Grass-fed beef and other meat that comes from pastured animals — which is to say animals that spend most of their time in a field, on grass such as pasture grass — isn’t easy to find at the grocery store.
And, when you can find it, it’s not cheap. In fact, it might be double the cost of conventionally raised beef that is on sale that week.
But grass-fed meat is not wham-bam, thank-you, ma’am, feed-lot, make-it-and-fatten-it-fast meat.
Sustainable meat shouldn’t be cheap, given how difficult it is to raise.
But, wait, don’t go away.
I have good news.
There is a way, if you eat beef, to buy meat in a way that is sustainable for both the planet and your ever-dwindling budget.
Cowpooling.
That’s the hot, new term for buying your beef, usually a grass-fed cow or steer, in bulk from a local farm by pooling your money with friends to buy an entire animal, butchered to order, all for per-pound prices that are equal to or lower than most grass-fed meat sold at the grocery store — typically $5 a pound.
And that includes prime cuts such as filet mignon.
Now is a good time to start exchanging emails with like-minded friends to see if they want to put down some money now for fall delivery.
Some of the most popular farms sell out by the end of spring, sometimes sooner, so be proactive.
How?
Check out Cooking Light’s guide to beef buying, “Cow-pooling Made Easy,” plus a fascinating companion piece, “The grass-fed versus grain-fed beef debate,” on CNN (via Cooking Light) about the culinary and practical differences between grain-fed beef and grass-fed beef.
Cooking Light bought half of a 648-pound Brangus cow, pasture-raised by an Alabama farmer. After the butchering and cutting of the animal, they ended up with 243 pounds of beef, plus bones, for $5.32 per pound.
They conducted blind tastings and did all kinds of other research in their test kitchen.
To get started on your own cowpooling adventure, check out my 2007 story on Snohomish County beef, which includes many local resources at the end, including a list of local beef farmers, which should still be mostly up to date.
EatWild.com is another great resource for pastured meats around the country.
Finally, whenever you’re on a quest for something edible and local, you should always check out the easily searchable Puget Sound Fresh website. Click on “find a farm,” then search by “crop and location” and choose a meat to search.
Last fall, last minute, I went in on Skagit County cow and came back with a small quarter for about $350, mostly roasts and ground beef. It is excellent. It shines particularly in chili. I’ll do it again.
Finally, I have one more item of note: Don’t plan on buying pasture-finished meat by the cut any time soon from Thundering Hooves Pasture Finished Meats.
The Walla Walla operation <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2014515759_thundering17.html
http://www.thunderinghooves.net/”>shut down in March, which means no more local neighborhood deliveries to the business’ many fans in Western Washington, including Snohomish County.
Last year, demand for Thundering Hooves meats apparently increased so fast in a single season, 350 percent, it overwhelmed the farm, which grew too fast and took on too much debt, according to the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.
Now isn’t that a shame? I was one of the folks who apparently put them out of business or maybe it was “Food, Inc.” that sent people in droves to a decent family farm.
Now, get out there and cowpool.
And let me know how it goes.
See also: Check out my Eco Geek post on my search for local meat at the grocery store and find out just how local that Hempler’s bacon you love is in the grand scheme of things.
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