04
Oct
Categories:
Blog
It is time to stock your freezer for Christmas
We are now busily taking Christmas bookings for the processing of;
- Beef
- Lamb
- Pork
- Goat
- Venison
- Llama
- Alpaca
- Buffalo
29
Mar
Categories:
Blog
Make your own delicious beef stock
With the cooler weather on its way, we thought it would be great time to share one of our family recipes for amazing, grass fed, free range, gelatinous beef stock. This recipe makes about 4 litres of stock, which you can freeze into smaller containers for use through the middle of the year.
2 kilograms of marrow bones cut into roughly 50mm pieces
3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
1.5 kilograms of meaty chuck, brisket or rib bones
3 onions
3 carrots
3 celery stalks
2 leeks (white part)
3 thyme sprigs
1 teaspoon of crushed black peppercorns
1 whole garlic bulb, cut in half across the cloves
2 handfuls of parsley stalks
Transfer the fat from the roasting pan into a saucepan and add one litre of water. Place it over a high heat and bring to a simmer, stirring to make sure that no lumps coagulate. Then add this liquid to the bones and vegetables and add more water if required to cover the bones.
Bring the stock to the boil, skimming off the layer that rises to the top. Reduce the heat to low and add the thyme, peppercorns and garlic.
Simmer the stock for at least 8 hours. The longer you cook the stock the richer and better it will be. Just before the end of this period, add the parsley and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Strain the stock into a large container. Cover and cool in the fridge. Remove and discard the congealed fat that rises to the top. Transfer the stock to smaller, airtight containers and place in the fridge, or for longer-term storage, the freezer.
The stocks will keep for 2-4 days in the fridge and three months in the freezer.
Ingredients
2 kilograms of marrow bones cut into roughly 50mm pieces
3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
1.5 kilograms of meaty chuck, brisket or rib bones
3 onions
3 carrots
3 celery stalks
2 leeks (white part)
3 thyme sprigs
1 teaspoon of crushed black peppercorns
1 whole garlic bulb, cut in half across the cloves
2 handfuls of parsley stalks
Method
Place the marrow bones in a stockpot or very large saucepan, add the vinegar and about 4 litres of cold water - or enough to cover the bones. Let it stand for one hour. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. While the marrow bones are soaking, place the meaty bones in a roasting pan and roast for half an hour, or until well browned. Then add the roasted bones and the vegetables, roughly chopped, to the stockpot or saucepan containing the marrow bones.Transfer the fat from the roasting pan into a saucepan and add one litre of water. Place it over a high heat and bring to a simmer, stirring to make sure that no lumps coagulate. Then add this liquid to the bones and vegetables and add more water if required to cover the bones.
Bring the stock to the boil, skimming off the layer that rises to the top. Reduce the heat to low and add the thyme, peppercorns and garlic.
Simmer the stock for at least 8 hours. The longer you cook the stock the richer and better it will be. Just before the end of this period, add the parsley and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Strain the stock into a large container. Cover and cool in the fridge. Remove and discard the congealed fat that rises to the top. Transfer the stock to smaller, airtight containers and place in the fridge, or for longer-term storage, the freezer.
The stocks will keep for 2-4 days in the fridge and three months in the freezer. 
15
Mar
Categories:
Blog
Step-by-step meal planning guide
We're all busy people with busy lives and this often impacts on our evening meals. The freezer might have some meat in it, but that will take too long to thaw and cook, right? So eating out, ordering takeaway or heating a prepackaged meal can become the quick fix.
If this sounds all too familiar, meal planning can prevent it. Meal planning plays an important role in ensuring you and your family enjoy a healthy balanced diet. It also alleviates the daily stress of deciding what's for dinner, puts a stop to the constant trips to the shops and saves you money.
We've developed a few tips to help you and your family (the kids will love to get involved) plan your meals and enjoy fresh, natural and healthy produce.
1) Sit down and work out what you would like your weekly plan to include in general terms. For example, each week would you like to have one stirfry meal, a pasta meal, a slow cooker/soup meal, a salad, steak or mince beef meal etc. This template will vary depending on how much meat you like to eat, your budget, household and likes/dislikes.
2) Think about maximising some cheaper cuts of meat, as well as treating yourself to some premium cuts. The slow cooker is a great way to turn things like lamb shoulder, gravy beef, osso bucco, chuck and ribs into family favourites.
3) Decide on a handful of dinners that your family will enjoy regularly. These can form the foundation of your meal plan and rotate onto your dinner table every week or two. You might decide on 10 dinners, for example, that you use once every two weeks. This would leave two dinners a week to add variety to your meal plan and try new recipes and flavours.
4) Once you've decided on the look and feel of your meal plan, considered how you might use different cuts to stretch your protein dollars and developed your core dinner recipes, it's time to buy what you need. With our online ordering and free home delivery service, we would encourage you to order on Wednesday nights for Friday/Saturday delivery. This allows you to pick up your fresh fruit and vegetables on Saturday morning and kick off your first dinner for the week that night.
Nutrition Australia has some useful meal plan templates and recipes that might help you further here.
We've developed a few tips to help you and your family (the kids will love to get involved) plan your meals and enjoy fresh, natural and healthy produce.
1) Sit down and work out what you would like your weekly plan to include in general terms. For example, each week would you like to have one stirfry meal, a pasta meal, a slow cooker/soup meal, a salad, steak or mince beef meal etc. This template will vary depending on how much meat you like to eat, your budget, household and likes/dislikes.
2) Think about maximising some cheaper cuts of meat, as well as treating yourself to some premium cuts. The slow cooker is a great way to turn things like lamb shoulder, gravy beef, osso bucco, chuck and ribs into family favourites.
3) Decide on a handful of dinners that your family will enjoy regularly. These can form the foundation of your meal plan and rotate onto your dinner table every week or two. You might decide on 10 dinners, for example, that you use once every two weeks. This would leave two dinners a week to add variety to your meal plan and try new recipes and flavours.
4) Once you've decided on the look and feel of your meal plan, considered how you might use different cuts to stretch your protein dollars and developed your core dinner recipes, it's time to buy what you need. With our online ordering and free home delivery service, we would encourage you to order on Wednesday nights for Friday/Saturday delivery. This allows you to pick up your fresh fruit and vegetables on Saturday morning and kick off your first dinner for the week that night.
Nutrition Australia has some useful meal plan templates and recipes that might help you further here.