There is some debate here: While some prefer to thaw it for hours in cold water with ice cubes in it, others swear by lukewarm water if you are more pressured for time. Some have even been known to use hot water, and while this definitely speeds up the process of thawing, it may not be the most suitable method for everyone. There are sous-vide enthusiasts who cook their meat from a frozen state too, and some put frozen meat in the slow cooker. Personally, we prefer using slowly thawed meat for any cooking we do.

All smaller items, like single steaks, etc, can just be left in the fridge to thaw overnight. If you are thawing larger pieces of meat, the general rule of thumb is one day per every 5 pounds of meat.

If you thaw in the fridge the meat will be good for 3-5 days after thawing, ground meat for 1-2 days. 

You can also cook directly from frozen, which will take about 50% longer than cooking thawed meat. 

All our beef is grass-fed and as such the cows are never eating any gluten. 

All our beef is grassfed and as such the cows are never eating any gluten.

We're really sorry about this. To determine if the meat is okay, please follow the USDA guidelines inside the package. As long as it's cold, it's typically safe to eat, and cold meat can be refrozen without impact on its quality.

Grassfed meat needs to be cooked as rare or medium rare or it can become tough. This usually means ~10 degrees lower temperature. Grassfed meat cooks about 30% faster. If roasting, use ~50 degrees lower temperature in the oven. For steaks, consider using a tenderizer! There are some really good tips well summarized by the American Grassfed Association - link here!

No hormones and no antibiotics are given to the animals.

The chickens are raised in pastures that are 100% organic and non-GMO California native drought tolerant plants. The chickens' supplemental feed is a locally milled corn and soybean based feed with no additional drugs or weird additives at all.

Our pork is not injected with anything at all.

Our Ground Pork is 80/20. 80% meat and 20% fat.

No, our beef is not certified organic. It is very hard for small family farms to get certified organic, and it is very costly. That said, we are very proud of the practices of our farms, and in our view they exhibit even better practices, even though it is not captured by any certification.

All Salmon is wild caught in Alaska.

There is collagen in all bones, especially in knuckle bones at they have the most connective tissue.

Yes. You can freeze the beef. USDA guidelines is that frozen beef that is properly frozen is best to consume within 1-2 years.

Pork. Cured with water and less than 2% of the following: salt, cane sugar, maple sugar and brown sugar, spice extractives, sodium erythorbate and sodium nitrite.

Our fish is vacuum sealed and flash frozen.

Our bone broth comes in ~480 ml (~16 fl oz) and can serve 2 US cups. The package contains 16 fl oz but It's very concentrated, so you could easily mix it with water for it to last longer

Officially, a US Cup is 240ml (or 8.45 imperial fluid ounces.)

In bigger packages ~5, smaller packages ~3.

Please be informed that it is mentioned on our website that Images shown are examples. The cuts vary by farm and may look different.

All ground beef and hamburger patties are packaged in 1 lb packages. Roasts are typically 3-5 lb packages, and steaks are 0.5-2 lb packages.

It depends on which pack you buy. We have many different options. Sometimes it's a set number of steaks, sometimes it's a set number of pounds.

Please read the description of the pack you're ordering for details.

There are 2 chops per package.

Typically rib bones.

References:

~ = Approximately

If a pack's weight is ~X pounds, the delivered weight will be at least 0.9 multiplied by X.

For example, if the pack description says ~8 pounds, the delivered minimum weight will be at least 7.2 pounds.

If a pack's weight says X-Y pounds, the delivered weight will be at least X pounds.

For example, if a pack's weight says 8-9 pounds, the delivered weight will be at least 8 pounds.

If a pack's description says "selected from Product X, Product Y, Product Z" or "3 cuts of Product X, Product Y or Product Z" you may only get one of these. However, if a description says "mix of Product X, Product Y, Product Z" or "Combination of Product X, Product Y, Product Z" or "Selected as a subset of Product X, Product Y, Product Z" you are guaranteed to at least get TWO of the cuts listed. 

For example if a pack says you will get a combination of Ham Roast, Butt Roast and Shoulder Roast you are guaranteed to get 2 of these roasts.

If a description says "6 different cuts from Product X, Product Y, +more" you are guaranteed 6 different cuts.

For example, if it says 6 different cuts from the ones listed below:

• Top Sirloin Steak
• Sirloin Bavette Steak
• Sirloin Tip Steak
• Sirloin Tri Tip Steak
• Brisket
• Chuck Eye Steak
• Cross Rib Steak
• Flank Steak
• Flat Iron Steak
• Coulotte steak
• Lifter meat
• London Broil
• Skirt Steak
• Eye of Round
• Short Ribs
• Osso Bucco

If a description says "You will find X cuts" you are guaranteed at least X cuts (but could get more). For example, if a pack says you will find 15 steaks you will get 15 steaks (or more)

If a pack has only 1-pound standard items (e.g. bacon, ground beef, sausage) then all weight are exact.  For example, if there are "20 pounds ground beef" description guarantees 20 packages of 1 pounds each or 10 packages of 2 pounds each.

The meat we sell is flash frozen right at the processing facility, at the height of freshness. Flash freezing in combination with vacuum sealing the meat preserves the fabulous flavor of the meat and brings you that same flavor when you chose to thaw and cook your meat. No nutrients will be lost with this method either. Vacuum sealed frozen meat will keep for at least a year in the freezer. 

See USDA for more information, https://goo.gl/WGQDbB

There are many different opinions about how to cook grassfed meat. We have some comments about how some of our customers have cooked their meat under the product description on each product page ( you can also add your comments / recipes here). There are lots of good sources online for grassfed beef recipes, we will also try to add more to our site over time. Always feel free to reach out on our website chat or via email onsupport@farmfoodsmarket.comif you have any questions around cooking.

All meat is vacuum sealed and flash frozen at the butcher, in small packages.

All bones have marrow in them. If you're using the bones for bone broth, make sure you cook them more than 24 hours to get all the marrow and nutrients out.

Yes, the meat is 100% grassfed and grass finished.

All our cattle are Angus.

The pork is pastured on grass and the hogs eat a nutritious all-vegetarian diet (forage and feed). The feed is a traditional corn and soy bean ration. 

The pork belly from Eden Farms is skin-on.

The pork belly from Marksbury Farm is skin-off.

We currently work with family farms in California, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Missouri, Washington, Oregon and New York State. We also sometimes source from small family farms in New Zealand. We want to be specific about each farm in terms of certifications etc and all that info we publish on our site so that our customers can know as much as possible about the meat they are buying.

We don't have an animal welfare rating from the organization that gives out those. We work with small family farms who don't always have the time nor resources to pursue all certifications out there. We do however only offer grassfed and grass finished beef without hormones or antibiotics. Two of the farms we work with are certified organic, one is certified humane, the others are non GMO. Some of our butchers are certified organic, some are certified humane, all are USDA approved. We try to work with small family run butchers that are all as close to the farms as possible to minimize transportation that could be stressful to the cattle.

Grassfed beef is seldom graded in the same way as industrial beef. You will find that grassfed beef (including our partner farms) is more lean than typical industrial beef that you would find in a supermarket. You will also find it more flavourful, but potentially not fully as tender.

Yes, our beef is dry-aged for 1-2 weeks

Grassfed beef has a distinctly different taste than grain fed beef. It has more of a "full flavour" and richer taste.

No, our ground beef does not contain any organs.

Grassfed is cyclical. The majority of the beef is finished in the season when there is actually grass available. In the colder / dryer months there is not as many nutrients in the grass and hard to finish beef on grass in many parts of the country, therefore, we will always buy and store to have a continuous supply during the other months when only a few places can produce large number of grassfed and grass finished cattle. USDA guidelines is that frozen beef that is properly frozen is best to consume within 1-2 years.

The ingredients in the Summer Sausage are: Beef, water, salt, seasonings, corn syrup solids, sodium nitrate. 

The ingredients in the Snack Sticks are: Beef, water, salt, seasonings, corn syrup solids, dextrose, mustard, spices, dehydrated garlic, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite).

Yes, the Salmon Filets are skin-on.

We are less familiar with dogs, but the Knuckle Bones are great value!

No, our meats do not have any preservatives or coloring added.

No, we do not.

No, nothing is premarinated.

They're butchered.

There is typically 1 per pack.

It depends on the weight and bone cuts. Number of bones always vary.

Yes, all our meat has package date on them. Please note that grassfed is cyclical. The majority of the beef is finished in the season when there is actually grass available. In the colder / dryer months there is not as many nutrients in the grass and hard to finish beef on grass in many parts of the country, therefore, we will always buy and store to have a continuous supply during the other months when only a few places can produce large number of grassfed and grass finished cattle. USDA guidelines is that frozen beef that is properly frozen is best to consume within 1-2 years.

We price most of our items per steak or per roast. Ground beef would be the exception. This is a common pricing methodology for when you ship products that are rarely exactly the same, roasts and steaks will vary a bit in terms of their weight as they are cut by the butcher. Hence steaks and roasts that are close in size will be considered the same and priced the same. That means that you sometimes may get a little less meat and sometimes a little more meat for the same price. This evens out over time. Happy to discuss further if you have more questions around this. It's kind of like having a steak at a restaurant, there the steak may also vary slightly in size but the price is the same.