SDMC

We decided to touch on the Paleolithic diet, being there is a big focus on the diet by many today.  In our last post discussed the nutritional values of beef. The Paleo diet, centered around eating the food types first consumed by early humans, consists of meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats. Being that protein from animal is a big focus of the diet, we wanted to give you some insights on this style of eating, if you are not already familiar with it.

So it heavily relies on protein, fruits and veggies. Nuts, seeds and healthy fats are allowed to. What is not part of the Paleo Plan is grains, sugars, processed foods, alcohol, dairy, legumes, salt and potatoes. Imagine back to the paleolithic period in time, or the primal/hunter/gatherer days. The paleo diet tries to include only that that would have been available then.  Of course through time, the variety of meats, fruits, and vegetables has dramatically evolved and changed, but the point is to try and mimic the food the our predecessors ate. Continue reading “Paleo Diet” →

Beef is an excellent protein source as well a great source for many other important nutrients.

Beef, or red meat, has and still poses much controversy on whether it’s good for you or not. So is it?  Yes it is, and depending on the quality of the beef it can even be better for you.  Red meat is loaded with essential B vitamins, Zinc, Iron and protein, which our all essential to our overall body and brain health.  This doesn’t mean that Beef is the only way to get these important nutrients, it just means it is a great source.

Let’s remember anything in excess can be bad for you, from alcohol to exercise, and red meat is no different.  Eating grass fed, or organic (over industrial farmed) red meat in moderation is a great way to get a lot of good that the body needs.

The composition of a cow raised in tight quarters, with no space, given antibiotics and hormones to enhance growth, and fed everything unnatural (corn, soy and wheat) to them versus a cow raised free to roam and consume their natural food source, grass, when they are hungry that is a natural, are totally different, and have quite a big difference in their nutritional values. Continue reading “Beef’s Nutritional Value” →

Fresh Produce

Now we are a meat company offering San Diego some high quality, free range tasty meats and poultry. What better way to compliment great meats, than with garden fresh, organic produce?

Today we give you a few tips for creating a garden at your home.  Even if it’s small and you only grow herbs to use as seasoning with marinating or roasting your meats, a small garden is better than no garden…in our opinion. And if a garden is just a no go for you, we recommend finding local fruit and veggie growers to supply your greens.

We have a medium sized garden at our home. We were fortunate to have our friend who is a landscape designer and pool builder in Phoenix, fly out at help us design our garden space (we traded his expertise for our meat). Our garden expands outward and we have a garden wall as well. Yes gardens can be tall!

 

Tips for starting  a home garden

Find where the sun shines. Sunlight is needed (6-8 hours) for most vegetables. If you don’t have full sun think about growing a variety of leafy veggies.

Plan what you want to grow. We say start small, you can always expand. What do you use the most of?

Decide on your space. How much space will you need?  You can always grow up not just out. There are some very cool vertical gardens.

It’s all in the soil. Choose a rich organic soil to use.

Space Properly.  Give the items you’ve decided to grow proper spacing for ultimate growth.

Plant. Water Regularly. Give your garden love and keep it clean.

Continue reading “Home Gardens” →

Now we are a meat company.  We don’t directly sell fresh fish, however we can put you in touch with some great people to who do.

Today we would like to inform our readers on farm raised fish, also known as pisciculture or aquaculture. There is much controversy about farm raised seafood and it’s negative effects on health and the environment. So what are fish farms “pisciculture” anyway, and why would they be bad?

Fish farms are water farms that raise fish are artificially bread and raised for consumption.  Fish farms are meant to control all the variables of raising fish. These variables include disease, over farming, production, protecting endangered species, and any other outside factors that can threaten the amount of aqua life available.  Farming fish bolsters production and essentially economic return received.

There have been experts that have raised awareness on the negative aspects of fish farming. We at SDMC, believe that when negative aspects are brought to attention, improvement has room for growth. That being said, we are highlighting many past concerns, and some still present. However we feel that positive changes are taking place. The best case scenerios, although ideal, are not always possible with the population of people and our profit driven economy.

Continue reading “Fish Farms” →

Our last post discussed the different meat cuts from beef.  Today we will discuss the cuts from pork. There are four main cuts from pork. Those include the Shoulder, Loin, Leg, and Belly or Side/Sparerib. The Head and Hock can be used to flavor stocks and stews.

 

Lion-Loin, Tenderloin, Loin Roast, Baby Back Ribs (attached to loin muscle), Crown Roast, Pork Chop, Sirloin, T Bone, Porterhouse. Loin cuts are the leanest and most tender area of the pig. Any cut with the word loin cab be grilled, seared, or roasted. Watch cooking times as to not let the meat dry out.  Baby Back Ribs can be seasoned with a dry rub and slow cooked for hours, to have the meat fall right of the bone. And you can never go wrong throwing some Chops on the good ol’ Barb-E-que.

Leg– Ham. Fresh Ham is the upper hind leg of the pig and is usually very large so broken down into the butt and tapered shank. The tapered shank is great brined (to retain moisture), roasted, and sliced.

Shoulder-Country Style Ribs, Pork(Picnic) Shoulder, Blade Steak, Cubed Steak. Depending on the cut from the shoulder will determine your cooking method. Blade Steaks are great to marinate (30-2 hrs Depending on your time) and toss on the grill.

Belly (side, spare rib)-Slab Bacon, Sliced Bacon, Spare Ribs, Salt Pork.  Spare Ribs and Bacon are what mainly come from this area of the pig. We all know how good bacon is. We love roasting or barbequeing spare ribs.  You can always turn your bacon into pepper bacon, or applewood smoked bacon, maple bacon, etc. Get creative with your meats.

Hock– the bottom of the animals leg. You can buy these cured and smoked or do them yourself. Hock is great for flavoring stews, and soups.  You can roast hocks as well.

There are many great cuts of pork and great ways to cook each cut to bring out the best flavor.  There are many cuts that people know, such as bacon, tenderloin, and baby back ribs, and there are many other cuts that lead in flavor, but are just under explored.  If you have any questions email us at info@sandiegomeatcompany.com

In our last post, we said that we would discuss the different cuts of meat that come from a cow.  Different cuts of meat are used differently.  From stews to steaks and burgers, let us explore the cow and the different cuts of Beef. The way that a portion of the cow is cut, determines the best cooking practices.  Dry rubs and simple seasoning (salt, pepper, and garlic) are some of our favorite ways to bring out juicy flavors in meat.  When you have a great cut of beef, cooked properly, think “less is more” with seasoning.

Chuck-Shoulder Petite Tenderloin, Shoulder Steak, Chuck Pot Roast, Blade Roast, Mock Tender Roast, Chuck Eye Roast, Chuck Top Blade Steak, Short Roast, Flanken Style Ribs, Arm Pot Roast.  Chuck is a great less expensive, value cu,t that needs to cooked properly for tenderness.  Chuck is also ground for ground beef. Stew, brisket, slow cooking methods, as well as tenderizing are important with Chuck.

Brisket– Brisket is a great cut to play with multiple recipes and way to cook it.  We say throw on a delicous smoky rub and make you some barbeque.

Rib-Rib Roast, Prime Rib Steak, Ribeye Roast, Rib Eye Steak, Ribs (Back).  Some of our favorites. For the Steaks get them with the bone in for a juicy steak.  Simple Salat and Pepper along with a roasting or grilling style goes a long way with beef cuts from the rib section.

Sirloin/Loin/Top– T-bone Steak, Top Loin, Top Sirloin, Tenderloin, filet mignon, Tenderloin Roast, Porterhouse, Tri Tip Steak, Tri Tip Roast. The loin area of beef has some extremely buttery cuts great for grilling.  Some of the tougher loin cuts can be used for slow cooking in stews or soups.

Round-Round Steak, Round Roast, Bottom Round Steak, Bottom Round Roast, Eye Round Roast, Top Round Steak, Rump Roast, Tip Steak, Tip Roast.  These tend to be lean and tougher cuts. Slow Roasting, Braising, and Souping are the best ways to cook the meat to melt in your mouth.

Flank-Flank Steak, Skirt Steak. These cuts tend to be long and then. Marinating and grilling are great cooking options. Be sure to remove the membrane and cut against the grain of the meat for utmost tenderness and juiciness.

Shank– Beef Shank. Part of the leg of the cow and very tough.  This cut must be slow cooked for hours with great flavors. You will enjoy delicious fall of the bone shanks.

 

Being in business means having operation costs. Being in business means using energy for everyday operations.  There are many factors that must be in place to keep a business running.  More times than not, a businesses main goal is it’s bottom line….money.  Money is a factor, otherwise you cannot run a business.  At SDMC money is one aspect, and an important one, however, it is not where our focus is it at.  Our goal is to bring clean, unprocessed protein to the market, while maintaining our actions to promote a healthier environment. Our focus branches off  to promote local farms and ranchers,  increase awareness in the fact that not all meat is created equal, remain more than just humane to the animals, and to keep the environment in mind in our actions.  If we keep our focus in mind, or goal will come to fruition, and money will naturally be made.  It is the  counterpart is the mix of the right actions.

As a meat plant, even though we are a lot smaller than many other meat and poultry plants out there, we use a lot of energy.  Being that part of our goal is to promote a healthier environment, we continually work with a energy specialists to help us keep our energy use and costs at bay.  One of the wisest investments we recently made for our company was the switch to solar power.  A big thank you to the owners and staff at Santa Ana Solar Energy. They are a smaller company that has provided excellent service to us.  It’s one thing to cut energy costs by operating at night, when electricity cost is less, but it’s another thing to stop relying on fossil fuels for energy needs.

Beyond solar panel installation, we must also pay attention to water conservation.  We are meat company that must sanitize, wash, and use water often. Therefore we constantly have to adjust both our operational and sanitization processes.  We take this beyond just what we have to do, but educate our employees on conservation and awareness.  We offer incentives when water and energy use is below what it should be.  The money we save, we put in to educating and rewarding those that help us to make it possible.  Not only do we create employee interaction and encouragement, but we save money and conserve the earth.

We are very proud as a company to implement energy conservation in our business and to be able to educate our employees on it.  This encourages them to take this mindset into their own homes and lives and make an even larger impact.  We also decrease the amount of money we spend on unsustainable practices.  This gives of the freedom to reflect our savings in the prices of our products, the benefits to our employees and continuos development on conservation.  We make customers happy, our employees happy, and ourselves happy.  Take a moment and think of areas that you could conserve in your everyday life. It just takes everyone becoming aware and doing a little more to reduce waste.

 

Thank you from all of us at San Diego Meat Company!  And thanks again Santa Ana Solar Energy!

Next post will be on the cuts of a cow.  Learn what each cut is and recipes it’s best for.

What is the difference between grass fed and organic beef?

We get this question often so are here to give you the scoop.  There are many similarities and overlap between grass fed and organic, but they are not the same. One strong commonality are both practices are promote healthier cows and less toxins and chemically treated cows.

Organic Beef, must abide by specific standards that meet the USDA Certified Organic label. Organically raised animals do not have to be fed grass. They can be fed corn and grain.  They must have unrestricted outdoor access and meet the following

• Born and raised on a certified organic pasture
• No antibiotics (ever received)
• No growth-promoting hormones (ever received)
• Fed only certified organic (grains, corn, and grasses

Grass Fed on the other hand basically means that cows are allowed to graze and eat grass, what they are naturally meant to eat. They have the ability to turn this grass into protein and fats necessary for survival. They may be fed alfalfa in the winter months when grass is not available, but their diet is green and cannot include corn, or grain. USDA Grass fed standards require that animals have continuos access to the pasture during the growing season, so access to forage.  Grass fed beef, does not have to be hormone or antibiotic free.  So be aware when choosing your meats.

Our beed is Grass Fed without the use of antibiotics and hormones.  Cows are not meant to eat grain or corn and have negative responses to them. We believe in keeping things as close to nature as possible.

 

 

We like to give our customers and readers information into the industry of meat production.  It keeps you the consumer informed and lets you know why we have developed our own quality standards at San Diego Meat Company.  Our family and team believes in the health and well being of people, animals, and the environment.  Our efforts and business in the meat industry are lead with quality in mind. We encourage to explore more on your own and inform yourself of what you consume. Awareness and taking steps to better the meat industry and human well being are very important and we do our very best to promote this well being.

Antibiotics

Farmers, ranchers, and meat rearers having been using antibiotics for years. It was recognized years ago that antibiotics would make most animals gain more weight, as much as 3 percent. Of course this was quite a gain in a industry where profits are measured by weight.

Antibiotics are used for therapeutic benefits as well, treating sick animals.  However the main controversy comes from the subtheraputic administering of human antibiotics that are used to treat human illness, to animals.

Why? Well if said animal is treated with the antibiotic overtime, the bacteria becomes resilient to the antibiotic. This can create bacteria transfer from animal to human though improperly handled meats, undercooked, raw,etc. This creates concern with how a person will respond to to the antibiotic treatment. Example of this is they would be resilient to the antibiotic, so the treatment.

Hormones

Certain artificial Hormones are used to promote growth in livestock. These hormones expedite the size of the animal, reduce the amount of feed needed and the time needed before slaughter.  In dairy cows it will also increase the milk production. This increases the profitability of the meat industry.

Many studies have found that these hormones fed to animals also increase the risk of diseases developed in human beings that consume the products. Risks of cancer, of breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancers are apparent.

The use of these hormones in meats is banned many places throughout the world including Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and in United States, but only in pork and poultry, not beef, dairy cows, or sheep.

Toxins

A number of environmental toxins have been found to build in animal tissues found in meats. This is found at times at very high levels. These toxins or exposure to Dioxin Like Compounds (DLCs) pose danger to human consumers. There are a variety of adverse health effects that increase the risk of cancers, diabetes, and create reproductive problems in humans. A study shows that 95% of Dioxins come from out foods.

Of certain concern is Farmed Raised Salmon vs Wild Caught Salmon. Farm raised showed high levels of these toxins as well as banned insecticides. On average farmed salmon showed levels 16 times the amount of wild caught salmon, and 4 times the amount found in beef.  So go Wild with Salmon

 

These findings and studies are why we at SDMC believe in local grass fed, hormone free, antibiotic free meat products.  Better Quality meats with these factors taken into consideration help to lower disease, help the environment and are overall healthier for us.  So please contact us with any questions or concerns about meat quality.