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…

There are a lot of things we have learned in our short time owning a little farm. Some are dramatic (cows trying to leap fences) while some are so subtle and so simple and yet provide tremendous joy. One such item is lard. Lard was used…

This was originally written for Homestead Living Magazine in the May 2024 issue and in that issue was titled “Up in Smoke – the Art and Science of Smoking Meat.” The inspiration for building a smoker on our farmstead was essentially an evolution. We had…

Pickling can be daunting. Our goal is take the fear out of it, so YOU TOO can pickle! Following is a comprehensive pickling recipe that is good for cucumbers, carrots, asparagus, beans, peppers and so much more. It is written assuming you will have your family…

I am not sure why I haven’t posted something on this yet. This is one of the great DIYers of the home bar scene. It is shocking that there are simple syrups on the market in bottles sold at a premium price (I wish I…

If you aren’t making beef and chicken stock yourself, you honestly should be.  You also may have received a bunch of bones from the beef you committed to this year from your local farm (as you should!). You should be able to make a lot…

As you may have noticed, the work on the blog covers a lot of ground. We started with simple and fun recipes that came out of my time as a single dad, moved to big family and gathering recipes to curing, smoking, and even cocktail…

Bitters and Some Definition Originally serving as the cure-all (claims of healing indigestion, headaches, stomach cramps and constipation), you could say it was the original “snake oil.” I am not a doctor but I can see how bitters could be used to help with some…

Teriyaki sauce. Rumor has it there are roots in the PNW with our Japanese friends who emigrated to this part of the USA. Not sure if true (may look it up later) but what I DO KNOW is that we love it. Quick memory of…

 We do tacos a lot. Almost once a week we have some sort of taco on the menu. Fish, “Korean,” chicken salsa, and of course Tex-mex or whatever the typical beefy one is. We used to buy the big M brand at Costco because the…