Poultry Processing Inspection and Certificate

Our chicken and turkey processing facility has been inspected by the Maryland Department of Agriculture and we have received certification. We are now certified to sell our poultry at other locations other than our farm, including stores. While this inspection is not required for on farm sales of poultry, it gives you a level of confidence that the chicken and turkey that you purchase has been processed in a facility that has been inspected and has been processed in a sanitary and approved manner.

We did some investigation into having drop off points for the chickens or to sell our chicken in some of the Maryland MOM’s stores. We did not get much interest in the drop off points and so at this point we will not be pursuing that. After talking things over as a family, we decided not to pursue selling chickens in the stores at this point. It would mean significantly increasing production and processing chickens every week. None of us enjoy processing chickens enough to do it every week and the wholesale price would also reduce our profit margin. We are open to any suggestions you may have.

From a Customer: Turkey Retrospective

By Ross Mohan
Note: Ross has been a customer of ours for many years. Last Thanksgiving, he decided to try cooking a turkey for the first time ever. Afterwards, he sent us the following email about his experience. He humorously highlights the trials of trying to sort through the many methods of turkey cooking, things that many of you who cook can identify with.

Dear Cathy, Myron and Horst Family,
We had a lovely Thanksgiving and hope you did as well.
Our special meal was superb, in no small part thanks to the superb quality of the turkey you raised and sold us.
Having never cooked a turkey before (yes, really — I’ve always been a spectator ’til now) I did everything I could to ruin the bird.
I say this only partially in jest. Allow me to explain.
I read dozens of recipes. Brine. Don’t Brine. Wet. No, dry. Deep fry (Good Lord!), Spatchcock, Butterfly, cook ‘high and hot’, no, ‘low and slow’, no, ‘fast and then slow’, covered and then open, no open then covered, convection oven, no: conventional oven; bake, then broil….I kept reading….deep into an anxious and uncomprehending night. That night, I slept fitfully. (Covered, unbrined, low and slow.)
Finally, the next morning, it came to be 11am on Thanksgiving Day, the time of day for when — for a 16 lb. bird — the proverbial rubber meets the road. I had no plan. My anxiety radiated so powerfully the kitchen fluorescent lights were flickering.
I shuddered, my eyes rolled up into my head, and I think I might have even blanked out and then somehow I got the poor bird into the oven. Unbrined. Uncovered. Unstuffed. (I did manage to spill a variety of spices and some oil haphazardly on the surface, but only in an effort to minimize ease of later handling.)
Yet, I was not done with my subversive efforts.
As my wife and mother-in-law toiled away at lasagna, tabouleh, soups, pies, stuffed grape leaves and Waldorf salad (a family favorite of my own mother’s…) I managed to poke that poor bird in the oven with a meat thermometer like a madman no less than a dozen times starting at 15 minutes into the roast. By the time I was done, it looked like a pincushion.
I don’t know how or why — but due certainly to my boundless culinary expertise — I detected that the bird was “done” after approximately two hours of cooking. Clearly impossible, so I denied the evidence of my lying eyes (and my handy meat thermometer) and kept cooking it for another hour.
I’ll spare you the details of the carving except to say that it involved my mother-in-law actually arm-wrestling at the dining table with the drumstick. (And losing.) So, how did this bird come out, really?
In all seriousness, it was….a miracle.
Everything was cooked perfectly. The light, the dark, and everything in between. The skin was golden and fragrant, the meat was beyond moist, the steam rose fragrantly and languorously from the plate and the “oohs” and “aahs” started early and did not cease. My wife and I received compliments such as “this is the best turkey I have ever had” and “I have never had such moist and flavorful meat” and “we are so impressed with your kitchen skills.”
Now, all kidding strictly aside, this result had very little indeed to do with my cooking, and nearly everything to do with the quality of what you folks do up there in Dickerson. We salute you and thank you.
We’ve been eating this turkey for days in soups, curries, sandwiches and salads, and it remains delicious. I simply wanted to write and say “Thank You” one and all for your hard work and for allowing Providence to warm our kitchen and table this season.
Best,
Ross & Roula Mohan

Eating on the Road

One of the difficulties we face, once we start eating good food, is what to do when we leave the comfort of our homes and don’t have access to our kitchens. After you hear about the effects of eating “store-bought” food and find yourself not feeling good when you eat out, McDonald’s just doesn’t seem so attractive anymore!

Last March, I took a trip out to Chicago for a health seminar. I had recently found out about the effects of glyphosate, and the prospect of eating low-quality food for a whole weekend did not appeal to me. I was flying, so I couldn’t take a cooler. I decided to try to pack four days’ worth of food in my suitcase and make all my own meals! Here’s what I took:


Grilled chicken breasts
Breaded beef sandwich steaks
1 dozen hardboiled eggs
Two heads of lettuce
A six-pack of yogurt
Two loaves of homemade bread
Mayonnaise
Sliced cheese
1 lb Heavenly Honey
Peanut butter
Butter
Homemade cookies
Small brown paper bags

You may be amazed that I was able to pack all that in my suitcase and still have room for my clothes. As I list it out here, I am amazed as well! After packing everything I wanted to take, I set the suitcase on the bathroom scales. It weighed 49 pounds–almost over the limit! I took out a few items and got the weight down to 47.5 pounds. Ready to go!

My room at the hotel had a small fridge, so when I arrived, I put the perishable items in the fridge and walked down the street to the nearby Jewel grocery store. I was happy to find that they had a selection of organic food–I wouldn’t have had to pack so much! Oh, well. I bought a bag of baby carrots, a bag of tortilla chips, and some distilled water. I was all set.


Yogurt made an excellent breakfast, along with a hardboiled egg and whatever else I decided to throw in–maybe a peanut butter and honey sandwich. After breakfast, I would spread out my sandwich fixings on the vanity and prepare lunch, which I took along to class.

Back in the hotel in the evening, I made supper. This could be another sandwich, or a salad with chicken breast if I so preferred.


This worked out well for me. I had nutritious, organic food, much of which was homemade. I didn’t have the luxury of hot meals, but that was a small price to pay for eating real food!

Six months later, Dad took us guys on a Dad-and-the-boys trip to Colonial Williamsburg. This time, we were only gone for two days, and we drove to Williamsburg, so we were able to take a cooler and an electric skillet. We had cereal for breakfast, made sandwiches for lunch, and heated up food in the skillet for supper. It worked very well. The hardest part was washing up the skillet in the bathroom sink!

For an extended trip, one strategy is to find health food stores along your route, and “re-stock” as necessary. You may not even need to take much along. You may also be able to find some healthy restaurants to eat at as well.

You don’t have to resort to eating “garbage” whenever you take a trip. With a little planning, preparation and extra baggage, you can eat nutritious food wherever you go.

What Gives Our Chicken and Turkey Meats Superior Flavor

We hear many compliments about our chicken and turkey meats. But the one that we hear the most is how good they taste. We all know that chickens and turkeys raised on pasture taste better than conventionally raised poultry raised in large chicken houses. The grass and other plants in the pasture are an important part of the flavor, but it was not until this past month that I found out something else that we are doing that significantly contributes to the flavor and health benefits of our chicken that is different than most other pasture-raised chickens.

Last month, Cathy and I and some of our children had the privilege of attending the Mother Earth News Fair at the Seven Springs Resort in Pennsylvania. One of the seminars that I attended was given by a professional butcher who understood the importance of grassfed meats and the science behind it. One of the things that he said was that muscles that have more activity are the meats that have the most flavor. Muscles that have had very little activity, such as beef tenderloin, are the most tender but also have the least amount of flavor.

He said that fat is what gives meat flavor. Muscles that are exercised more have small amounts of fat dispersed throughout the meat because the muscles need the fat stores for energy as they work. It is those small deposits of fat that gives those meats more flavor. Here in America, people have prized tender meats over flavorful meat. Tender meats are achieved by confinement rearing that limits the exercise of the animal or poultry. The result is that conventionally produced chicken, beef and other meats are usually lacking in flavor.

The thing that we are doing that is different than most pastured poultry producers that we allow our chickens to run. Most pastured poultry producers use the “Salatin pull pen” or “chicken tractor” method. It is a method in which 50 to 75 chickens are placed in a small 10 foot by 12 foot bottomless pen on pasture. The chickens probably get less exercise than what chickens do that are raised in large chicken houses because they are limited by the small confining space. I say that from my observations from working on a large confinement poultry operation when I was in college and from when we tried the “pull pen” method. In the large chicken houses, because they are not confined to a small 10′ by 12′ area, the meat birds can move about more.

Not only does the exercise give our chickens more flavor, but the fat that gives it flavor is a good fat. The fat is in a meat that has been able to get omega-3’s from the grass and store those omega-3’s in the fat. The exercise gives the chicken meat a more firm texture, but it is still tender and a good eating experience.

One of the keys to flavorful meats is animals that have been able to get plenty of exercise. In buying meat, ask the farmer how they raise the meat. Unfortunately, there is a growing trend among grassfed producers to move toward confinement on pasture such as mob grazing of beef. In mob grazing, a large number of animals are confined in a small paddock, such as 1/4 acre, on the pasture until all the grass is eaten or trampled into the ground. They are then moved to another small paddock. The cattle are moved three or more times a day, but they are confined in a small space 24/7. Mob grazing is supposed to do great things for the soil, but in my opinion, it is not humane to the animals.


Mob grazing 1000 head of cattle. There is approximately 1.2 million pounds of weight in cattle grazing this strip. http://mobgrazing.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html
Not all mob grazing is this intensive but the animals do have to be bunched in a “mob” with the equivalent of  200,000 plus pounds of animals per acre so that they consume most of the grass in a short period of time.

Turkey Sausage Quiche

 This is a basic no-fail quiche recipe that everyone in our family just loves. The meat, cheese and veggies can be varied to whatever you desire at the time. Yum!

Unbaked 9-inch pie crust
1/2 pound turkey sausage (recipe below)
4 eggs
2 cups light cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons mustard
1 cup shredded cheese of your choice
1/3 cup sauteed, chopped onion

Fry turkey sausage. Sprinkle into pie crust. Top with onion and then with cheese. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, mustard, and salt. Add cream and beat. Pour over all in pie crust. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Then reduce temperature to 300 degrees and bake 30 minutes more or until knife comes out clean when inserted in center. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
Variation: Vegetables of your choice can also be added such as spinach, kale, broccoli, tomatoes, eggplant or zucchini. Serves 4-6.

Turkey Sausage

1 pound ground turkey
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Mix thoroughly and fry. (Best if mixed and let set in fridge for at least an hour before frying.) Use half of the sausage for the quiche and save the rest for another use.

Cathy’s Cooking Corner

Fried Turkey Cutlets 

This is by far Myron’s favorite way to eat turkey. It’s delicious, moist, tender, and so quick and easy. It is sure to get compliments from your guests.Cut turkey breast meat into 1/4 inch slices across the meat fibers. Dip in flour and sprinkle both sides of cutlets with salt. Fry in oil or butter just until no longer pink. Do not over fry it or it will get more dried out and tough.

Fajita Chicken and Vegetables on Rice

1 1/2 – 2 lbs. chicken breast
1 large onion, sliced
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1 lb whole green beans (can be frozen)
Rice, cooked
Oil for frying

Sauce:
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. vinegar
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt

Cut chicken breast into into strips or bite size pieces. Stir the fajita sauce ingredients together and pour over the chicken. Stir to coat. Let set 1 hour and up to 24 hours. Fry the chicken pieces in a small amount of oil. Spoon into a large oven proof bowl. Set in a 200 degree oven to keep warm. Stir fry the carrots and onions in a little oil till crisp tender. Add to chicken. Stir fry the green beans in the remaining fajita sauce until crisp tender. Add to the chicken and veggies. Mix everything together. Serve over rice. (Note: You can also use leftover roasted chicken that you have taken off the bones.)

Have a blessed Christmas and Holiday Season!
Myron and Cathy Horst and Family

Jehovah-Jireh Farm
http://www.jehovahjirehfarm.com/

Cathy’s Cooking Corner

Brunch Casserole

3 cups bread cubes
3 cups cheddar cheese
3 cups meat of your choice
6 eggs, beaten
3 cups milk
1 Tbsp mustard
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt

Layer bread cubes, meat and cheese in a 9 X 13 pan in that order. Mix the rest of the ingredients and pour over the top of the bread, cheese and meat. Refrigerate overnight. (Or bake immediately.) Bake at 300 degrees for one hour.

Cheesy Eggs on Toast

4 eggs
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup cheese
2 Tbsp. mayonaise
1 Tbsp. onion, minced
4 pieces toast, buttered

Mix cheese, mayonaise and onion. Melt butter in skillet. Add the eggs. Fry on one side. Flip eggs and top with cheese mixture. Cover skillet with lid. Cook eggs to desired doneness. Serve eggs on buttered toast.