Early encounters in Weiser

By: 
Keith Bryant

Back in 2007 when I moved here to start a life on land instead of living on a boat, I had no idea what a wonderful place I would move to.  I have lived all over the country, and being a young man from the Deep South I have soaked up every kind of personality you can imagine. 

Being genuine and friendly with people is the best policy no matter where you live.  Down on the end of East Main, I got some new neighbors in 2011.  Pam and Boyd Harms and their children took over the old Dickerson place next door.  They are real salt of the earth people with a passion for farming and raising cattle.  You will never meet a harder working family.

Their middle child Shiela was in a budding relationship with her now husband, renting a house just down the street.  She was known as the race car driver and daddy’s girl of the group.  Her dreams and passions always led her to raising cattle. Finding a “little” land in Indian Valley she and her family moved out to the middle of nowhere to start the Granger Creek Ranch.  This is the story she shared with me.

“My grandpa switched from raising mostly Hereford cattle to Red Angus in the early 1980s. We have been raising Red Angus ever since.  In 2012 we began to focus more on carcass EPD's. Phenotype and maternal traits were always important to us and still are. So, we began to concentrate on carcass traits. Our goal is to produce cattle that will excel on the rail and still retain functional mama cows that are easy on the eye. That same year (2012) we bought out first bull from Lorenzen Ranches out of Oregon. We have purchased seven so far. The cattle are getting better every year!

“In 2015 we started grading our carcasses. We made prime! We have consistently been grading high choice and prime ever since. Since we are a small outfit with less than 100 mama cows we get to know every animal on the place and give them personal attention and care.   We only finish a handful of animals currently. All are born and raised here. Special attention is taken to keep them happy and healthy. We love our cows!”

I contacted Shiela about her cattle operation, due to the increase in prices for beef right now, and asked her if she was willing to sell some.   She was gracious enough to send me a couple of steaks to tryout.  The flavor was off the charts.  I am now trying to find a freezer “just like everybody else in the country” to store a little extra meat for the winter.   She told me she would have more beef for sale in the fall, but if you are interested contact her as soon as possible.   The best way to get a hold of her is by email at Shielaretherford@gmail.com.  Shiela told me she checks her email on Mondays and if you know anything about farming you totally get that.  

Sous Vide Ribeye

Ingredients

1 lb. thick cut ribeye steak 1-2 inches thick

1 tbsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. onion powder

Sea salt

Fresh black pepper

3 tbsp. vegetable oil, enough to coat pan

2 tbsp butter

Instructions

Mix the garlic powder and onion powder in your spice shaker. If you do not have one you can skip this step.

Season the steak liberally with the garlic and onion powder on both sides.

Season the steaks liberally with sea salt and black pepper. Make sure that you are using a coarser ground salt as table salt will not work well in this application. Season both sides of the steak.

Press the seasonings into the steak.

Set up your sous vide cooker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Fill your container with water while keeping the amount of water that will be displaced when you add the bag with the steak.

Set the sous vide cooker to 130 degrees for medium rare.

Place your steaks in a gallon freezer bag but do not seal it.

Lower the bag with the steak into the water and let the air be pushed out as you lower it. It helps to use tongs to push it down as the water is hot.

Once the steak is fully submerged seal the bag.

Clip the bag to the edge of the vessel so that it does not fall in and become harder to remove.

Cook for 2 hours in the water bath.

After 2 hours remove the bag with the steak.

Remove the steak from the bag and pat it dry. This is an especially important step as you will not be able to get a good sear if the steak is wet.

Place a cast iron or stainless-steel pan over high heat. Coat the pan with vegetable oil (it has a higher smoke point). Do this with vents on as it will smoke.

When the pan is really hot add the steak and flip it often, every 30 seconds or so.

About 1-2 minutes in add in the 2 tbsp. of butter and baste the steak with it as you sear.

Do not exceed 3-4 minutes or you will overcook the steak. Remove when you have a nice color on the steak.

There is no need to rest sous vide cooked steak. You can cut and serve it immediately. The steak may look a little grey when first cut. It will fluoresce and turn redder as it is exposed to oxygen.

 

Signal American

18 E. Idaho St.
Weiser, ID 83672
PH: (208) 549-1717
FAX: (208) 549-1718
 

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