Springing back to life!

We've pretty much vanished for the last year, but we're back...and we've added a new little chic to our family.  Samira McDowell was born on 2/7/2012 and we've been adjusting and enjoying her since then.  I (Shawnee) have difficult pregnancies so we needn't say much more than that about the past year.  However, we are all on the mend and excited to update you and continue in our farming and eating adventures!

We recently visited Rockhill Creamery and Appenzell Farm in Logan, Utah. It was great to make connections with these other farmers, especially Jesse Corbridge at Appenzell.  He and his wife also raise pastured poultry for folks in Cache Valley.  We talked processing (a whole book on it's own), egg mobiles, high tunnels, chickens, turkeys and many other small farm topics.  And of course we had some fun!

Here are the bullet points to remember for this year. 

* Our first chickens should be available in June.  We may have some ground beef and sausage then too, but will send an email out when it gets closer.

* This year we will have half and whole pork available as soon as July (through October).  We'll also have  quarter, half and whole beef.  Ordering and pricing information will be coming soon. 

* We will still offer individual cuts of pork and beef as they are available.  We typically send an email out whenever we have a fresh batch of chickens, and we'll also let you know in that email if any other cuts of meat are available to purchase at that time.

*We have a separate egg email that we send out weekly.  If you'd like to be on that list, send us an email and let us know.  Otherwise, you'll just be on our regular farm email list and will receive emails periodically throughout the year.

*We will start taking turkey orders in the next couple of months.  We'll have mostly broad breasted with a few heritage breed, so start thinking Thanksgiving, but enjoy the summer first - if it ever warms up :)

Red Rangers coming soon!

One week from today we will have our first batch of red rangers.  We will also be offering different cuts of meat instead of whole chickens, as well as grass-fed, grass-finished beef.  Look for the email if you're on our list, or send us an email to get on our list. 

Red Rangers typically take about 4 weeks longer to mature than the Cornish Cross breed (the traditional fast growing breed raised in the US, probably the chicken you eat most of the time). Red Rangers have a bit more dark meat on them, and a unique flavor that we particularly like, as do our customers from last year. Try one out if you haven't yet! This picture is kind of fuzzy, but at least it shows what a Red Ranger is. Cornish Cross are all white just so you know the difference. Happy Labor Day!

Chicken Licken'

This will be a short post, but we just want to send a shout out to all of you who read this blog (and those of you don't, but that's just kind of hard).  We'll be emailing out information for a new batch of fresh chicken available next week.  Pickup will be on Thursday, July 19 at our house.  We had to change from our usual Wednesday pickup because we have tickets to go see Wicked (yes, we do non-farming related things too, like witch related things).  Anyhow, we look forward to hearing from you & seeing you through this heat and into the cool, breezy fall.  This is our first batch of several coming through the season.  Cheers!

Our favorite free-range chic ever!!

We thought it would be nice to include a few pictures of the farm.

 

We are just about sold out of our first batch of Cornish Cross chickens.  We are again raising Red Rangers (one of the favorites of our customers), and possibly even some Turkens (another favorite - these take longer to raise) out on pasture this year.  We also have eggs coming in on a somewhat regular basis and are hoping to get that more established for those of you who are interested in gettings eggs as well.  Nothing compares to pastured, free-range chicken eggs!

We are really enjoying the spring and summer, realizing just how much time and effort it took to raise chickens.  While we don't know the exact details of the future, we are excited to be part of the local food movement and continue our interactions with people like you.  Enjoy the pictures (these are all Cornish Cross chickens at the farm).





To every thing there is a season (turn turn turn)

We're coming up on the last week with birds out on pasture (besides the egg layers). Our last chickens will be gone tomorrow and our turkeys will be gone next week. We are so thankful for these animals for providing food for us. This post is dedicated to animals...especially since 2 little lambies were born this week on the farm. Though they are not our sheep, we are great friends with them and we probably see them more than anyone. They are finally used to us and they come up to say hi.




This last month has been super fun as far as farming goes. It has been a lot of work as usual, but it's also included a fun farm day and two more days at the downtown farmer's market, where we get to meet a lot of you. That is one of the highlights of farming! Thank you for being a part of this adventure.

We're excited to have a little bit more time on our hands to do stuff like this!

McDowell Family FARM day

Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011 8am-11 am

Come see the Utah farm being modeled after Polyface Farm in VA, which is featured in the movie Food Inc. & the book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan.

Nestled on the banks of the upper Weber river in beautiful Wanship, UT.

Don’t forget your water, hat, snacks, camera, a light jacket, hand sanitizer and farm shoes (aka crap kickers). Come prepared to walk around. There are also sheep, cows and horses on the farm (not ours).

Appreciate & respect your food. See how your birds are raised. Know where & how they lived before coming to your home!

Directions: From SLC, go east on I-80 approx. 30 miles. (10 miles past Park City exit) Take the Wanship/Kamas exit (#155). Turn right at the exit and immediately turn left into the grassy field to park. Look for the egg-mobile, several moveable white chicken shelters, and a bunch of birds! It’s almost directly across the street from the Rafter-B gas station.

Cooking your Turkey

I promised directions, so here they are. I will be cooking our turkey on Sunday and will let you know how it goes!! Good luck with yours! Check out the entry before this one to see all the yummy veggies we will be roasting with our bird. And...if you read this soon, come see us at the Farmer's Market tomorrow 9/3/11.

If turkey is frozen, place the wrapped turkey in the refrigerator for 3-4 days to thaw (allow 5 hours per pound of turkey to completely thaw) OR placed wrapped turkey in a sink and cover it with cold water – allow 30 minutes per pound of turkey to thaw. Change water frequently.

Once thawed, brush turkey with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh or dried herbs. Place turkey, breast side down, on a flat rack in a shallow roasting pan, about 2 inches deep. Some like to add 1 cup stock to the bottom of the pan before cooking, which creates some steam and helps keep the turkey moist but doesn’t prevent browning the skin. Turn the turkey over to breast side up during the last hour or so – this results in moist, white meat. The turkey is done when a meat thermometer (inserted deep into the thickest part of the thigh next to the body, not touching the bone) registers 165 degrees F. and drumstick is soft and moves easily at the joint.
If you want to stuff the turkey, spoon prepared dressing loosely into body and neck cavity just prior to roasting. Remove stuffing immediately after roasting.

Approximate Roasting Time (at 325 degrees F. oven) - PLEASE NOTE: BOTH VARIETIES OF OUR TURKEYS TAKE SIGNIFICANTLY SHORTER TIME TO COOK, SO GO BY TEMPERATURE TO GUARANTEE IT'S NOT OVERCOOKED (ours was done about 1-1.5 hours before we thought it would be).

Weight Roasting Time Roasting time(stuffed)
6-8 lbs. 2 ¼ to 3 ¼ hours 3-3 ½ hours
8-12 lbs. 3-4 hours 3 ½ to 4 ½ hours
12-16 lbs. 3 ½ to 4 ½ hours 4-5 hours
16-20 lbs. 4-5 hours 4 ½ to 5 ½ hours
20-24 lbs. 4 ½ to 5 ½ hours 5 to 6 ½ hours
24+ lbs. 5-6 hours 5 ½ to 6 ½ hours

Begin checking for done-ness about one hour before end of recommended roasting time. Time is affected by type of oven, oven temperature, & degree of thawing.
When skin is golden brown, shield breast loosely w/ foil to prevent over-browning.