When is your beef available?
We grass feed and grass finish our beef, so we only ship during our grass finishing months, June through November (or whatever God chooses).
Where is your beef raised?
Right here on the ranch! Made in Sandpoint, Idaho, USA
Can I purchase Selkirk Ranch beef Fresh or Frozen?
We freeze all of our beef after dry aging except some cuts going to our restaurant and meat store customers. We do this as most of our customers place it in their freezer, It is also the only way we trust to ship and assure the quality of the meat. Our commercial freezing process assures the beef is kept at its finest. We cannot and will not add the gases and other ingredients that supermarkets use to make their beef look, well, like supermarket beef.
Can I freeze your beef?
We strongly recommend it, provided you follow these guidelines:
- Allow adequate space in your freezer (see the chart below).
- Always use a manual defrost freezer. The common “automatic defrost” units achieve their “frost free” name by periodically raising their temperature to melt the frost and will cause freezer burn.
- Do not put beef in a freezer with fruits and vegetables that “out gas.” Our local example is berries. Huckleberries, strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, etc should not be stored with our beef.
- If you must violate any of these rules, then order our beef in Cryovac® packaging. These bags cost more but will really help protect the flavor of the beef.
- Use a freezer with a temperature alarm. Don’t let your beef spoil!
Does your beef taste like supermarket beef?
NO, Thank God! Our beef is, in our humble estimation, superior in taste to anything you can buy at a supermarket. Read our dedicated page on “Why organic and grass-fed/grass-finished? Please don’t take our word for it, try it at restaurants that feature our beef!
What cuts do you sell and how should I order them?
We are only selling bulk ground beef, quarters, sides, and fulls to our local customers. We are also delivering to our commercial restaurant and meat store customers. Cuts are available in Coeur d'Alene at Pilgrim's Meat Market and at Fresh Abundance! in Spokane.
For local pick up and retail delivery for our Idaho, Montana and Washington customers, we sell:
Lean Ground Beef: Just what it says and more than 90% lean! Our ground beef is packed in 1.5 lb. tubes and shipped in 21, 30 and 51 pound box quantities.
¼ Beef: Often called a “mixed quarter” or “split quarter,” we pack some of all of the cuts from a side (instead of giving you only the cuts from just a front or a rear quarter). We can often cut the steaks to your favorite thickness, but 1” is our standard. The hanging weight is usually around 135lbs.
½ Beef: A “side” or “half”, usually with a hanging weight around 275lbs. We will cut the steaks to your favorite thickness.
Full Beef: Double of a ½ beef and with a hanging weight of around 550lbs. We offer custom cutting and boneless at your request.
Please see the charts below to see the names of the cuts and the quantity you can expect in your order.
Our family of four will easily use a ½ beef in a year (along with organic chicken and fish and all of the other stuff). Larger families often order a full beef. If you are really not sure, start with a ¼ beef and learn your family’s specific usage.
What is hanging weight?
Hanging weight is the weight of the quarter, or the side, or the full (two sides) after it has been dry aged, but before it has been cut up and further processed. Hanging weight is the weight we use to calculate the pricing on your order. The actual weight of the product you take home will be less due to moisture loss, removal of bones, fat trim, etc. Hanging weights vary from animal to animal usually by +/-15%, so at your request, we will notify you of the expected hanging weight before you are invoiced. This year with our small production quantites we expect greater than normal variation.
Can I buy smaller quantities of beef?
Yes, but not directly from the ranch at this time. Please visit our North Idaho or Washington retailers identified on the “Where Can You Find Us?” tab of this website.
How do you package your meat?
Our ground beef can be packaged in 1lb., 1.5lb, or 2lb. tubes. Our cuts are packaged in double wrapped paper. You may order all of your cuts in Cryovac at additional charge.
Is your beef processed boneless, or bone in?
We will ship only boneless beef except soup bones if they are requested. For customers ordering local pick up we sell bone in. We accept special cut requests and bone in for ½ and full beef orders
What is your Guarantee of Quality?
The Selkirk Ranch is dedicated to the finest grass fed beef available. If you are dissatisfied, you may return the frozen unused portion within 30 days of purchase and you will be refunded for the unused portion. Beef that has been mistreated or abused due to bad freezing, etc. can not be accepted. We are a Christian family and will do our best to assure your satisfaction. We will treat you in the same manner as we ourselves would want to be treated.
How should I cook Selkirk Ranch beef?
Whether you grill, sauté, braise, roast, pressure cook or fry our beef, we recommend one thing, Selkirk Ranch beef is low in fat (just like fish), so please DO NOT overcook it! It usually cooks 30% to 40% faster than high-fat grain fed beef. For cuts we recommend pink in the center at the most. For ground beef we are federally and state mandated to say “well done.” We are big fans of grilling and you will really appreciate the flavor of our beef if you can resist the temptation to highly season it. Please try it with a little salt or a little garlic salt! For those of you who love marinades, (and we do too!) our “Selkirk Ranch” marinade is spicy and fabulous (ask us!). A beef cooking section is planned for this site.
Can I order patties?
Yes, however, there is a significant set up fee to do patties and a 100 lb. minimum from our processor. Having said this, if you place your order before June, we can often accommodate you with our retail processing.
When can I pick up my order?
We will contact you via phone or email when your order is ready. You make pick it up at Wood’s Meat Processing on Highway 95 north of Sandpoint. Bulk ground beef orders may be picked up at the ranch.
Can I order Red Angus or Piedmontese/Red Angus cross beef?
Red Angus is our base herd and is the beef we have sold in the past. As explained in our “Why grass fed beef?” article, we are breeding a Red Angus crossed with the north Italian breed Piedmontese for first release this summer. The Piedmontese cross is the herd we have been developing and will be the primary product we ship in the future.
Can I order organic beef tongue, heart, and other organs?
Absolutely! Please let us know when you place your beef order. For quarters, sides and fulls, if requested, we will include them at no additional charge based on availability.
Why does it take so long to raise your herd?
We have a closed herd; this means we do not introduce cows or calves purchased from elsewhere. This eliminates the potential of introducing diseases. We use our bulls and artificial insemination to produce our desired characteristics. We have been raising cattle for 6 years and started with 6 pair of registered Red Angus cattle. We have a Red Angus bull for our breeder development and a Piedmontese bull for our production cross. At some point we will buy new bulls to augment our genetics. Our method is to buy these animals in the spring from local breeders we know and trust, and keep them under observation and isolation until the late fall when we use them.
In addition, grass-fed animals grow slower. It takes us longer than the commercial market to raise animals from calves to slaughter weight. Other producers have called grass fed, grass finished beef “slow food” and they are right!
If you have a question that has not been answered here, please email us and we will do our best to answer it. Please remember we are a small family run operation and it may take us a while to respond, but we will! |