Finally, after over a year of waiting, we got to taste our own Dexter Beef. We were prepared for the meat to be lean as our butcher Pat from Clunes said our grass fed steers did not have allot of fat on them. We were pleasantly surprised though when we cooked up our first T-Bone last week. For some it may seem strange that we can even talk about eating our own cows–especially our human girls. As you will see from the picture below young Bella and her sister Morley truly enjoyed their first taste of their own beef. Credit must go to their school and the better sources of media for really pushing hard on the fact that fast food is not good for you and that its’ important to know where your food comes from.
Recently I read a great blog about Dexter Meat and would like to share an excerpt from it with you. Here is a link to the full meal deal for those who are interested.
http://thebeginningfarmer.blogspot.com/2008/04/are-dexters-fad.html
“But, most importantly I have tasted and I have read great things about their meat and their ability to finish on grass. And that is the main reason I went with Dexters, because I want people to eat them! Of course there are the health benefits of eating grassfed beef, there are many articles and books to point that out. But, how about this for a healthy marketing angle … Dexters are smaller, so their portions are going to be smaller. Portion control is one of the many buzz words in the health and dieting community today, so I can market my beef in a few ways.
First of all it will be grassfed. You are what you eat is the saying … cows eat grass, so they are grass … we eat cows, so we are grass … grass is a lot like salad and my teachers told me salad is good for me! Secondly, I can tout the benefits of being able to buy the whole steer, not just a half or a quarter. That way you will get all of the cuts instead of just 1/2 or 1/4. It is almost the ultimate freezer beef in my opinion. Third, there is the portion control angle. You can still have your steak, but you don’t have to have one the size of your dinner plate (and you probably shouldn’t no matter how it was raised). And finally, I can market the fact that Dexters are a heritage breed that deserves to be maintained for so many reasons (I don’t want to list them now).
I don’t think Dexters are a fad that will come and go. I also don’t believe they will become a commercial mainstay. But, I do believe they are a great option for our farm and many other farms like ours. I also believe they are a great choice for families freezers all around me … and I will be working to convince them of that!