Harvesting
After our cows have been with us 2-3 years feasting on nutrient dense native grasses, it is time for the harvest. First we call them from the pastures into the corrals. We literally call them with the same tones we use to bring them to fresh grass a few times per week, so they usually come into the corrals curiously and calmly.
Being able to treat the animals gently is an important part of our humane practices, which take the front seat in all our harvesting procedures.
After choosing the best two cows, we sort them into a pen and load them into a livestock trailer.
These are the exterior facilities of the University Nevada Reno - where our USDA certified livestock handlers receive our cows, keeping them in natural surroundings until the final moment. At first morning light, each cow is walked up the ramp on the left, through the door into a one-cow holding box where it is quickly and painlessly dispatched.
From the orange box in the back corner, the dispatched animal is dressed out and cleaned off for setting out in a controlled, refrigerated room to dry-age for two weeks in order to tenderize the meat while enriching the flavor (a process long since abandoned by grocery-store beef).
Selling
Livestock producers sell them in the wet market, grocery store, and supermarket directly. Sometimes, they sell them to agents such as trading companies, exporters, importers.
Buying
End-consumers or traders(importer or exporter) buy them in the wet market, grocery store, and supermarket.
Preparing/Cooking1. Buy the best steak for pan-searing.
The best steaks for cooking on the stovetop are boneless steaks that are between one and one-and-a-half inches thick. Thicker cuts like a New York strip steak or a boneless rib-eye work best for this method. Look for a steak with plentiful marbling (the white fat that runs throughout the meat) and don’t be afraid to ask your butcher to cut a thicker steak if needed. When a steak has enough fat, it tends to remain juicy during the cooking process and has the meaty flavor and texture you want from a steak.Do Other Cuts Work?
This method of pan-searing a steak would work with steaks that fall under one inch (flank, flat-iron) although the overall process of cooking these cuts happens much faster. Be ready with your digital thermometer after the two-minute mark to begin testing for doneness.
- Season it well.
Salting steaks, and the salt’s ability to season the meat, works like a curve. On one end of the spectrum, if you season the steaks just before searing you’ll get a nicely seasoned steak. On the other end, if you season the steak a whole day ahead, you’ll end up with a similarly well-seasoned steak. Any length of time in between results in the salt pulling out surface moisture, which inhibits a great sear.
Salt steak for 30 minutes: This is the best option for those nights when you’re cooking steak on a whim, and it’s also my preferred method. Salting relatively close to cooking seasons the steak and helps create a dry surface for searing.Salt steak for 24 hours: Salting your steak overnight (18 to 24 hours before you plan to cook it) also creates a dry surface for searing, but with the added bonus of a bit more concentrated flavor in the interior tissue. You’ll need plenty of fridge space for this maneuver, however, as you’ll want to let the salted steak air-dry on a cooling rack set over a tray.Spice After Searing
Steer clear of ground pepper, steak seasoning, or other rubs for these pan-seared steaks. The extremely hot pan will burn these spices before they can flavor the steak.3. Cook it hot and fast.
Here’s where I’m going to ask you to trust me. Put your heaviest pan, preferably cast iron, over high heat and let it get so hot it smokes a little before adding the steaks to the pan. The hot, hot heat is essential to a creating a nice crust on your steak. Searing isn’t about keeping moisture in (research has proven that to be a false theory) — it’s about creating a crisp crust on the outside that adds a ton of flavor to the finished steak.Keep the steaks moving, turning or flipping every minute or so to create a thin, even crust on the outside. About halfway through cooking, add a few tablespoons of butter, herbs, and aromatics to make a hot baste for finishing the steak. Use a large spoon to bathe the steaks in the hot butter and continue flipping until the steaks reach your desired doneness.Skip the Oil
You’ll notice this recipe doesn’t call for any oil on the steaks or in the pan to prevent sticking. Oil can inhibit browning, which slows searing. As long as you’re using a very hot cast iron pan, sticking shouldn’t be a problem.Determining Doneness
The best and easiest way to determine the doneness of steak is with a probe thermometer. There are so many factors at play — the steak, the pan, the oven — and the only way to ensure you’ll end up with the doneness you want is by taking the temperature.
Eating
Finally, end-consumers eat the cooked red meat. Properly cooked red meat is likely very healthy. It's highly nutritious and loaded with healthy proteins, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals, along with various nutrients known to positively affect the function of both your body and brain.
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