Branding chicken was started a few decades ago by Frank Purdue. But today, as we worry about our food supply and the quality of what we eat, having a label on our meat and poultry is more than advertising. If we want to be confident about quality, taste and sustainability, we can turn away from Purdue and instead buy top quality chicken (Murray's) or pork (Flying Pigs Farm) or game (D'Artagnan), guided by the label as a way of being sure of what we're eating.
Now thanks to Hardwick Beef, we can do the same with beef. Hardwick, based in Hardwick, Massachusetts, works with farmers across the Northeast whose cows are humanely raised and 100% grass-fed without any antibiotics or added hormones using grass farming, an old technique that predates the corn-fed methods of huge agribusiness beef production. Instead, grass farmed cows are continuously moved from one section of a farm to another (these are referred to as "fresh paddocks") so that they always eat grass with the best nutrients. This means the cows get the best possible natural diet, the manure gets spread around, and the farmland improves at the same time the cows are healthy.
Hardwick Beef is only available in a small number of markets in New York (see our list) and the prices are higher than for other beef that may be sold right along side in the butcher's case. Producers like Hardwick work with farmers to create economic models that let food get to market while enabling farmers to earn a living that keeps them from selling off their land to developers. But this also means top quality local foods are costing more.
At Eli's Manhattan, the stew beef is $14.99 per pound and the ground beef is $12.99 per pound. But I've always been of the opinion that it's preferable to have less of something that's better than more of an inferior quality.
The beef also tastes fantastic. Hardwick beef is noticeably juicier, with a richer, more forward flavor. The next time you're planning a beef stew, a favorite meat loaf, or a weekend afternoon spending 3 hours braising beef short ribs, think about trying your recipe with Hardwick.
I recently made my favorite Braised Short Ribs (see our recipe) with 3½ pounds of Hardwick Beef. At $14.99 per pound, the meat cost me about twice as much as what I'd usually pay for this typically less expensive cut of beef. But unlike the short ribs I get at my usual butcher, the pieces were far more meat than bone. Plus the flavor was so splendid that two of us ended up eating less than our usual portions and we got 2 full meals out of the 3½ pounds.
Research suggests that grass-fed beef is lower in fat, higher in the good omega-3 fatty acids that help reduce heart disease, and higher in C.L.A., or conjugates linoleic acid, which can reduce the risk of cancer. So grass-fed beef as health food? Well, maybe enough to let people who have sworn off beef to try it once in a while.
Some of the best professional kitchens recognize how special this beef is, including Chef Dan Barber who cooks with Hardwick Beef at the splendid Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills in Westchester County, a restaurant dedicated to cooking with the best possible local ingredients.
If you want to continue to eat beef but are worried about quality and where your food is coming from, Hardwick is something delicious to try.
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