"We are what our animals eat!" 
Author Jo Robinson

Our cattle are born and raised in the coastal ranges of California. They enjoy a completely organic diet of fresh grass, forbs and legumes, clean water, and, as Julie says, better views than most of us do! We use neither synthetic hormones nor fed antibiotics: our animals grow only as fast as their genetics and the range will allow. Their range, of course, serves also as watersheds and habitat for us as well as other biological communities. We manage our animals so that they enhance the diversity of life on the range, as well as the quality of the water that falls on the range and flows to the towns and sea. We believe this web of relationships we are stewarding is an integral whole, depending for its health upon all its members: damaging the health of any member of the "whole" community, therefore, damages the rest. Our desire is to produce health with all we do. Only when this is done are we satisfied that Morris Grassfed BeefT is all it can be-the best there is for all of us.

Cooking grassfed beef takes a bit more attention than the feedlot beef you buy in a supermarket. It cooks faster because the fat in grassfed beef cooks at a lower temperature.

First, if you don't already have one, we recommend you invest in a good digital meat thermometer. It takes the guesswork out of cooking. We use one made by Component Design of Portland, Oregon, the DT300, available at fine cooking stores like Williams & Sonoma. It's always accurate and tells you exactly when the meat is done.

Second, the only way you can make grassfed beef bad for you is to cook it well done, or worse, burn it: don't let the meat touch the flame! This kind of treatment changes both the proteins and fats in beef, making it tough and undermining its healthfulness. Morris Grassfed Beef is best served medium rare or rarer!

Third, the different cuts of beef require different approaches to cooking them. Some, chuck roasts, London Broils, stew meat, for example, generally require lower temperatures, longer cooking periods, and moisture to finish up tender and juicy. (The baked steak recipe is fabulous for these!) On the barbecue, these cuts should be cooked slowly and with some sort of marinade or basting liquid. Others, T-bones, for example, can be cooked with dry heat.

There are some excellent meat cookbooks on the market that can help with ideas and techniques to make every meal a treat. Like good wines, the different cuts of Morris Grassfed Beef have various textures and tastes; a bit of knowledge about how to prepare the cut can make a big difference. Three of our favorites are: The Grassfed Gourmet by Shannon Hayes, James McNair's Beef Cookbook, Chronicle Books, 1989; and The Complete Meat Cookbook, by Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998.

Finally, take time, relax, and enjoy!!

Morris Family Favorite Recipes

Swiss Steak

Baked Steak

J.P. Baumgartner Ranch Stew

Garlic Herb Steaks