Cook with Aloha - Niman Ranch

NIMAN RANCH

How about this for a concept in good eating.....

Pork, lamb and beef that actually has great taste. Sounds simple enough, but in these days of large corporate agribusinesses that operate huge feedlots where cattle and hogs are fed growth-promoting antibiotics or hormones and byproducts of other animals such as bone meal, the idea of livestock being humanely treated and fed with nothing but natural feeds is something rare. If you haven't read "Fast Food Nation", by Eric Schlosser (Perennial/HarperCollinsPublishers) I highly recommend it. This book will open your eyes to the U.S. cattle industry in particular. There was a recent survey commissioned by Whole Foods Market (they have stores nationwide) that reported only 48% of those surveyed were aware that cattle and hogs were being fed growth hormones and antibiotics. More than 78% of those surveyed said they would change their buying habits and look for meats and poultry that have not been fed anything artificial.

Thanks to dedicated people like Bill Niman and his family and staff, Niman Ranch has been delivering pork, lamb and beef to the public that really does taste great. That small accolade does not really do it justice....you really have to taste the meat for yourself to realize how great tasting and different it is from generally available meats.

Niman Ranch follows strict protocols which involve the following aspects:

animals are treated humanely
only all-natural vegetarian diets are fed to the animals
animals are allowed to mature naturally
Hogs are raised outdoors on pasture and in bedded pens
Lambs are raised in open meadows in California & Utah
Cattle are grown on pasture for 14-18 months then placed in Idaho for grain feeding until maturing

Niman Ranch offers it's products through various ways. They sell directly to many restaurants nationwide, and through specialty food retailers. In addition, Niman Ranch products can be ordered through their own on-line store. Many of the more upscale restaurants will display the Niman Ranch logo on their menu to alert their diners that their restaurant is serving a high-quality, great tasting meat that is of premium quality. Union Square Cafe in New York City is an example of a fine dining restaurant that takes pride in serving Niman Ranch products.

Another aspect of Niman Ranch that has endeared me to them, is that they work with small family farms that allows them to control and track livestock and feed from the farm to you. In addition to helping to support smaller family owned farms, all Niman Ranch cattle are born and raised in the USA so there is no danger of an infected cow from Canada from the recent outbreak of "mad cow" disease getting into the Niman Ranch herds.

Now let's get to the eating part of this story!

My first taste of Niman Ranch was pork. The pork chops I ordered are spectacular to look at even when raw. The bone on each chop has been "frenched" so for presentation purposes, these pork chops are superb. But the taste is what I was curious about so I thought about how I love to eat pork chops. I have several ways I like pork chops but these two are my favorites:

1. Pork chops marinated in a mixture of olive oil, garlic, fresh thyme and lemon juice. Salt & pepper. Then grilled on a stovetop cast iron grill. I cook pork to an internal temperature of approximately 145 - 150 degrees F. I like pork that is slightly pink - there is no worry these days of eating slightly pink pork.

2. Pork chops braised in a mixture of canned tomatoes (Muir Glen Organic), fennel seed, garlic and red wine. Obviously the braising method cooks the chops thoroughly, but they still remained moist and tender.

Both of these cooking styles proved to be delicious examples of the high quality of Niman Ranch pork. Click here to order pork.

My next venture will be to order Niman Ranch lamb - most likely a Rack of Lamb and a Leg of Lamb. I'll keep you informed of how the lamb tastes. But I have no doubt it will be delicious.