Meat Inventory Update

Here's What's Left as of Nov. 7th

For those of you picking up at River Market: Your meat will arrive at 10:00 a.m. pick it up like any other CSA box. They will put it in the cooler but it's still a good idea to pick it up as soon as you can.

For those of you picking up at Hampden Park: I'll be at the co-op at 1:00 p.m. since Hampden does not have cooler/freezer space, I'll stay there until you come to get it.


Lamb Meat:
Lamb Shanks: a.k.a. hocks (good for soup) $5.00 - six left in stock
Lamb Shoulder: Two left, one is $20 (a little over 4#) and the other is $10 (a little over 2#), bone in
Lamb Chops: Ten packs left, they are small and also include bones, as a result I’ve decided to sell 4 chops for $5.00 instead of my original price of 2 for $5.00 (one person could very easily eat two lamb chops in one sitting).

Goat Meat
Goat Shanks: a.k.a. hocks (good for soup) $4.00
Leg of Goat: One left, $20 (nearly 5 and a half pounds)
Goat Shoulder: One left, $20 (nearly 5 and a half pounds)
Goat Chops: Five left, 2 per pack, $4.00/pack

Eener's Meat Sampler Pack: Now includes a mix of goat and lamb meat. Two packs of lamb chops, two packs of goat chops, one pound ground goat, two shanks (one lamb and one goat). $23.00

Meat Prices

So we’ve had two lambs, a ewe and a goat butchered and are interested in selling some meat to CSA members or anyone who is interested. Here is some information about the animals we had butchered:

The Two Lambs: These were both boys born here this past spring. The reason we had them butchered is because we don’t have a use for any more rams (we couldn’t use these guys for breeding anyway since they are related to the girl lambs). Their mothers raised them out in the pasture so the only things they ate were milk and grass. They were never given any ground feed and were never weaned. Since they didn’t get sick or appear to have any health problems whatsoever they were never given any antibiotics or any other kind of medicine, hormones, ect. They are both Icelandic which is a meat breed that is said to be less greasy than other meat breeds.

The Goat: This goat lived at my place for a year and a half. I decided to butcher her because she is not a good mother. While she was here she spent the majority of her time grazing in the pasture. During the winter she was fed hay that was grown without chemical herbicides or pesticides. Occasionally she was given ground feed as a special treat. She was dewormed (this is standard procedure) with Diatomaceous earth which is a type of sedimentary rock that contains fossilized algae. She never had any health problems (unless you count mental ones) and thus wasn’t given any meds. When I bought her she was a young goat I would estimate her age at two or three years. She is a Boer which is a breed that is known for producing meat.

The Ewe: The ewe also lived at my place for a year and a half and was on the same feeding routines as the goat. She was butchered because she did not lamb last spring; because of this I believe she was pretty old. Even though she was older she was still a very nice looking, slick sheep. She is a hair sheep meaning she grew fur instead of wool. Hair sheep are a somewhat rare meat breed. She was dewormed in the same manner as the goat and also did not have any health problems and so was never given any meds.

Prices:
Lamb Chops- 2 per pack, cuts are 11/4 in. thick - $5.00/pack
Ground Lamb- 1 lbs. packs - $5.00/pack
Leg of Lamb – between 3 and 5 lbs., bone in - $5.00/lbs.
Lamb Shoulder – between 1 and 3 lbs., bone in - $5.00/lbs.
Lamb Hocks- good for stew- $5.00

Goat Chops- 2 per pack, cuts are 1in. thick - $4.00/pack
Ground Goat- 1 lbs. packs - $4.00/pack
Goat Roasts-between 3 and 5 lbs.- $4.00/lbs.
Goat Hocks-a.k.a. stew meat- $4.00

Mutton pricing is the same as goat pricing.

Eener’s Meat Sampler Pack- a good idea if you’d like to try a little of each, 1 pound each of ground lamb, goat and mutton, 2 packs of chops (one goat and one mutton) and a lamb hock - $23.00

The Butcher: We had our meat done up by a family owned butcher shop located in Elmwood, WI. They have a pretty cool meat market if you ever are in town. To learn more about their shop here is the web site: http://www.piercecountywi.com/Sailers.htm. Cass and I have been known to do our own butchering. However, we decided to contract this job out because there are two major advantages to sending animals to a professional butcher. For one, they have professional grade equipment that ensures the meat is weighed and wrapped to perfection. Secondly, all the animals are inspected by a veterinarian to ensure they are healthy and of good eating quality before they are slaughtered.

Deliveries: I’m nearly certain we’ll be able to put meat in the CSA boxes next week. The butcher said the meat should be ready this week, though we haven’t heard from just yet. Another good delivery day would be Sat. Nov. 7. We’re going to stop by both co-ops (River Market Co-op in downtown Stillwater and Hampden Park Co-op in St. Paul on Raymond Ave.) to pick up our last round of boxes. Other delivery dates are very possible since we get into Stillwater and St. Paul quite often to shop and visit family and friends.

How To Order: Just e-mail me eenermachine@gmail.com or call me (715)643-2803 and let me know what you would like, when you would like it and where you would be picking it up at.

Where is Eener's Farm??

It's been brought to my attention that the web site Google Maps thinks we live north of 64 when in fact we actually live south of it. Map Quest on the other hand seems to have a better handle on where we are. Another important detail is that there was a misprint in the newsletter and Connorsville is actually west of our house and not east like I had orginally claimed.

Here are directions to the farm (free of misprints):

From Stillwater: This is the obvious way for Stillwater folks but may also be good for St. Paul people too. Cross the lift bridge and head into WI on Hwy. 64. Follow 64 for about 40 miles, turn right onto 220th St. Please note that there is another 220th St. that intersects with Hwy. 64 about 20 miles from Stillwater, this is not our road. In order to get to our 220th St. you have to go through Connorsville which is a little town about three miles west of our house. Once you are on the correct 220th St. we are the first place on the right.

From I-94: Go east on I-94 until you hit the Glenwood City exit (the exit number is 28). Take a left off the exit ramp onto Hwy. 128. Follow 128 for about 10 miles until you get into Glenwood City at which point 128 becomes the main drag also known as Oak Street. A few blocks into town 128 turns off, ignore this and proceed to Third Street and hang a left. Just outside of town Third Street becomes County Road X. Follow Co. Rd. X for a few miles until you come to a stop sign, turn left onto County Road Q (I know, us crazy Wisconsinites and our lettered road names). Follow Co. Rd. Q a short ways to Hwy 64 and take a right. About four miles down 64 you will find 220th St., take a right. We are the first place on the right.

Amenities:
Gas: Gas stations are scarce around here (so is cell phone reception). If you are coming from Stillwater your last chance for gas is at an intersection we call four corners about 7 or 8 miles outside of New Richmond. There are 2 stations here right off 64. If you are coming from I-94 your last gas will be found in Glenwood City.
Food: We’ll feed you around 5:30 or 6 p.m. If you were thinking of stopping somewhere for lunch most of the countryside taverns serve food. You’ll find mostly burgers and pizza.

Maynerd: Our dog, Maynerd may bark at you in greeting. He's very friendly and has been trained not to jump on people, though he gets pretty excited at parties. He's a smaller dog (about 40 pounds) and not intimidating.

Box #18

It froze very hard here on Tuesday night. Before that happened, Cass and I covered the peppers and eggplant. Even with the covers, most of the plants still received frost damage. We’ll see what happens with these. I think we’ll still get some produce out of them but maybe not as much. The basil, summer squash and tommatillos all succumbed to the frigidness. Since those plants haven’t been producing much lately and were all dying back anyway, I let them go. Everything else in the garden doesn’t mind being frozen. Although, I noticed the Swiss Chard seemed kind of limp as I was picking it on Wednesday morning. I think maybe it was still trying to thaw out as it looked more crisp that evening.

Four More Weeks to Go
We still have four more weeks left. If anyone is wondering, the last delivery to Stillwater will be Oct. 26, the last for St. Paul will be Oct. 28. Here’s what’s left: lots more spuds, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, winter squash, pie pumpkins, rutabagas, turnips, pasta squash, swiss chard, hopefully peppers and eggplant, some broccoli, beets, carrots, popcorn, sunflower seeds and horseradish. We also have lots of gourds, ornamental corn and jack o’lanterns which we hope to get rid of mostly at the big party here on Oct. 17.