Level up a steak with easy yet fancy compound butter

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July 10, 2020

Farmer Aaron got his first grill ever. Wow! He’s ready to explore grilling this summer, and would love to take you on this adventure with him.

A tried and true meat for the grill is a nice steak. Miller’s has a variety of 100% grass fed and finished steak options for you.

Now, if you’re new to grilling steaks, I highly suggest using a meat thermometer when you get started. This will help you get the perfect cook. I also recommend reading this article about when to salt your steak. Super important!

Steak is pretty basic, but there’s a sophisticated yet simple way to dress it up - compound butter!

It takes your backyard BBQ to 5 Michelin star level (OK I might be exaggerating a bit… but it is pretty darn delicious).

Compound butter is softened butter, whipped with herbs and spices and can be sweet or savory. The flavor combinations are endless. Think garlic and chives, rosemary and thyme, orange or lemon zest, and honey and cinnamon. Mmmmm.

With steak, I prefer to go savory. Check out this recipe.

Garlic Herb Compound Butter Recipe

When your steak is done, serve it with a slice of compound butter on top. It will drip off the sides and add a punch of flavor and a boost of juiciness to your meal.

If steak isn’t your thing, you can use compound butter on so many things - bread, veggies, grilled mushrooms, and corn on the cob.

If steak is your thing, you may want to take advantage of some great bundle deals the farmer has now.

You can save a few dollars per pound on a 10 pack of flat iron steaks, a 20 pack of NY strip steaks, a 10 pack of ranch steaks, or a 10 pack of sirloin steaks. Each bundle comes in individually sealed packages so you can keep it frozen and defrost as needed.

Have any tips about cooking steak? Reply to this email to pass your knowledge on to the farmer!

Cooking

Pastured Meat

Raw Dairy

Ugh greenwashed labels. What does it take to get ___ on a label anyway?

Not a fan of the confusing, greenwashed labels in store? Yea, me too! And it's especially real for me, because I'm responsible for getting our labels approved with the "powers that be". Here's a little story with a big inside scoop... I made new labels for our bone broth a little while ago. It didn't go as smoothly as planned. Why? I put the little icons about our farming practices on them. They look like this: Yup, despite being 100% accurate and true, they were denied!! We're not allowed to put those statements on our food labels. So, I asked the USDA guy, "What would it take to get those claims on the labels, anyway?" The answer was kinda shocking. First off, there's some guidance on wording. Silly technicalities in my opinion. For example, you can't use the term "No Spray" but you can say "Produced without the use of synthetic pesticides." Or another example is that you can't say "No Routine Antibiotics or Vaccines" but you can say "Raised without routine use of antibiotics or vaccines." Second, the processor needs to update their documents to provide traceability. In other words, they need to document how they make sure the bones for our bone broth don't get mixed up with bones from other farms. I mean, this is pretty simple, especially with small batch foods like ours. But the documentation needs to be meticulous. Drafting it in government-approved language can be time consuming and/or costly. And lastly, once you get the wording and process right, you need proof. This was the real shocker for me: Want to know what proof would suffice for all the claims above? A 2-3 sentence affidavit (AKA a super short letter) signed by all farmers that supply us. That's it!? This lead me to a bunch of questions: What if a company submits a letter from one farmer but actually has other farmers that supply them, too? What if a company changes farmers? Will they submit new letters?What if a company's farmers change their practices in the future? Will they immediately update their labels?Are the "powers that be" checking on this? Is anyone checking on this?Is this why most farms and food facilities don't allow outside people coming in? It seems to me that, if a business isn't doing what the label says, the only way to find out is via a whistleblower. And the only way to make them stop is to take them to court. You know, like what's happening with Vital Farms and their pasture raised egg claim right now. It seems to me that, all that good natural stuff on labels - grass fed, pasture raised, antibiotic free, etc - doesn't mean it's true. Certifications are a little better, but the same kinda thing can be said about those, too. This is why, at Miller's, we choose to NOT sell in stores. No wholesale for us. In fact, we don't even have an on farm store. We only sell directly to our customers via our website. And, we choose to only get certified for what's required. This way, we can make our own natural standards. And, we can provide you will all the info and proof you need. Descriptions, photos, blog posts, test results, and more. So, what do you think? Should we do the affidavit thing to get claims on our bone broth labels? What proof do you need to feel confident in your food choices? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required - just start typing) or contact us 😊

Should I choose animal rennet or vegetable rennet in my natural cheese?

Let’s take a look at what rennet is and why it’s used in cheesemaking, compare the different types of animal and vegetable rennets, check out the labeling requirements for rennet, and consider the potential health consequences. Keeping all this in mind, Miller’s Bio Farm aims to produce the most nutrient-dense, natural, A2/A2 cheese we can and gives you all the info you need to make the choice that’s best for your body!

Is yolk color is no longer a great indicator of the egg's nutrition?

It used to be true that, if your egg yolks were darker in color, then the better the egg's nutrition. Conscious consumers of the past would look for that deep orange yolk and stray away from lighter yellow yolks. It's sad, but this simply isn't the case anymore. Here's why you can't trust cheap store-bought eggs with orange yolks and need to know your farmer instead.

Level up a steak with easy yet fancy compound butter

More from the blog

Ugh greenwashed labels. What does it take to get ___ on a label anyway?

Should I choose animal rennet or vegetable rennet in my natural cheese?

Is yolk color is no longer a great indicator of the egg's nutrition?

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Miller's Bio Farm, 523 Valley Road, Quarryville, PA 17566