Frosty Icicle Farm Pictures

These pictures are from early Friday morning.  Now the farm is a wet mucky mess, but we really enjoyed the beauty of winters last dance!

Roast Guide-Braising Beef or Pot Roasting

Ok, well obviously the winter has put me into a blog slump! Not to mention the fact that I'm helping run the farm, homeschooling 2 kids and have a baby forever connected to me & I'm trying to keep the house together and everyone clothed and fed! That's just the life of a mom though.  I have been newly inspired to blog about food...well specifically beef roasts!

A Recent Riemer Round Roast (say that 10 times fast)

Since it's still very chilly and wintery outside I am going to share a few quick and simple guides to the common beef roasts and common cooking methods.  Starting with Braising or Pot Roasting.

Braising beef according to Wikipedia: Braising relies on heat, time, and moisture to break down the tough connective tissue collagen in meat, making it an ideal way to cook tougher cuts. Many classic braised dishes such as coq au vin are highly evolved methods of cooking tough and otherwise unpalatable foods (*not that Riemer Beef is ever unpalatable). Pressure cooking and slow cooking (e.g., crockpots) are forms of braising.

Ideal cuts to Pot Roast are the Chuck, Round and Brisket (think corn beef and hash)

Beef Cut	Weight/Thickness	Approximate cooking time (Covered Over Low Heat)
Chuck Pot Roast (Shoulder, Arm or Blade)	2.5-4 #	2-3 hrs
Short Ribs	2 x 2 x4 inch	1 3/4 hrs
Round Roast	3-4 #	3 hrs
Round Steak	1 to 1.5 inches thick	2 hrs
Brisket	2.5-3.5 #	3 hrs

With any of the above cuts follow these steps:

1. Slowly brown on all sides in small amount of oil in heavy pan.  I love to use my iron skillet. Season the beef with herbs or spices as desired. 
2. Add small amount of liquid (1/2-2 cups). You can use broth, water, juice, beer or wine.
3. Cover tightly and simmer gently over low heat on top of the range or in a preheated 325 degree oven according to the cart above.
4. With about an hour left to cook you can add your favorite veggies.  Root veggies work best i.e. potato, carrots, turnips.

Don't forget the gravy! the cooking liquid can be thickened with flour or cornstarch and reduced for a sauce!

Enjoy, stay warm and stay tuned for more recipes...I promise!
*my addition

Jen

New 10# Beef Sampler Available

We are now offering a smaller 10# beef sampler.  This is perfect for giving as a gift or for just giving our beef a try without a big financial commitment.  A 10# sampler might consist of a roast, 2-3 steaks, 1# stew meat, 1# wieners & 3# ground beef. Give it a try you may find that you will refuse to ever buy grocery store beef again!

Autumn Photos

Fall is a beautiful time of year on our farm.  Below are a few of my favorite pictures from the past couple weeks. 

The girls collecting apples in the front yard.

Caramel apple creations

Harvesting gourds with Grandma and Oliver

Third crop hay. We had a nice third crop of hay this year.

Riemer Family Farm is a multi-generational sustainable farm in South Central Wisconsin

Cheese Days 2012

Back in 1914, the concept of Cheese Days originated from the notion that if some little town in Illinois could have a festival commemorating sauerkraut, then a celebration based on cheese would be an even better idea.

Visit the Cheese Days website at http://www.cheesedays.com
We even have a Cheese Days mascot named Wedgie...no I'm not kidding!

Every small community in Wisconsin has their festival.  This is one of the things that this Illinois girl loves about WI...(not to mention the Packers, sorry Bears fans). If Byron can have the Turkey Testicle Festival then we can celebrate cheese and all things swiss.  

I think the lyrics to "The Cheese Days" song sum it up best!

Come to Cheese Days in Monroe.
That’s the place for you to go.
Music, dancing, yodeling, too.
And a big parade for you.
And we know you will be pleased.
When you taste Green County Cheese.
Come to Cheese Days, come to Cheese Days,Come to Cheese Days in Monroe!I think the lyrics to "The Cheese Days" song sum it up best!

Join us this weekend in Monroe, September 14-16 for the Green County fun!

Photos of our cattle

Cattle hanging out by the watering hole

"Handsome Irwin" the nice bull and one of his cow "friends"

Cow with a muddy face!  Awesome, that means there are puddles!

Riemer Family Farm is a multi-generational sustainable beef farm in south central Wisconsin.

Free Range Goats

Q: What do children, chickens, cats, dogs and goats have in common?

Misty and Princess wandering around the yard during morning chores

A: They all love to wander around our yard and play!  

We have come to love our summer...now fall evenings in the yard when the weather cools down everyone comes together to hang out in the yard.  Even the goats.  We spent many hours fixing tiny escape routes in their fencing, but finally realized that when they did get out they were really not bother.  So the goats range around as they please.  I'm convinced that they believe they are cattle and will not stray to far from their herd.  They enjoy getting out and finding some new patches of grass to eat in the yard, but always saunter back to there Hereford buddies.  

So I say...Goats be free & enjoy life!