THE COWBOY CORNER

EDITION 2 VOL 1.

JANUARY 20. 2024

INCLUDED IN THIS EDITION;

1. Steak Cut Of The Month

2. Ranch Task Of The Month

3.Picture Of The Week

Steak Cut Of The Month

The Ribeye

My fascination with beef started when I moved to Texas. The funny part of my move from working on a Colorado ski mountain to working at a Texas ranch was that I didn’t eat beef. My experience with beef was relatively poor as I only indulged in the occasional grocery store steak or fast food burger. The beef from the store was chewy and didn’t top the fast food as far as taste.

It wasn’t until I tasted the steaks from the ranch that my opinion changed. The steak was tender and flavorful. It was enjoyable to eat so much that I would finish my steak before my sides, something that never happened in the past. After some time, I was able to connect the work on the ranch to the amazing steaks I was eating. Our workers and cowboys were kind and gracious to the animals, providing for their happiness. Due to this, our cattle were different and of a higher quality. These factors led to my conclusion that food was better when people put their hearts and generations of knowledge into the work. I never thought about it until I was living the ranching lifestyle.

Over the past few years, most of what I have done has been involved with beef. Between my wife and I, we can tell you almost everything there is to know about beef. We have sold thousands of steaks to people nationwide. We also eat a large variety of steak cuts, consistently tasting our product. I would call myself a steak expert, but for that Colorado boy, it all started with one steak: the Ribeye.

Whether you are a seasoned steak connoisseur or a steak newby, I recommend the Ribeye. It is easy to cook and is one of the best-tasting steaks out there. For me, when I was not in tune with my steak cooking abilities, the Ribeye became the steak to learn with. I had heard about the infamous touch test (I’ll link here) to tell the rareness of the steak, but often my steaks were rare or overdone. It wasn’t until I honed in on this one cut and cooking it on the grill that I perfected a properly cooked steak all the time, or at least most of the time. The Ribeye made cooking steaks consistent by not being an ultra-thick cut like the N.Y. Strip and having a quality intermuscular fat called marbling.

Marbling in the Ribeye gives this bad boy two outstanding characteristics: tenderness and flavor. We often think of fat as being a bad thing, and frankly, the grass-fed movement has people confused on the matter. Yes, a steak can be too fatty, but a grass-fed, grass-finished steak will lack marbling to a degree that leaves you with shoe leather. It is like making mac and cheese with skim milk and vegan cheese. To make a perfect ribeye, we found the ideal formula : pasture-raised cattle with a diet of mainly grass  plus some grain snacks on the side with a grain finish at the end, gives our ribeyes the perfect marbling.

The Ribeye is a staple. Whether you are a steak newbie or a seasoned professional steak connoisseur, the cut sings perfection. Cook it on the grill, sear it in cast iron, reverse cook it, or heck, make chicken fried steak with it. There are no rules for this amazing cut. It will live up to your expectations in the quest for steak deliciousness. If you are ready to go to the grocery store and enter a new world of beef, check out our Ribeye by clicking here!

Ranch Task Of The Month

Breaking Ice

Amarillo, Texas, is an exciting place when it comes to weather. During the winter months, we can find ourselves in bitter cold followed by 50 to 60-degree temperatures. It can also snow quite a bit here too. So much so that we can find ourselves with more snow than where my parents live in Pennsylvania. As the temperatures rise and the snow melts, we will find ourselves going from a dead calm to a wind blowing sideways. We will go from winter to a windy spring and back again over and over.

However, a few times a year, we will find ourselves in a period of bitter cold that will last weeks or even months. During this time, the cowboys on the ranch will have to work extra hard to care for the herd. One particular task can be strenuous enough that all hands can be called to work on it. This task is breaking ice.

The animals have to drink, and they can't do that when our troughs freeze over. That means that breaking ice can become a constant task. We never let our cattle go without a drink! Our main priority as ranch owners is to ensure that our cattle are happy, even happier than us if necessary. Breaking ice means that our hands are going out in freezing weather, even negative degrees with the wind chill. To break the ice, the hands will use an ax and chop a hole in the ice for the cattle to drink from. It is a daily task that can become a constant 24/7 in really cold weather.

Breaking the ice is a physically demanding task that can make the hardest of people complain. There are plenty of watering holes miles apart. However, it is one of those things that must be done. We thank our hands for doing this and keeping our herd healthy. While not a fun ranch task, it will always be addressed, which is why breaking ice is our ranch task of the month!

Picture of the Week