!

If you don’t think the beef your are getting from your grocery store comes from places like this, think again. Don’t fall for the cute “certified black angus” emblem on the deli counter. There are lots of “certified black angus” sitting in their own filth, gobbling down corn, grain and other things you shouldn’t being eating.

If you want full transparency behind the food you are feeding your family, start by asking the question, “where is my food coming from”, and find local farms around you, that you can actual visit and see with your own eyes and answer the question for yourself.

It’s the only way to start changing our food supply chain and the health of our country.

As far as our contribution:

It’s pretty simple.  In the Spring thru Fall, we rotate our herd daily through out 15 pastures, and give them fresh water every day.  In the winter, we feed the herd hay that is grown on the ranch.  When they reach 24-28 months, we drive them to our local, USDA inspected, they are humanely harvested, the butcher ages the beef for 14 days, and custom cuts them, based on the customer’s specifications, into steaks and roasts, vacuum packages each cut with the name of the cut and the weight.

Pick Up at the Ranch & Save $$ or we offer Free Shipping on orders over $190 to the following states: NJ, NY, CT, PA, FL, DE, OH, MD, MA, RI, NH, ME, VT, VA, NC, SC, GA, AL,TN,WI,MN,WV,IN, IL, IA, KY & MI.

At roughly the same cost per lb as the mystery meat found at the grocery store, you can feed your family Dry Aged 100% Grass Fed Beef from our local ranch.

~The only way to combat the feedlot epidemic is to start shopping direct from local farms~

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