Recent Posts
The T-bone Primer – Bone In or Boneless
When you buy a share of beef from a farmer like us there are choices to make. You could argue that the big grocers and the “system” is trying to program us on what cuts of beef we should be eating at home. Conspiracy? Possibly. …
How to Dry Age Beef at Home
One of the great ways to experience beef in all its potential is to dry age it. Simply put when you dry age beef, say steaks, a molecular transformation takes place. Water evaporates slowly which gives the beef a “beefier” flavor and as good mold…
Pork Fat versus Olive Oil in Italy – A Brief History
We Smith’s have used olive oil for years. It was on the weekly Costco list for the longest time. We felt confident that the Italian OO that they sold was from where they said it was…Italy. We also felt better about buying NON organic OO…
Podcast Episode #21: Anna Sakawsky of The House and Homestead
Today on the podcast I am excited to have Anna Sakawsky, creator of www.thehouseandhomestead.com as well as the editor of Homestead Living magazine. Anna and her family live in the middle of Vancouver Island and have maximized their homesteading space on a smallish piece of land…
Homestead Living Magazine – The “Other Cuts” Article
This was originally written for Homestead Living Magazine in the August 2024 issue and in that issue was titled “Butcher’s Cuts – Transforming Tough and Uncommon Cuts of Meat into Mouth-Watering Meals.” The Other Cuts I would think that most of the readers of this great…
Pulled Pork – 3 Ways
One of my absolute favorite food styles is BBQ. I love all sorts of BBQ, from brisket to beans. I love BBQ chicken, hot links, and of course pulled pork. When the wife and I got married we had some of our Poly friends prep…
LJF Pastured Poultry Program
We did it folks. We took the past 3+ years to raise broilers for our own freezer and have had varying amounts of success. Like a lot of things on a farm, even with the vast knowledge now available on the interwebs, we stubbed our…
Lake Joy Farmstead is now an Alumi-Coop Dealer!
We are excited to be a dealer for the Alumi-Coops, made by Superior Poultry Products in LaGrange, IN. Our territory covers the Seattle area north to the Canadian border and south to Oregon and east to the Idaho border. We decided to switch to the…
Hanging Tender or “Hanger Steak”
The hanger steak, often referred to as the “butcher’s cut,” has an interesting history tied to the practices of butchers and their appreciation for the more flavorful, yet less well-known, parts of the beef. Historically, the hanger steak was a prized cut among butchers. Its…