Pasture raised egg sizes: small, medium, large and jumbo

Farm Update + Father's Day Goodies & Honey Rhubarb BBQ Pulled Pork

FARM HAPPENINGS
Sorry its been way too long since my last post! No good excuses but we've had a lot happening on the farm to catch up on. First of all we do not have fresh chicken this weekend as originally planned. We had to push our processing date back a week to give them more time to grow out to the normal 4.0-4.5 lb. carcass we usually target. Not sure if the extremely dry weather has slowed down the growth rates or if we are having a problem with our organic feed supplier but the broiler chickens are definitely growing slower this year. But for sure we will process the next batch on next Wednesday, June 21 and fresh chickens will be in the store the following day (Thursday 22nd) by noon at latest.  

In other farm news we have a large quantity of small eggs coming from our new flock of free-range laying hens that are rotating around our beef pastures at the Wisconsin farm location. New hens usually lay these smaller "pullet" eggs for a few weeks until they graduate to mediums and then large eggs after a few months. While supplies last we have no limits on the number of small eggs that customers can purchase, while we are still limiting the quantities of medium, large, and jumbo eggs to 3 dozen per customer.

Also please note that we will no longer accept returns of glass jars as of July 1st. We have to wash and sanitize all those return jars by hand and its just getting to be too much work as they are piling up everywhere in the barn. However we can still recycle and re-use any egg cartons and paper or plastic shopping bags so please bring those in next time you visit the store. And on July 4th the store will be closing at 2 PM so the staff can enjoy the rest of holiday with their families.

One of our favorite farming non-profits, the Angelic Organics Learning Center, is hosting a silent auction fundraiser this week through Saturday evening. We donated a breakfast bundle, grilling bundle, and Farm Camp slot to the auction. Please visit the auction page and bid on one of the items to support a great cause!

FARM CAMPS AND TOURS
Our week-long farm camps started this week and will continue on through late July. All the June camps are sold out, however we have a few spots still available for the two July camps for 13 - 18 year olds. Reserve your space now to get those kids off their phones and out of the house!

Our weekly $5 Saturday farm tours are going well and some weeks are selling out. Please note that Saturday July 22nd we are hosting a large private group tour and therefore will not be offering the usual tour to the public. We do have about two months of tour dates listed on the website so reserve your tour space in advance to make sure there is space available. Visit our Camps and Tours page for more info.

FATHER'S DAY GRILLING OPTIONS
For those of you looking for some special local food options for the big Father's Day BBQ this Sunday, we pulled together a few of our favorite items from the store to feature in the grill pic below. We have a big selection of grass-fed beef cuts available now, from the basic 1/3 pound beef patties and beef franks to a wide variety of steaks including Sirloins, T-Bones, Bone-In Rib Steaks, as well as flank steak and skirt steaks. On the pork side we are one of a handful of farms in the region that raise pigs on pasture with organic feed - culminating in a very tasty selection of artisan brats and sausages, as well as thick-cut pork chops, ribs, bacons, and of course shoulder roasts for pulled pork (see the fantastic Honey Rhubarb pulled pork recipe below).

For condiments and side dishes our baker Molly has created a delicious selection of organic sourdough hot dog and hamburger buns - you can't find anything like this in the stores. And we have a big selection of local hot sauces and BBQ sauces from Bushel and Pecks in Beloit and Lillies Q out of Chicago.

FARM STORE UPDATE

We did process our first batch of broiler chickens for the year on June 6th, but they were much smaller than we expected, most in the 3 - 3.5 lb. range. We have those frozen chickens in the store now and we should have some parts in the store by the weekend.

Good news we are starting to get in more local fruits and vegetables from our on-site grower Karolina and other local farms we source from:

  • Bagged salad greens/lettuce mix from Broadview Farms in Marengo
  • Rhubarb, swiss chard, kale, turnips, and spring onions from our farm
  • Boneless, skinless turkey breasts on sale at 30% off while supplies last
  • We finally got a shipment of Oregon Brineworks product in the store - we have the spicy kraut, regular kraut, garlic dill pickles, and even the beet kraut.
  • Great assortment of local/organic sourdough breads, pastries, muffins, and bagels from our store bakers.

FATHER'S DAY RECIPE OF THE WEEK - HONEY RHUBARB BARBEQUE PULLED PORK
From our farm-fresh recipe guru Jackie here is her latest work of art. Follow the link at the bottom to view the recipe on her website with more pictures.

My family went crazy for this! “Rhubarbecue” should definitely be added to the dictionary because it’s a thing. A really amazing thing. Just image tangy rhubarb, sweet honey, robust molasses all mixed together in a delicious sauce simmering away with a beautiful, bone-in pork shoulder. Winner for dinner!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 All Grass Farms 3lb pork shoulder
  • 1 tbsp salt (Redmonds Real Salt)
  • 1 tbsp coconut sugar
  • 1 tsp EACH oregano, smoked paprika and cumin
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 quart rhubarbecue sauce (Recipe follows)

RHUBARBECUE SAUCE (1 QUART)

  • 4 cups rhubarb, chopped
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 spring garlic heads plus 2 inches of green stalk of each Sub: 5 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp EACH pepper and red chili flakes
  • 4 whole cloves

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Night before, pat pork dry and salt. Leave uncovered overnight in refrigerator.
  2. In a 3qt stock pot, add all rhubarbecue sauce ingredients. Bring to a low boil then simmer for around 40 minutes. Stir occasionally.
  3. Blend sauce and set aside. Can be made ahead of time.
  4. Day of cooking, rub pork with remaining herbs and spices. Place in slow cooker.
  5. Pour sauce over pork. Mix to coat evenly. Cook on low for around 8 hours. Meat should be fall apart tender.
  6. Remove excess fat along with the bone. Shred meat.
  7. Serve alongside corn bread or on buns with coleslaw.

Visit Jackie's blog My Roots and Recipes for the full details on this recipe and many more.

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Please follow us on our Instagram Page where Anna tries to post photos and farm updates a few times per week.

Graze on,
Cliff, Anna and the Farm Team

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