When I was at the Merc this morning for a few groceries, I reached into a freezer case and pulled out a pound of MJ Ranch‘s ground beef. A voice near my elbow said, “Thanks for buying our meat!”
I turned and met the speaker, Joyce Williams, co-owner of MJ Ranch, a beef cattle operation about 10 miles north of Lawrence in Jefferson County. We chatted briefly about the MJ Ranch beef. I noted that it seemed ground finer than other beef. She said that it was ground twice, in keeping (if I understood correctly) with the Merc’s preference, although she indicated they might revert to single-grinding. I have no problem with the finer grind; it’s just different. She said, “We always like to hear from customers.”
I came home and looked up the MJ Ranch’s website where I found a recent “howdy” from the ranch (Word doc). In it, Mel and Joyce give an update on the cattle and offer a discussion of how fatty to make their ground beef. Maybe I got some of the 93% lean meat they mentioned; last weekend, I made meatballs for a family gathering using a pound of Amy’s Meats ground beef and 1.5 pounds of MJ Ranch beef. The meatballs didn’t give off enough fat to drain from the pan!
I previously felt good about buying MJ Ranch’s ground beef, knowing that the cattle are 100% grassfed. (Amy’s finishes with grain.) The ranch’s practices are good for the environment in other ways, too, as explained in this report from the Kansas Rural Center. Now I also know that I’m buying it from a very nice person, who says the family welcomes visitors. What a way to do business! Think it will catch on?
Angus beef, like those at MJ Ranch; photo by Peggy Greb, courtesy USDA Agricultural Research Service
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