Some of the chickens have been giving out extremely big eggs! We get one or two extra large eggs a day, and a giant egg about once a week. Today we got a new record. Our eggs average about 55mm long and 35mm wide. Today’s record egg is 73mm long and 54mm wide. We will keep you posted if and when this record gets broken.

Check out this fantastic Virginia Living review of the The Red Hen in Lexington. Chef Tucker Yoder does absolutely amazing work and having sat for a meal at the coveted bar seats just across from him I can say it is truly a treat to watch the dishes take form. Also, be on the lookout for Broadview Ranch pork features on The Red Hen menu.

http://www.virginialiving.com/articles/storybook-charm/index.html

President Fernandez tells Argentines they’ll have a better sex life if they eat more pork

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Argentine-president-Eat-pork-apf-13832280.html?x=0&.v=1

This article gives another great reason to eat Broadview Ranch woodland pork.

http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,62898783001_1955966,00.html

As if its being delicious and healthy wasn’t reason enough to eat grass fed beef, Time Magazine published this excellent article detailing the environmental benefits of pastured meat. The perversion of nature that is confined animal feed operations has made meat taboo among those with an environmental conscience. Thankfully, through diverse ecological pasture-based grazing systems like the one at Broadview Ranch, meat can be produced in a way that actually gives back to the land and creates a truly healthy product in the process.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1953692,00.html

Usually I don’t follow recipes, I just get in the kitchen and give it a shot hoping something decent comes out. Today however, I cooked something good enough I felt the need to share so here goes my first try at recipe writing.

Roast

3lb Broadview Chuck Roast

1 large yellow onion – roughly chopped

2 large carrots – peeled and chopped

1 large can of dices tomatoes

1 large can beef broth

couple healthy dashes of Worcestershire sauce

Risotto

Arborio rice

Butter/Olive Oil

Wine – I happen to have used a pinot noir rose

Cheese – I used some Gruyere and sharp cheddar I had left over from burgers

First place the chuck roast, onions, carrots, and tomatoes in a crock pot. Barely cover with beef broth and then add Worcestershire sauce and a bit of salt and pepper. Turn on high for 6 hours.

Then when you are about 30 minutes from dinner time. Melt the butter and oil together in a sauce pan and add the rice. Allow the rice to slightly brown on medium heat then add a cup or two of the wine which the rice will almost immediately drink up. Then ladle broth from the roast into the rice, just covering it and then allowing to absorb and repeating again. My broth was pretty thick so I would alternate a ladle of hot water every other time. It take a bit of patience to slowly add the liquid, never more than just covering the rice and never letting it dry out. Continue until the rice has softened but still holds its form. Melt the cheese by stirring into the hot rice right at the end.

By far the most important part of the meal is plating. I used two forks to pull nice chucks of beef off the roast an piled them together, topped with some of the onions and carrots and then placed a nice pile of the thick risotto just beside. The pairing was incredible with a nice glass of wine. Good luck!

I cooked this for my new in-laws and my family for Christmas dinner this year using a Broadview Ranch ham and it was amazing! Highly recommended and surprisingly easy. Also, my mother in-law made an incredible stock from the ham bones and used it for a beef and butternut squash soup, recipe to follow here soon.

Brine:

• 8 quarts water
• 2 cups kosher salt
• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 4 whole cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 (8 to 10-pound) shank-end fresh ham, bone in and skin on

Rub and Glaze:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup whole-grain mustard
• 1 heaping cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 12 fresh sage leaves, chopped
• 9 large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 large Spanish onions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch wedges
• 1 gallon apple cider
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

One day before roasting: In a plastic container large enough to hold the ham, stir the water with the salt and brown sugar until dissolved. Add the spices. Score ham in a diamond pattern through the skin and fat, taking care not to cut into the meat. Add ham to brine, weight it with a plate to keep it submerged, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours but no more than 8 hours. Drain, rinse, pat the ham dry, and refrigerate.

One hour before roasting, remove ham from the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

For the rub: Pulse the olive oil, mustard, parsley, sage, garlic, red pepper, salt, and black pepper in a food processor to make a paste. Rub it all over ham. In a large roasting pan, toss the onion wedges with 1 cup of the apple cider and set the ham on top. Roast the ham for 30 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F, and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165 degrees F, about 4 hours. After the first hour, loosely wrap aluminum foil around the bone to keep it from burning.

Meanwhile, for the glaze: Boil, then simmer, the remaining apple cider in a saucepan, skimming as needed, until syrupy and reduced to about 2 cups, about 1 1/2 hours.

During the last 1 1/2 hours of roasting the ham, brush it with the glaze every 30 minutes. Transfer the cooked ham to an ovenproof platter and let it rest in the turned-off oven for 30 minutes. Loosely cover the onions in an ovenproof bowl and put them in the oven as well. Strain the pan juices into a saucepan, skim off any excess fat, and bring to a boil. Make a paste with the flour and butter and whisk a bit at a time into the juices. Boil until thick. Carve the ham and serve with the onions and sauce.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/roasted-fresh-ham-with-cider-glaze-recipe2/index.html

On the front page of the NY Times website today was this article on Beef Products Inc. which came up with the brilliant idea of injecting industrial beef with ammonia to kill E. coli and salmonella. More disturbing even than the fact that industrial beef contained these bacteria or was pumped full of ammonia, is the fact that it was an unsuccessful treatment. If you ever wondered why you buy from Broadview Ranch you need look no further. These are the frightening side effects of trying to industrialize food production. Thankfully we’re able to op out of the system and eat safe, healthy and delicious meats from the farm.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/us/31meat.html?_r=1&hp

Check out this review of Brix in the Roanoke Times

http://www.roanoke.com/entertainment/insideout/eat/wb/230672

Brix is a restaurant in Lexington that utilizes Broadview beef, pork and eggs in their menu.  They prepared our excellent farm dinner.