Get Grilling

Just walk down your street around 6:00pm and smell. Is that barbeque? I swear, it should be outlawed—just like popcorn in a small office space, no one has the right to cook it. Not unless they share, anyway.

July 4th is tomorrow. That’s right. And you know what that means: Time to fire up the grill. The Napa Farmers Market has two local meat producers with just the thing to make your barbeque and tummy happy.

Long Meadow Ranch’s grass-fed beef comes from their own herd of Scottish Highland and Shorthorn cattle, all of which are chemical-, hormone- and antibiotic-free. The bulls and selected cows are housed at the ranch in St. Helena, while they have several cooler climate pasture leases in Humboldt county where the herd is rotated daily to feed on nutritious grasslands. The resulting meat is lean and full-flavored, and every week they bring a different selection of steaks and other cuts, including ground beef and the best hotdogs I’ve ever eaten. There’s a reason that restaurants want to serve this meat and that Farmstead (their wonderful, seasonally-driven restaurant at the entrance to St. Helena) cook it up in various fantastic dishes including carpaccio, chili, beef ragu over housemade gnocchi and a juicy steak of the day. Paired with their own LMR wine, olive oil and veggies grown in their own Rutherford Gardens…well, pretty hard to beat.

current generation of Gleason Ranch Family farmers

Gleason Ranch is new to the Napa Farmers Market, though not new to the locally raised and produced meat scene. Coming to us from Bodega, this sixth-generation family-run business is committed to sustainability, conservation and hormone-free animal husbandry. Like Long Meadow Ranch, they are also pasture-fed, and the meat they butcher is small-scale, just what they know they’ll need for market and for their customers…no waste. They bring a varied selection of lamb, pork and heritage-breed chicken to market, including Freedom Ranger chicken (aka Poulet Rouge) that’s pretty much made for July 4th. I bought a thick pork roast, coated it with Apricot Ginger Rosemary jam (made by NFM vendor The Handmade Pantry) and cooked it as a slow, long braise, and it was mouth-watering and pull-apart tender.

Any of these meats—beef, lamb, pork, chicken—will be stunning on your barbeque tomorrow or any other day. Dive in, and know that this is the most local, most sustainably raised, most healthy meat you can serve to your family and friends. And to yourself, of course. This is celebration of local American food at its best.

Take note: Blueberries are only here for another week or so, as are cherries. Get ‘em now or hold your peace until next year!

Grass-fed Beef Brochette Kebabs

From Long Meadow Ranch comes this easy and delicious recipe. Leftovers make terrific toppings for pasta and rice, too.

Ingredients:
• 1 pound LMR Grass-fed Beef Brochette                            
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp dried sumac
• 1 tbsp fresh garlic, minced                                
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped                                                    
• 2 tsp Sambal chili paste              
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, cut into 1”x1” pieces
• 1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1”x1” pieces
• 1 red onion, cut into 1”x1” pieces
• 1 lemon

Directions:

Mix first seven ingredients in a bowl and marinate for 6 to 24 hours.
Alternate beef and vegetables evenly onto skewers.
Grill over high heat using wood or natural charcoal. The key is to caramelize the vegetables and cook the meat medium. Squeeze fresh lemon over the meat and finish with additional salt, if needed.