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Thanksgiving Main Dishes: Festive Local Meats & Poultry

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By Julia Howard

Longlesson Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

While changing travel plans and opting for small gatherings, we are determined to make Thanksgiving satisfying and memorable this year. When planning your holiday meal, why not make the menu everything you want it to be? Perhaps this means a traditional turkey, or maybe you are looking to make something different like lamb, duck, beef, or pork. At the farmers’ market, local farmers have high-quality meat and poultry options and offer cooking instructions.

Here are some ideas for the centerpiece of your holiday meal.

Beef & Veal
Beef entrees are festive and satisfying and a worthy addition to the holiday table. Roasted beef tenderloin, prime rib, and pot roast are impressive meals that can accommodate small and large crowds. Ethically raised, grass-fed beef is available at Longlesson Farm, Bunker Hill Creamery, and Ramble Creek Farm. In addition to meat is specialty Rosé veal available at Hebron Valley Veal. Rosé veal has a clean, lighter beef flavor and is very tender.

Lamb Chops, Adobe Stock

Lamb
Succulent and aromatic, lamb makes an excellent substitute for Thanksgiving dinner. Elihu Farm is bringing more cuts of lamb, picking up from the butcher on Friday, November 20. They’ll have plenty of legs of lamb, leg steak, loin chops, racks of lamb, and more and more. To order, please call or email Elihu Farm directly.

Pork
Smoked pork chops, pork tenderloin, spare ribs, sirloin, and more; pork can make a superb alternative for a Thanksgiving main dish. Unique, elegant, and packed with flavor, leaner and fattier cuts offer various main course options that are easy to prepare and beautiful to present. Pork is currently available at Ramble Creek Farm, Bunker Hill Creamery, and Moxie Ridge Farm.

Roast Duck with Apples, Adobe Stock

Turkey, Chicken, & Duck
While turkey is often the main feature of Thanksgiving, duck and chicken make excellent alternatives, especially when feeding a smaller crowd. Poultry is sold fresh at the farmers’ market, and farmers have essential cooking tips as turkey, duck, and chicken cook differently. Ramble Creek Farm is currently taking reservations for their pasture-raised turkey. Fresh, whole chickens are available at Longlesson Farm, Squashville Farm, Ramble Creek Farm, and Bunker Hill Creamery. Duck is offered exclusively at Squashville Farm.

If looking to order specific meats or poultry, we recommend contacting farms directly to ensure availability. Vendor contact information can be found on our Vendor Directory page. Schedule to pick up your order at the farmers’ market this Saturday before Thanksgiving and find fresh, locally-sourced seasonal ingredients for your holiday feast.

This week’s recipe: Pot Roast with Cranberries

Steak or Lamb Kebabs with Summer Vegetables

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Adapted from the recipe by Cooking Classy
Servings: 5
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Marinating time: 3 hours

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

Marinade
● 1/4 cup olive oil
● 1/4 cup soy sauce
● 1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
● 1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
● 2 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
● 1 tbsp honey*
● 2 tsp Dijon
● 1 tbsp garlic*, pressed or minced
● 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Kebabs
● 1 3/4 lbs steak* or lamb*, cut into 1 1/4 inch pieces
● 8 oz mushrooms* of choice, halved (unless small, keep whole)
● 3 bell peppers* (1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow) cut into 1 1/4-inch pieces
● 1 large onion* diced into chunks (about 1 1/4-inch)
● 1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for brushing grill grates
● Salt and freshly ground black pepper
● 10 wooden skewer sticks soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

Instructions
1. For the marinade: In a mixing bowl whisk together all marinade ingredients.
2. For the kebabs: place steak or lamb into a gallon size resealable bag. Pour marinade over the meat then seal bag while pressing out excess air and message marinade over the meat. Transfer to refrigerator and allow to marinate 3 – 6 hours.
3. Preheat a grill over medium-high heat to about 425 degrees (partway through preheating clean grill grates if they aren’t already clean).
4. With veggies on a cutting board, drizzle with oil and lightly toss to coat (don’t toss the onion so that it will stay in chunks for when you thread onto the skewers).
5. Sprinkle veggies evenly with salt and pepper. To assemble kebabs layer meat and veggies onto kebabs in the desired order.
6. Brush grill grates lightly with oil. Place kebabs on grill and grill until center of the meat registers about 140 – 145 degrees for medium doneness, turning kebabs occasionally, about 8 – 9 minutes. Serve warm.

Instant Pot Bolognese

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Recipe by Healthy Gourmet Kitchen
Makes: 8 servings
Total time: 30 min

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market
● 1 lb. ground meat of choice (beef*, lamb*, pork*, turkey, or plant-based)
● 1 package Healthy Gourmet Kitchen Bolognese meal starter kit*
● 1 onion diced*
● 2 lb. tomatoes* OR 1, 28 oz. can whole or diced plum tomatoes
● 1 cup white wine
● 1 cup milk*
● 4 tablespoons grass-fed butter*
● 12 ounces penne pasta

Directions
1. Turn Instant Pot to saute medium. Add butter and allow it to melt slightly. Add chopped onion and saute for 3-5 minutes. Add ground meat and break it up so that it crumbles. Continue to saute until the meat is brown.
2. After meat is browned, add white wine and the Healthy Gourmet Kitchen Bolognese meal starter pack on top of the meat.
3. Add milk and tomatoes. If you are using fresh, whole tomatoes, squish them or chop them up. Add pasta and push so that it is submerged under the liquid.
4. Secure the lid on the Instant pot and close the vent. Press manual for 4 minutes.
5. When the cooking time is complete, allow 5 minutes to pass for natural release, then move the vent to remove the rest of the steam. Remove the lid, top with grated cheese, and enjoy!

Enjoying local meat during pandemic

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Longlesson Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

Demand for local meat has increased at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market since the Coronavirus pandemic erupted. Farmers often sell all of what they bring to market each week.

Meat shortages appear likely nationally and regionally. However, local farmers who sell their meat primarily via direct sales to customers at farmers’ markets expect a steady supply through the winter. They are able to weather crises such as the pandemic for several reasons:

Planning. “It takes three years for me to raise an animal from its beginning to the time it’s ready for processing,” says Christophe Robert of Longlesson Farm, which offers pork, beef, and chicken.

Robert has his cows and pigs butchered at a local processor. He booked all of his processing appointments for 2020 last December.

Robert also cannot change his quantities. “I raise as many animals as I can on the land I have.”

Ramble Creek Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

Processing for others. Ramble Creek Farm also offers pork, beef, and poultry. Owner Josh Carnes processes the chickens and turkeys he raises on-site. He also processes chicken for others.

“I’ve been getting more calls from people who are raising their own chickens,” he said. “Backyard farmers who want to try raising their own meat.”

Promoting health. For many, the pandemic has reinforced the value of buying meat directly from a farmer. “It’s basically my farm to you, with my processor in between for some items,” says Carnes. “Plus, you’re coming to an open-air environment when you visit the farmers’ market. That means more space, less jostling.”

Squashville Farm, photo provided

Being adept at change. At Squashville Farm, my husband called our processor to book appointments for our goats, only to learn the first available opening was in February. We decided to raise more chickens and ducks for the fall and winter and to pasture our goats a little longer.

Accepting what is. Elihu Farm’s processor of lambs also is booked through mid-winter. Owner Mary Pratt says she will continue her practice of raising her lambs on pasture and offering them some grains, which produces tender, flavorful meat. A customer endorsed the quality of her meat with this note: “I was raised in New Zealand, and you have the best lamb. It makes me homesick.”

 

This week’s recipe: Burger with Onions & Mushrooms

Lamb Stew

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Recipe by Natasha’s Kitchen
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Serves 8 people

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market
● 4 oz bacon*, chopped into 1/4″ strips
● 2 lbs boneless leg of lamb* or lamb shoulder* trimmed of excess fat, cut into 1 1/2″ pieces
● 1/2 Tbsp sea salt for the lamb plus 1 tsp for stew
● 1 tsp black pepper for lamb plus 1/2 tsp for stew
● 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
● 1 large yellow onion*, diced
● 4 garlic cloves*, minced
● 1 1/2 cups red wine*
● 1 lb mushrooms*, thickly sliced
● 4 cups low sodium beef broth or stock
● 1 Tbsp tomato paste
● 2 bay leaves
● 1/2 tsp dried thyme
● 1 1/2 lbs small potatoes* halved or quartered into 1″ pieces
● 4 medium carrots*, peeled and cut into 1/2″ thick pieces
● 1/4 cup parsley*, finely chopped for garnish

Instructions

  1. In a 5Qt dutch oven, saute chopped bacon over medium heat until browned and fat released. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a large plate.
  2. While bacon cooks, season lamb pieces with 1/2 Tbsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup flour and toss to coat. Cook lamb in 2 batches in hot bacon grease over medium heat until browned (3-4 min per side) then transfer to the plate with bacon.
  3. Add diced onion and sauté 2 min. Add garlic and cook another minute, stirring constantly. Add 1 1/2 cups wine, scraping the bottom to deglaze. Add sliced mushrooms, bring to simmer then cook uncovered 10 min. Preheat Oven to 325˚F.
  4. Return bacon and lamb to pot and add 4 cups broth, 1 Tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp dried thyme and 2 bay leaves. Stir in potatoes and carrots, making sure potatoes are mostly submerged in liquid. Bring to a boil then COVER and carefully transfer to preheated oven at 325˚F for 1 hr and 45 min. When done, potatoes and lamb will be very tender.

Cooking Advice for Farm-to-Table Meats

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By Julia Howard

I consider myself to be a decent cook but I will confess that I have always felt insecure preparing dishes with meat. So whenever I want to prepare lamb, beef, goat, or pork I look to the experts; the farmers who raised the animals and know the cuts and flavors best.

Steak from Longlesson Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

An upcoming dinner with friends prompted me to visit the farmers’ market for the right meat and cooking instructions for my visionary main course. First, I visit Christophe Robert of Longlesson Farm. “Keep it simple and cook the meat (steak) at a low temperature and finish with a sear,” Robert advises.

Caroline from Lewis Waite Farm gave similar advice. She explains that pasture-raised, 100% grass-fed meats cook differently. “They have less fat so you need to adjust how you approach cooking it with lower temperatures and less time,” she explains. Caroline recommends flat iron steaks, which are from a tender part of the shoulder. “Just a few minutes on each side on a low-heat pan works great,” says Caroline. The meat may be sliced up for fajitas and soups, or served as a steak.

Mary Pratt of Elihu Farm has a variety of cuts of lamb that may be bought fresh year-round at the farmers’ market. Pratt recommends a lamb shoulder roast or shoulder chops, bone-in neck, and shanks which make excellent stew. “You can use lamb stew cuts in recipes from many cultures,” explains Pratt. One of her favorite recipes is for lamb osso bucco, which can be found in the cookbook From the Earth to the Table. In addition, Pratt recommends lamb recipes from Paula Wolfert’s cookbooks and USA Grilling.

Goat is another meat option available at the farmers’ market. Jim Gupta-Carlson of Squashville Farm recommends goat rib chops and loin chops. “They are flavorful and quite simple to prepare,” says Gupta-Carlson. Simply season with salt and pepper and sear the chops on both sides on either a grill or skillet. Then let them cook at a lower temperature until they are medium-rare. Gupta-Carlson recommends letting the chops rest for a few minutes before serving.

The farmers’ market will move indoors to the Wilton Mall on Saturday, November 2 from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. There, customers may peruse offerings of goat, lamb, beef, and pork, and gather cooking advice from Elihu Farm, Lewis Waite Farm, Longlesson Farm, Mariaville Mushroom Men, Moxie Ridge Farm, Ramble Creek Farm, Slate River Farms, and Squashville Farm.