Ho on the Range

We have a new family member here at P and S Farm. Ho the Holstein. The US is the leading beef producer in the world. Almost 26.9 billion pounds of beef were produced in the US back in 2000 and that has grown since we eat about 78 lbs of beef annually per capita, according to the US Dept of Agriculture Extension Service. P and S Farm has got to be the smallest beef producer in the nation, at least in Sierra County, New Mexico. Ho joined our family a few days before Christmas. Ho is a Holstein who had been a roping steer up at Andy and Kathy Underwood’s place. He apparently got smart and was too easy to catch and thus his transplanting over to the farm where he can grow eating the grasses etc that we have on pasture.
No sooner than we put the bale of alfalfa out in the garage did a black larger, older steer join Ho. This is good as it seems to quiet him down and give him some company. He doesn’t quite understand Molli’s offer of a stick and neither of them would be herded by her, so they have found a good balance to daily life. We have a cattle farm at this point.
This will be our future hamburger and finishing him off with grazing over the next couple of months won’t exactly cost us much. We are feeding some sort of protein supplement and there is a bloat block out. We also had to invest in a larger poly water troph. I think it’s about 57 gallons. This time of year it is good to have since it is freezing at night but warm during the day. They are ranging over the orchard through most of the last couple of days. We decided to water the fields today, January 3, 2009, as the daytime temperatures have gotten to 73 degrees. It’s been pleasant and perhaps a little water on the roots will help the trees and encourage grasses and other pasture plants to grow a bit.

Ag Arizona suggests that Holsteins are different than other, traditional beef breeds in that “1) they have a gentle temperament and playful, but can be dangerous if inadvertently left as intact bulls,“(thus the steer?) ” 2) Holsteins are easily bored and thereby may sort feed 3) more bloats, metabolic, and buller problems,” (what’s a buller problem?) “4) more dust production as a result of playfulness, 5) hard to move when animals have a tendency to follow you, 6) Holsteins are more heat tolerant but cold intolerant, 7) greater risk for liver abscesses and acidosis, but not founder, 8) they have greater water intake and greater urine production, 9) suicidal tendencies.“ http://ag.arizona.edu/ANS/swnmc/2007/talks/Duff_2007SWNMC.pdf What would drive a steer to suicide I am left to wonder. They also go on to suggest that they are a preferred beef stock in some areas because you can predict the weight gain (3-4 lbs per day). They suggest that feeder cattle are brought to ranch at 300 lbs and can grow to as much as 1,300 lbs. Feedlot growth of as much as 1,000 lbs is reported. I also read reports of approximately 3 tons of feed to finish one cow? When we drive past some of these feedlots, it makes me wonder of a life of a cow. At least Ho will get a chance to wander around the farm and enjoy some fresh grazing. Another thing that is mentioned in some of the research is the small gene pool for Holsteins. Why is it that we eat so much meat and not lower on the food chain?

1000 lbs of beef gain! That’s a lot of beef as hamburger. How much weight in hamburger? What can you cook?
Burgers, meatballs, meatloaf, spaghetti sauce, oh, and lasagna, beef stroganoff, sloppy joe, I’m sure there are others for variety, we are talking about 700 lbs of meat.

Okay, so maybe it doesn’t all have to be hamburger. I think Kathy also mentioned jerky:
Ingredients:Amount, Item & Brand (If Applicable)5 Lbs. Minimum (One piece preferred) Fresh Brisket (Lean) - Any brand*Any choice of meat* (partially frozen meat is easier to cut)15 - 20 oz. Soy Sauce - Any brand15 oz. Worcestershire Sauce - Lea & Perrins - Preferred15 - 20 oz. Teriyaki sauce - Any brand2 - 4 tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar - Any brand2 - 4 tablespoons Garlic Powder - Any brand2 - 4 tablespoons Onion Powder - Any brand2 - 4 teaspoons Cayenne Pepper - Any brand5 oz. bottle Liquid Smoke - Any brand any type2 - 4 oz. Dark Corn Syrup or Molasses for even more flavor - Any brand 1 - Very Sharp Knife
All ingredients can be more or less as you desire to your own taste except soy & Worcestershire which can be more, you must have enough liquid to cover meat. Brown sugar and corn syrup or molasses can be to taste for sweetness or not used at all (SEE TIP BELOW***).Add all liquid ingredients into container (with lid is preferred or cover with a plastic wrap or try zipper bag)
Next, add all other ingredients into the container, stir frequently.
Trim as much fat as possible off the brisket (meat). It is the fat on the meat that will go bad (rancid) not the meat. The meat is to be sliced with the grain as thin as possible (approx. 3/16" to 1/8” if possible) One source noted that against the grain makes it easier to chew later. To aid in slicing meat thinly, freeze until ice crystals are formed. (30 minutes is suggested)This allows for more slices and a quicker drying time. Place into marinade as sliced. Make sure all meat is covered with the ingredients and stir meat occasionally to ensure all areas of meat have been exposed to the marinade.
Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours or more, occasionally shaking or stirring the meat at least 2 more times. Some recipes talk about embedding the jerked meat with pepper and dried garlic for 24 hours and then soaking for up to 3 days.
To Dry: place full size pan or aluminum foil on bottom of oven and cover bottom entirely. Make a pan to cover the bottom of the oven to avoid mess. Pan can be removed when dripping stops. The bottom drips will burn and smell.
It is advisable to place towels on the oven door while open and loading the trays to catch the drippings. Looks like a special oven would be helpful if you want something clean!
Place the meat across the racks filling the top. One site looked like they used chop sticks or sticks to hang the meat from and you could get more and less mess on the rack itself. Set temperature to at least 160o F (160o F - 180o F). When visible dripping has stopped, all meat has to be turned over because the top of the meat will have more moisture than the bottom part.

*Note: The USDA suggests that the temperature of beef needs to be 160o F to kill pathogens and in chicken it would need to be 165o F. This is not mentioned in many of the sites about drying and in fact, some recommend temps as low as 140o F.
Also the top rack will drip onto the bottom rack and the bottom meat will have more moisture than the top pieces. The meat should be checked for consistency in drying and should be move around accordingly (from bottom rack to top, from edge to center etc.) The low heat is to dry the meat, not cook it. It should take approximately 4 ½ to 6 hours more or less depending how many & how thin the meat was sliced and the set temperature.
Leave door open last hour or so, to dissipate the heat, to avoid cooking it is a good idea to leave the oven door propped open any time during the drying to keep a good flow of heat & air. (turn on convection fan?)
Jerky is done when it no longer bends and you could break off a piece with ease. But the meat should not be so dry as to be crisp & break. It is better to be drier than under dried, so as to prevent mold. Let meat cool before storing.
Remember this meat will continue to dry unless placed in a sealed container once totally dried. Do not worry about color changes of the beef jerky it will get lighter and harder as it continues to dry over time. It is only important to keep the jerky away from humidity for long term storage.
Jerky is a food known at least since ancient Egypt. Humans made jerky from animal meat that was too big to eat all at once, such as bear, buffalo, or whales. North American Indians mixed ground dried meat with dried fruit or suet to make "pemmican." "Biltong" is dried meat or game used in many African countries. Our word "jerky" came from the Spanish word "charque."
· Be swift. The meat should be dried as quickly as possible, to limit bacterial growth. Cutting the meat into thin slices dramatically shortens drying time. Placing the meat in a freezer for an hour or two before cutting will make it easier to cut thinly.
· Do not allow the jerky to become too dry or it will become hard and unpleasant. It should be the consistency of rubber.
· Traditionally, jerky was smoked or salted to preserve and flavor the meat at the same time. Smoker?
· Ideally, the jerky should be vacuum sealed in plastic with a pouch of oxygen absorber in order to retard spoilage, but this is not practical in most home situations.
· Use Braggs soy sauce, Black pepper, Pinch of cayenne, smoke the meat before dehydrating or use liquid smoke and you will have the best jerky you have ever had. Be sure you let it marinate overnight.
· Try a soy sauce based marinade. Some excellent flavoring agents include Adobo seasoning, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, powdered ginger, sesame oil, cajun seasoning ****I am worried about the salt level in jerky with soy sauce (600 mg of sodium per tsp) What about ground red chili’s?
· When drying in an oven, keep the door open a few inches with a couple of wooden spoons. This help the drying process and helps prevent the jerky scolding before it is dry.
Wiki How had the following pictures. I like the hanging, but don’t like the dried on inside of oven mess.
Food Safety: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/jerky_and_food_safety/index.asp
Finally, I found some jerky recipes that call Biltong a South African Beef Jerky that also says that this works with zebra, ostrich or kudu.

The spices are a bit different in Biltong http://www.ehow.com/how_2279759_billtong-south-african-beef-jerky.html:
Now add 3 tablespoons of ground coriander, 2 tablespoons of salt, 2 teaspoons of allspice directly onto the meat. Take 3 table spoons of whole coriander and place into a small baggie and crush them into small pieces then pour the contents of the baggie also onto the meat. Start filling the bowl with water until all of the meat is submerged. Now stir the contents until you feel it is completely mixed. I usually taste the "brine" solution at this point and add a bit more salt if needed. You want to taste the salt in the solution. Place the meat into the refrigerator for approx. 24 hours to marinate. Stir the meat and brine solution whenever you think about. Keep the meat submerged. Keep the seasoning from settling on the bottom of the bowl.
Step3
After the meat has marinated for approx. 24 hours you will want to hang it to dry. I have a cardboard box that I have cut the top off of and put some sticks across the top to hang the meat from. Cut a hole in the side of the box near the bottom. This will help with the airflow, use a small fan if you have one to force the air to circulate. Now get some wire, a coat hanger or baling wire will work, and cut them into about 4" lengths. Bend the wire into a "Z" shape. Pick up a meat strip and put one end of the wire through the end of the strip of meat. Now hang it in the box from the sticks and let it dry. You might want to put newspaper at the bottom of the box to help soak up any dripping brine solution. I like my Biltong dry, my wife likes hers about half way between raw and dry ... moist is the best description I can think of. The salt cures the meat so it is safe to after the meat has begun to dry on the outside, but remains tender on the inside.

http://www.3men.com/biltong.htm
What to do with Biltong: Interesting since none of these are traditional meat type dishes: http://www.3men.com/biltong.htm#What%20To%20Do%20with%20Biltong