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Charlton Orchards Farm Natural Beef

Remember the days of naturally great tasting beef?  When you knew the steak was guaranteed to come off the grill fork tender and bursting with flavor?   At Charlton Orchards, we never forgot the secret to that great taste.  Nate Sr. and Patty, raised Hereford Cattle for over 30 years on their big farm in Connecticut, as part of the total farm diversity.  We now continue that tradition, with our Hereford and Simmental Cattle Herd. 

Great tasting beef comes from great cattle. Our Farm Fresh Pasture Raised Natural Beef has none of the artificial ingredients, tenderizers or added water you will find on the labels of grocery store beef. Our Cattle are pastured all summer and fed dried hay all winter.  We never use “steroids”, growth hormones, or try to  "enhance" our beef in any way.  Our beef is healthy, safe, aged for tenderness and tastes great because we use sound, proven practices in raising and caring for our animals. Our beef is minimally processed and contains no additives, which means no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. There's no beef safer. Our beef is the beef of great dinners and backyard grilling.

Our Cattle

Here at Charlton Orchards Farm, we believe in providing safe and nutritious beef, and believe that buying beef should not be a scary experience. Because of that, we raise our cattle with the care and consideration that only a true farmer embraces.  We support the judicious use of vaccines and antibiotics, only, to maintain good animal health.  

Farm Pasture Raised Beef Facts

Grass-fed beef has more beta-carotene, vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids than beef produced using conventional cattle-feeding strategies, according to a research review conducted by University of California Cooperative Extension and California State University, Chico.  Many of us think of "corn-fed" beef as nutritionally superior, but it is not.   A corn-fed cow does develop well-marbled flesh, but this is simply saturated fat that cannot be trimmed off. Grass-fed meat, on the other hand, is lower both in overall fat and in artery-clogging saturated fat. A sirloin steak from a grain-fed feedlot steer has more than double the total fat of a similar cut from a grass-fed steer.

The cattle's diet also significantly alters the fatty acid composition of their meat. Cattle fed primarily grass have 60 percent more omega-3 fatty acids and a more favorable omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and help prevent heart disease and arthritis. Omega-6 promotes the reduction of inflammation, blood clotting and tumor growth. Because the two substances work together to promote good health, it is important to maintain a proper balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. The essential fatty acids are also highly concentrated in the brain and appear to be particularly important for cognitive and behavioral function.

Why buy our beef?

It is the commercial meat industry's practice of keeping cattle in feedlots and feeding them extensive grain, high in animal protein, which is responsible for the heightened prevalence of dangerous E. coli. When cattle are extensively grain fed, their intestinal tracts become far more acidic, which favors the growth of pathogenic E. coli bacteria, which in turn can cause illness in people who eat undercooked hamburger.   Our beef cattle are only fed small amount of pasture grain, free from any animal proteins and only to insure they receive all of their required vitamins and minerals, for full nutrition. 

Local beef also has many environmental advantages.  In addition to consuming less energy, local grass-fed beef has another environmental advantage - it is far less polluting. The cattle's waste drops onto the land, becoming nutrients for the next cycle of pasture grass. In feedlots and other forms of factory farming, the animals' waste builds up in enormous quantities, and if not handled properly, it can become a source of water and air pollution.

From a humanitarian perspective, there is yet another advantage to pastured cattle. Our cattle are not forced to live in confinement. The cruelties of modern factory farming can be so severe that you do not have to be a vegetarian or an animal rights activist to find the conditions to be intolerable, and a violation of the human-animal bond.  Pastured livestock are not forced to endure the miseries of factory farming. They are not cooped up in areas barely larger than their own bodies, or packed together like sardines for months on end, standing knee deep in their own manure.

Beef Cuts

The summer time grilling season is the most wonderful time of the year for steak lovers. Traditional cuts like T-bones, Rib eyes, New York Strips, and other mouthwatering steaks, are favorites for good reason: all offer rich beef flavor, are satisfying bite after bite and the aroma of meat on the grill.  Beef is also a nutrient-dense nutritional powerhouse, packing high levels of protein, iron, zinc, and other essentials into every bite.

Beef Basics

Did you know that beef is divided into sections called primal cuts?  From these large areas, the meat cutter makes smaller portions suitable for individual or family-sized packaging.  Different cuts of beef require unique cooking methods. A chuck, for example, makes an excellent roast but is not as pleasing when pan-broiled.

A Guide To Beef Cuts with Steak and Roast Names

1. Chuck
Meat is muscle, and the chuck happens to be a heavily exercised area. Luckily, this area contains a great deal of connective tissue, including collagen. Collagen melts during cooking, making the meat intensely flavorful. Cuts from this area benefit from slow, wet cooking methods like stewing, braising or pot-roasting.

Blade Roast - an inexpensive cut which lies next to the ribs; more tender than most chuck; makes an excellent roast. Alternatively, the roast can be cut into a rib eye steak, with meat above and below the bone excellent for stir-fry dishes

Chuck Steak - a good choice for kabobs if well marinated

2.  Rib
Tender and flavorful ribs can be cooked any number of ways. Most recipes call for ribs to be roasted, sautéed, pan-fried, broiled, or grilled.

Rib Roast - known as a standing rib roast (bone left in), or without the bone for convenient slicing. Excellent when dry roasted. A seven-bone prime rib roast can be quite a hefty addition to the dinner table. It is great for a crowd, but for a small family a bone roast will do. Many butchers will cut a roast to order for you

Rib Steak - also cut from the rib section, these tender steaks can be purchased bone-in or as boneless rib eye

3.  Short Loin
This area boasts extremely tender cuts and can be prepared without the aid of moist heat or long cooking times. Cuts from the short loin may be sautéed, pan fried, broiled, pan broiled or grilled.

Porterhouse Steak - a very popular steak cut from the rear end of the short loin; the name originated from the days when it was served in public alehouses that also served a dark beer called porter. The porterhouse consists of both tenderloin and strip steak. The tenderloin is often served separately as filet mignon

T-bone steak - cut from the middle section of the short loin; similar to the porterhouse steak; has a smaller piece of the tenderloin; usually grilled or pan-fried

Tenderloin - often considered the most tender cut of beef;  responds well to sauces, meaning the meat does not overpower the flavor of the sauce.  It can be cut as the whole strip, or into individual steaks for filet mignon

4.  Sirloin
"The backbone's connected to the hipbone" - not a song, but a sirloin. These tender cuts respond well to sautéing, pan-frying, broiling, pan-broiling or grilling.

Sirloin Steaks - these steaks are available in a variety of boneless and bone-in steaks

Sirloin Tip Roast - excellent when dry roasted or marinated

5.  Round
The round consists of lean meat well suited to long, moist cooking methods.

Top Round - this is the tenderest part of the round; it can be prepared as pot roast or cut into thick steaks for braised dishes

Rump Roast - a very popular cut for pot roast, but can also be roasted at low temperatures

6 &7.  Shank/Brisket
Traditionally used for corned beef, brisket is best prepared with moist heat. Suitable preparation methods include stewing, braising and pot-roasting.

Fore shank - excellent stew meat

Brisket First Cut - a leaner cut of the brisket, for those who want the flavor but not the fat of a brisket pot roast

Brisket Front Cut - fork tender and succulent, a pot roast made with this cut is truly mouthwatering

8.  Plate
This section is best used for stew meat, where its rich, beefy flavor can be appreciated.

9.  Flank
This meat is lean, muscular and very flavorful. Flank is primarily used for flank steaks and rolled flank steaks. It can also be used for kabobs.

Flank Steak - this steak has a great flavor, and should be sliced thin against the grain for maximum chew ability. Use to make the classic London broil.