We celebrated a different holiday this week here in Bangui. December 1st is the national holiday. We went down to the river with the kids for an afternoon of long waiting and fanfare leading up to the Pirogue (large canoes) races. In an incredible feat of strength, endurance and coordination, canoes filled with what must have been at least 25 central africans, standing or sitting depending on your style of paddle stroke, race a course up and down the river to celebrate the holiday. We finished the evening with a perfect view from our balcony of the fireworks display.
I am always tempted to share only the successes and positive experiences in running our farm and business, yet I also find strength in the process of acknowledging my struggles. The hot and humid weather here in Bangui, CAR continues to confuse my seasonal clock as we enter December. One of the seasonal and annual struggles that I continue to wrestle with is how to plan for the seasonal shifts in cooking habits.
This year we had some beef processed in November with some holiday cooking in mind. I’ve made a note on my annual calendar to have a slaughter date in October next year to give us a little more time to get the cuts back from the processor, sort and organize them, and most importantly check to make sure everything is as we expect. With the help of many friends we got our beef back from the processor, sorted the cuts and organized them so they are ready to pack. Thank you James for remembering we had beef at the same slaughterhouse and thank you to Holly (again) for sorting and organizing the incoming beef.
Some of the roasts are slightly bigger than we had anticipated and I’m curious to hear from you, the customer, what size roast is right for you. We like to shoot for a 3 lb roast, but the roasts that we got back this time are more like 4 – 4.5 lbs. So you’ll see the Top Round, Shoulder, Chuck and Sirloin Tip Roasts are larger than in the past. These roasts make wonderful pot roasts for a holiday gathering.
We also have a few Boneless Standing Rib Roasts and Beef Tenderloin Roasts. There are only a few of each, so order now to plan ahead for the holiday menu. We also have a few prime rib roasts, but I need to confirm how big the roasts are. My production sheet from the slaughter house says they are 10 lb roasts, which is huge. I’m not putting them up for sale this week until we know exactly how many there are and how much they weigh. If you’d like to reserve one email me directly.
As always, if you have any questions about what a cut looks like, how to cook it or how it was raised please let us know. info@reberrockfarm.com
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