We’ve explored what sets our organic beef and chicken apart and now it’s time for a closer look at our lamb.
The first thing to know is that our sheep are work horses (err, sheep?) of our livestock group. That’s because they’re integral to our rotational grazing system. Using temporary electric fencing we rotate them between different sections of pasture once they’ve grazed them down to our liking. We want to provide them all the nutrients they need, but not overgraze the pasture, so we move them from one block to the next every 3 days this time of the year. Typically they start their eating with the most desirable plants first, then over the next couple of days uniformly remove the top growth of everything, leaving the perennial plants to regrow new leaves. Not only does this help sequester carbon and build up soil health to make our pastures more resilient year after year, it makes the meat all the more delicious with intentional and specific plant consumption.
And that’s important because as ruminants, sheep are biologically best suited to grasses, legumes, and forage. Their digestive systems can most easily extract necessary nutrients from plant material, not grain. By introducing grain into their diet it can lead to metabolic issues and a lower quality meat.
That’s why when we say our organic lamb is 100% grass-fed we really mean it. This ensures healthier animals, pastures and meat, plus it’s a whole lot tastier without a whiff of grain in sight.
To those of you who may be hesitant to try lamb, I’m here to tell you that if you love a great cut of beef, you’ll fall in love with our lamb too. Many folks tell us that they’re fearful of an overly gamey flavor with lamb. But we’ve found that lamb raised this way has a clean yet delicate flavor otherwise unfound in red meat. It’s the perfect canvas for punches of bright, herby accompaniments or simply salt and pepper. Roasted, grilled, made into burgers, stew or whatever you can dream up there’s really no wrong way to enjoy lamb.
We’re well stocked with all the popular cuts of our 100% organic, grass-fed lamb so now’s a great time to give it a try. If you need a recommendation, loin chops are an easy choice. They’re rich, savory and in my estimation give beef steak a serious run for its money. —Mac Stone