WHY NATURAL
ALL OF OUR CATTLE ARE HAND PICKED
From our family farm in NC, our Cattle are raised and farm fed in a totally natural environment without the use of antibiotics or growth hormones. Using unlimited grasses and whole grains also grown here on our farm, we monitor our cattle through a natural growth cycle until they are ready to be processed.
After processing, we allow our beef to dry age to ensure a more intense flavor and increase tenderness. Dry Aging is the premium way to process beef. The dry age process, compared to wet aging, reduces fluids and and yields more meat to the package weight (more meat for your money) while promoting the best taste and tenderness.
All of our beef is inspected by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and approved by the USDA. Then our beef is professionally cut to perfection, vacuum packed and flash frozen to ensure the freshness and quality is sealed in.
Dry Aging
All of our meat is dry aged for a minimum of two weeks prior to packaging. This allows the natural proteins in the meat to break down, creating a uniquely intense flavor and un-paralleled tenderness.
Vacuum Packaging
All of our meat is vacuum packed to seal in freshness and taste. Vacuum packaging keeps moisture in, and air out. We use a high quality plastic film with a low oxygen transmission rate which protects your meat from outside elements such as spoilage bacteria and freezer burn.
Individually Frozen
Each package is individually flash frozen after packaging. This rapid freezing process quickly produces tiny ice crystals, preserving freshness. These tiny crystals do not damage the cells in the meat, and have no effect on quality.
Color
Most of our meat will have a very dark red to purple color. This is because our packaging does not allow the meat any interaction with oxygen. As beef interacts with the air around it, it begins to 'bloom' and turn a bright red. Meat that has had little interaction with the air(dark red to purple in color), reduces it's chances of becoming infected with any airborne spoilage bacteria.
Tenderness Verified
We keep strict quality controls on all of the meat we produce. As part of that process, we periodically test our products to make sure that they meet our tenderness specifications. This achieved by using the Warner-Bratzler Shear Test, which measures a meat's tenderness by the amount of force required to cut through it. By scale of the test, measurements below 9lbs are considered to be "tender" and most of our meats are at or below this measurement. More info on the test can be found here.
Special thanks to NC State University for contributing to the above information.
