Updates from North Mountain Pastures

Dear Friends and Customers – Happy February!

In this newsletter:
Cured Meats
Corned Beef recipe
First Delivery of Second Season
PASA Conference

Now that we’re in the month of love, what better way to show your affection than some cured meats?  A few of you have been asking about the cured meats we’ve been working on, and I’d like to update everyone with our progress.

We’ve been using our pastured pork and grassfed beef to create some delicious, traditional meats.  We’re using only organic herbs and spices from Mountain Rose Herbs, and Himalayan sea salt, which we wrote about in one of our previous blog posts.  This means no unnatural nitrates or artificial preservatives, and no factory-farmed meat!  After doing our starting out with own bacon and then attending some classes on meat curing, we feel like we have some pretty unique products.  They include well-known cures like fresh sausage and dry-cured bacon, as well as air-dried salamis (Genoa, soppresata, chorizo), and lesser known meats like bresaola, guanciale, and lardo.  A price list for these meats is forthcoming, and CSA members will be able to order them for pickup at our host sites throughout the season.  We will also try to have samples available at our pickup sites.

While on the topic of cured meats, here’s a simple recipe for corned beef.  Some of you received brisket in your last CSA delivery, which is the ideal cut for a corned beef brisket.  Other cuts to use are chuck roast, shoulder roast, or rump roast.  This is a quick, simple cure that comes out deeeelicious, and makes you look like a real chef!  The spices below are a rough outline – experiment with them.

Ingredients:
1 Beef Roast (preferably brisket), 3-6 lbs
Good Salt (sea salt or kosher salt) – enough to cover roast, ¼ - ½ c.
Rapadura or raw sugar – ¼ c. (optional)
Handful of fresh ground pepper corns
4 cloves garlic, crushed
Cloves – 6-8 fresh crushed or ¼ tsp ground

Process:  Combine the salt and all the spices in a bowl.  Put the beef cut in a glass or plastic bowl (metal reacts poorly with salt).  Rub the salt/spice mixture all over the beef, working it into every little crack and crevice.  Cover the bowl, and refrigerate.  Check it daily, and pour off any juices that the salt pulls out.  After 5 days, remove from the fridge, rinse off, and soak in fresh cold water for an hour or two (removes some salt). 

To cook:  Cut up an onion, a couple carrots, and some celery stalks.  Place the veggies and the beef (whole) into a pot.  Barely cover with fresh water, and bring sloooowly to a gentle simmer.  Allow to simmer slowly for about 3 hours.  Pull the beef out of the broth, and let it rest.  Serve warm or let it cool in the fridge and make sandwiches!

First delivery
As a reminder, this week is the start of our second season.  We deliver to Mechanicsburg on Thursday, which means there’s still time to sign up without missing your first delivery.  Visit our online ordering page for details.

PA Association for Sustainable Agriculture
Although it’s late notice, some of you may be interested in checking out this weekend’s events at the PASA conference.  Anna and I will be in attendance, and moderating the pre-conference track on preservation.  PASA provides great learning opportunities for farmers of 1000 acres to the home gardener with a few feet of growing space.


Brooks, Anna, and Matt
www.northmountainpastures.com
717.497.3496