Gallup's 'greenest' burger and fries?

El Morro beef, potatoes, lettuce, onions, and lettuce from BDCK

So, this afternoon as the cumulus clouds built later than normal and All Things Considered drifted through the house (that's 4-6 pm around here) I grilled up a burger; a really 'green' burger. The meat came from the quarter of beef I bought from Charlie Mallory's El Morro Valley Ranch last fall, and the veggies came from my garden. It could have been made entirely from local ingredients, but I took some short cuts.

The first 'love apples' of the season; container grown

The cheese was from Tillamook (could be local goat cheese), and the bun was from 3rd street (Glen's Bakery makes infinitely better jalapeno topped buns, not displayed in the counters but just ask for one; $0.50 each). The red onion, black seeded simpson lettuce, cherry tomatoes (first of the season), and red potatoes were from my canyon. The latter being a 'wild' planting of potato. I don't remember ever planting potatoes in the bed in which this plant grew, but I must of. Expecting nothing much of potato harvest from beneath the un-tended or hilled-up plant, I pulled the 3' diameter lone bush mixed in with the carrots and shallots. To my utter astonishment, 2 lbs. of huge red potatoes came up with the stalk.

"How 'bout them apples?" is all that came to mind

Some perspective; above and below ground

Short Ribs from El Morro

Prime Beef

Tonight I braised another pair of short ribs from El Morro Valley Ranch (see their add in the Gallup Journey, and support local, organic, and ethical producers with your dollars!) Olive oil, shallots, garlic, red wine, tomato/red chile sauce, and these two incredibly marbled and meaty ribs (1.14 lbs) went into the little enameled dutch oven for 3 hours at 300 degrees. Served with rice, it's damn sweet red meat. Literally.

Beef stock

At 6500 feet, 13 1/2 lbs. of pressure = 240+ degrees

With the high-pressure canner I bought this summer and 30 lbs. of beef bones from El Morro Valley Ranch in the freezer, I had to make my own version of all natural organic beef stock this past weekend. I started with a bike ride to the coop for organic celery and carrots. They had both.  The next stop with the BOB trailer was The Water Store for 4 gallons of purified water, and then back home, slowly. 

5 pounds of thawed beef bones

I browned batches of the bones in olive oil, and then, with about 15 lbs of the bones and gravy, I filled the stainless steel brewing kettle with nearly all the water. After bringing it all to rolling boil, I skimmed foam from the top for about 10 minutes.  I simmered the bones alone for about 3 hours before adding a pound each of the celery, carrots, and onions, a handful of bay leaves, whole peppercorns, sea salt. Then everything simmered overnight. In the morning I carefully skimmed and set aside about an inch of fat from the surface of the broth, and used a slotted ladle to remove all the solids. After heating the cans and lids to 180, I filled 6 quarts with the rich smelling broth. Using a fine steel mesh sifter I was able to filter out all of the particles of meat and vegetables, and was left with a uniform dark tan broth. 

Removing the jars after waiting the hour or more it takes the canner to depressurize

The Ball Blue Book calls for 20 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure for stocks (a considerable difference from any meat stew recipe which is processed for 120 minutes or more). In Gallup at 6500', to achieve the safe temperature of 240 inside the jars, I try to keep at 13.5 lbs of pressure. The pressure weight on the Presto canner I bought is set for 15 lbs, so I adjust the big burner on the stove to around med-low to low to keep that pressure, and adjust frequently to keep it above the minimum of 13 lbs. and the over processing (higher temperature) of 14 lbs. and above.

El Morro Valley Ranch- 2009 Beef Quarters

Eating high on the 'hog'

Charley Mallery and Rebecca Allina rolled up to Jack’s place in Gallup, just as the sun set last Wednesday, with a gooseneck livestock trailer that still smelled of their grass-fed, organic Black Angus cattle. Animals that now filled the coolers partially-covering the long ribbed floor.

Rio, Charley, and Jack inspect the cargo

They had just driven down from picking up the load of meat, USDA packaged and flash frozen, at Sunnyside Meats in Durango, CO --dry-aged for 3 weeks! A 120-quart cooler, a decent river-trip size cooler (36x21x18”), just barely held the 120 lbs. of frozen beef.  Jack and I, each buying a quarter ($120 lbs. x $4.50/lbs), opted for a couple extra pounds of optional beef liver, and I graciously accepted 25 lbs. of bones to boil into beef stock.

The final resting place for this Black Angus

The quarter was an equal proportion of every cut on the cow and I marveled at the beauty and diversity of the meat, half wrapped in paper, and half in clear plastic shrink-wrap as I filled most of a mid-size upright freezer. The cuts ranged from filet mignon and brisket, to stew meat and ground beef, and everything in between, literally, but no tongue, perhaps that’s in the ground beef. )

Eating lower on the animal

As if their ranch’s growing reputation needed bolstering, be sure to check out the cover photo on the Sept/Oct issue of the Ramah Farmers’ Beet to see Rebecca and Charley’s first-place winning harvest display at the Ramah Farmers’ Market 2009 Harvest Festival. Wow and thanks!