Meat-buying club starting in county
Published: Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at 3:32 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, January 8, 2008 at 9:00 p.m.
Do you buy meat and poultry? If so, where? And what matters most when you buy it? Cost? Taste? Where it is from? How it has been raised?
The Sonoma County office of the University of California Cooperative Extension would like to know.
The UCCE is conducting a survey about the meat-buying habits of Sonoma County residents.
The survey is short and to the point; it takes just a few minutes to complete. If you'd like to weigh in with your opinion, visit groups.ucanr.org/LocalMeatProd and click on the "open survey" link.
The study is part of a startup project, the Sonoma County Meat Buying Club, which will function much as a community-supported agriculture program does. But instead of a weekly basket of produce, members will receive a box of frozen local meats, delivered monthly to central pickup locations in Healdsburg, Santa Rosa and either Petaluma or Sebastopol.
There will be three sizes of boxes, 10 pounds, 15 pounds and 20 pounds; cost will range from $100 to $200.
Initially, the boxes likely will include lamb, pork and beef; duck, chicken, eggs and goat may eventually be offered as add-ons.
To begin with, you can sign up for a single month; but once the program is up and running, subscriptions will be sold by the season.
The university is underwriting the pilot year of the project and expects to turn it over to a local nonprofit organization after it is established.
When you take the survey, you can sign up to either join the club or receive information about it by clicking on the "contact us" link.
There are so many reasons to buy local meats, most of which have been discussed in the public arena for several years now. But recently, the idea of eating locally -- 2007 was the year that "localvore" entered our vocabulary -- has seemed a bit self-serving, in the way that not eating fat or not using salt became a badge of superiority among followers of certain food fads in the 1990s.
When this happens, the substance at the core of a concept can be lost. So, let's not forget certain elements that make eating a local diet both easy and important in the North Bay.
First, we are blessed with a mild climate, a long coastline with its marine influences, expansive pastures and remarkably diverse, fertile soil. We can grow or raise almost anything here, except fruits and vegetables that require a tropical environment.
Second, we have a long history as an agricultural region.
But we have been discovered and as more and more people move here, farmland is increasingly at risk.
What I find so innovative about the Sonoma County Meat Buying Club is that it benefits not one but many local farmers and ranchers, and that is a great thing from any perspective.
When you cook fennel slowly, it softens and becomes rich and voluptuous; its flavor is delicious with lamb, especially with a bit of lemon. I like to serve this with either rice or a very small pasta -- melone, rosamarina or acini de pepe, for example -- alongside, perfect for soaking up the yummy juices.
Greek-style Lamb Chops with Fennel
and Pine Nuts
Makes 3 to 4 servings
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
6 shoulder lamb chops
-- Kosher salt
2 large fennel bulbs, trimmed and quartered
4 garlic cloves, slivered
½ cup white wine
½ cup warm water
« cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon dried oregano
-- Black pepper in a mill
2 teaspoons minced fresh Italian parsley
¼ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan set over medium heat. Season the lamb chops with salt and arrange in a single layer in the saute pan. Cook until fully browned, turn and cook until browned on both sides, about 15 minutes total cooking time.
Transfer the lamb chops to a plate and return the saute pan to the heat. Add the fennel, season with salt and saute until golden brown on all sides.
Add the garlic and saute 30 seconds more.
Return the lamb and any juices that have collected on the plate to the pan, add the wine, water, lemon juice and oregano, cover and simmer slowly until the lamb and the fennel are very tender, about 1¼ or 1½ hours.
Remove from the heat and let rest 10 minutes.
Use tongs to transfer the meat and fennel to a warm serving bowl.
Set the saute pan over high heat, taste the pan juices, correct for salt, season generously with black pepper and stir in the parsley and pine nuts. Pour the sauce over the meat and fennel, garnish with lemon wedges and serve immediately.
My maternal grandmother died long before I knew enough to ask her how she made her delicious pot roast. Over the years, I have experimented with many recipes, and this one comes closest to the taste I remember enjoying around her gray Formica kitchen table. She usually served canned green beans alongside, likely because my mother told her I would eat them. These days, I prefer wilted spinach spiked with garlic and lemon.
Grandma's Pot Roast
Makes 4 to 6 servings
3½ to 4 pound chuck roast
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
-- Black pepper in a mill
1½ cups beef stock
1 tablespoon kneaded butter (see Note below)
2 pounds potatoes
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Season the meat all over with the salt and a number of turns of black pepper, pressing the pepper into the meat.
Put the meat in a medium ovenproof pot, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 4½ to 5 hours, until the meat is fork tender.
About an hour before the meat is done, peel the potatoes and cut them into medium-size chunks. Put the potatoes into a medium saucepan, cover with water, add 2 teaspoons or so of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork or bamboo skewers. When the potatoes are done, drain them but leave them in the pot, covered.
When the meat is done, transfer it to a serving bowl and cover with aluminum foil.
Set the pot over a medium flame, add the stock and stir with a whisk to loosen any bits of meat stuck to the pot. Simmer until the liquid is reduce by half. Lower the heat and whisk in the kneaded butter, a teaspoon at a time. Do not let the gravy boil once you begin adding the butter.
When all the butter is incorporated, remove the pan from the heat immediately.
Arrange the potatoes around the meat, spoon the gravy on top and serve.
Note: To make kneaded butter, bring 3 tablespoons of good butter to room temperature, add 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour and blend thoroughly with a fork. Store, covered, in the refrigerator for two weeks or the freezer for up to three months.
Michele Anna Jordan hosts "Mouthful" each Sunday at 7 p.m. on KRCB 91.1 FM. E-mail Jordan at michele@micheleannajordan.com.
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