Devon '14

I have been reporting annually on the Red Devon Conferences for several years now---Gourmet Beef on Grass. This year we visited Brookview Farm in Winchester Kentucky, just east of Lexington. This is an old family farm dating back to the 18^th century but Jacob Owens and his wife and children started restructuring the family farm in 2000----growing grass finished beef without steroids, antibiotics, etc. and he came to Devon in 2006. The Devon breed is coming back. One producer from Utah told us anecdotally about his county agent holding a taste test of several grain finished steaks from several breeds and just to round things out he asked Kelly Heath for one of his grass finished Devon steaks. No special preparation, Kelly just went to his freezer and got one. And he won.

Another taste test closer to home was reported in the ‘Devon USA’ spring ’14 issue. Dr. Ron Harrell (cardiologist from Dothan) and his brother-in-law Les Nichols wondered how Jeff Moore’s Dixie Devon would compare with some other breeds on their farm. Four steers (a Devon cross, a purebred Angus, a purebred South Poll and a Waygu/Angus cross) were grazed together for over a year on Dr. Harrell’s pastures. The farm is only twenty miles from the University of Florida experiment station in Mariana. All the steers were hauled and processed the same day, hung for 12 days of aging and then cut by a professor from the University of Florida. A burger, a ribeye, and a brisket were prepared by professional chefs, seasoned only with salt and pepper, and served blind to the panel of owners and a professional taste tester who put the Devon on top. One chef, Forest Dilmore, a five-time southeastern champion brisket cooker said the Devon was the best brisket he had seen. He said he came with the preconceived notion that the Waygu cross would be first and then the Angus with the others bringing up the rear. He was surprised with the marbling with all these grass finished steers, but the Devon was on top.

The Conference had speakers on various topics. We did a pasture walk and on this farm saw some beautiful Devons. A show and sale was a part of the weekend. All the food was prepared on the farm from Brookview’s Devon. The farm had an old post office next door which has been converted to the Graze Market and Café, whose chef, South African Craig de Villiers, uses locally produced products in all his menus. He closed his Café to cook for us for two days.

One interesting presentation was Dr. Greg Renfro from the University of Kentucky butchering a half steer showing us how it is done and where the different cuts come from and why they are tender or maybe not so much. He noted that the flat iron steak was the 2^nd most tender cut in the entire carcass. Some pieces can be made more tender depending on how they are cut.

A recipe from the Graze restaurant cooks the skirt steak which is a long flat steak with a fibrous grain, and comes from the underbelly of the steer and is well marbled with fat. This recipe is soaked in a bourbon-based marinate, which lends a bourbon flavor to the dish.

Kentucky Bourbon Skirt Steak

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

½ cup bourbon

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp. Tabasco sauce

1 Tbs. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. cornstarch

3 lb. skirt steak (grass-fed)

Baked beans for serving with steak

In a bowl, combine the bourbon, brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire, Tabasco, mustard and cornstarch and stir until sugar has dissolved.

Place the steak in a plastic bag and pour the marinade over the meat. Seal the bag and marinade the beef for the day.

Preheat a cast iron grill pan over medium-high heat. Remove the steak from the marinade and place it on the grill pan. Cook, turning once, 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium rare, or until done to your liking.

Transfer the steak to a cutting board, cover loosely with aluminum foil and rest for 5 minutes. Cut the steak into thin slices and arrange on a warmed platter. Serve with the baked beans.

I also bought a 2 lb. grass-fed brisket form Whole Foods and cooked it for 12 hours on 215°F. I only used salt and pepper and let the fat layer be on top. Not a bad slow roast and really simple.