Steaks on the grill, beef stew, burgers, pot roast… There are hundreds of ways to celebrate May as N.C. Beef Month.
In North Carolina, there are more than 830,000 cattle, which provide us with a variety of food, leather and other products. Cattle is raised in all 100 counties throughout the state. Nine out of ten U.S. households serve beef at least once every two weeks.
Cattle farms generate more than $255 million in cash receipt, making the beef industry an important part of North Carolina’s agriculture industry.
To get everyone ready for N.C. Beef Month, we worked with five area bloggers to visit beef producers at Triangle farmers markets, give a short farmer profile and create a recipe from their beef. We’ve summarized the delicious results below. Click on the recipes below for more details on the farms and markets, as well as detailed recipes.
- Jenni Field, Online Pastry Chef, uses ground chuck from Fickle Creek Farm to make Smoky Beef Carnitas. Fickle Creek Farm in Efland sells at the Western Wake Farmers Market. The farm is a 215-acre operation that produces beef, pork, lamb, chicken, eggs and produce. The farm also offers tours the first Sunday of every month. The Western Wake Market is located in Morrisville and is open on Saturdays and Tuesdays.
- Angie Barrett, Big Bear’s Wife, uses a sirloin tip roast from Meadow Lane Farm to make Dijon-Sirloin Tip Roast w Brown Butter Mushrooms. Meadow Lane Farm is a family farm in Franklin County that has been raising Angus beef cattle since 1919. They sell their beef and produce at the Durham Farmers Market on Saturdays and Wednesdays. This market features locally grown and producer only vendors. Meadow Lane Farms holds a farm to table supper each September featuring local and regional chefs and local farmers.
- April Anderson, Girl Gone Gourmet, uses stew meat from T-5 Farms to make Slow Cooker Beef Stew. T-5 farms from Alamance County sells lean pasture-raised Limousin beef products as well as pork, chicken and in-season fruits and vegetables at the Chapel Hill Farmers Market. The market operates year-round on Saturday mornings.
- Kate Kelly, Life of a Ginger, uses ground beef from D’s Beef and Bees to make Jalapeno Popper Burger Bombs. D’s Beef and Bees sells Lowline Black Angus beef and honey products at the Holly Springs Farmers Market. The market operates every Saturday from May to mid-October. Lowline Black Angus are nearly the same as Black Angus cows, except only about 60 percent of the height and weight. They are perfect for smaller farms.
- Melissa Vera, Adventures of Frugal Mom, uses ground beef from Queen Bee Farms in her How to Make Albondigas in an Instant Pot recipe. Albondigas is a meatball soup. Queen Bee Farms is a 100-year old family farm in Mebane sells their pasture-raised beef, chicken, turkey and eggs at Cary’s Downtown Farmers Market. The market runs year-round on Saturday mornings.