How do I purchase?

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1.  Online orders can be placed through the TSB Beef Shop.  Once the order is received and filled, we will contact you to schedule a pick-up or delivery time for your beef.

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2.  Customers are also welcome to come visit us at the barn and can shop and select their beef cuts personally. Please give us a call or shoot an email to ensure someone will be available to meet you.

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3.   Come visit us at the Concho Valley Farmers Market in 2020!  Follow us here or on Facebook and Instagram for dates.

 

Shipping/delivery?

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Online orders can be placed through the TSB Beef Shop.  Once the order is received and filled, we will contact you to schedule a pick-up or delivery time for your beef.

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     We offer free delivery in the San Angelo area (within 10 miles) for orders over $250

     Orders are also available for pick up at the Small Batch Barn at your convenience (San Angelo, TX)

     Delivery can be arranged for wholesale orders of 1/2 beef shares and up to most Texas locations

 

What makes Texas Small Batch Beef different?

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Confidence - Purchasing beef directly from a local producer allows you the opportunity to know exactly where, how, and what went into developing your beef.  Additionally, our "small batch" process ensures that every cut of beef and every pound of ground comes from the same beef, the same way.  This is a stark contrast to buying packer beef from a super market where a pound of ground beef possibly contains meat from hundreds of different animals in one package.

Consistency - Every beef we offer is produced to the same high standards with consistent genetics, body type, frame, nutrition, aging, processing, and packaging.  

Quality - We stand behind every cut we sell.  We guarantee our beef is the best you will find anywhere.  If you are unhappy with a cut of beef, let us know and we will work with you to make it right.

Customer Service -  We pride ourselves on providing the highest level of personal service for our customers.  We will work with you individually to make the buying process as easy as possible.  Delivery options and individually scheduled pickups or drops are a few of the services we offer.

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What does "Natural" or "All Natural" mean?

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The USDA definition for products labeled as "natural" speaks to being "minimally processed" and "having no artificial ingredients or colors".  

At Texas Small Batch Beef, All Natural is our promise that our beef is free of all antibiotics, steroids, any type of synthetic growth promotants (HGPs), or hormones.

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Are beef products required to have country of origin labels?

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County of Origin Labeling (COOL) is a labeling law that for marketing purposes requires retailers to provide their customers with information regarding the country of origin of regulated commodities.   This legislation was put in place to allow consumers to know exactly where there food (in this case beef) comes from.  However, in 2016, the USDA issued a rule that removed beef and other products from the COOL regulatory requirements.  As a result, commercial beef from Mexico, South America, Australia, and other countries can be marketed and sold in the USA without disclosing the origin of the product.

 

Grass finished vs grain finished beef?

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Almost all beef cattle are grass fed for the vast majority of the animals diet and life.  The diet in the finishing stage, which is the last several weeks of the animals life prior to harvest, determine the "grass finished" or "grain finished" properties of the beef itself.  All Texas Small Batch cattle are raised on open pasture grasses and forages.  At 20-24 months the cattle go into the finishing stage of the process.  Grass finished cattle are rotated onto a high quality finishing pasture or forage, while our grain finished cattle go onto an all natural feed supplemented diet prior to harvest.

 

All beef is nutrient-rich, with eight times more vitamin B12, six times more zinc, and three times more iron than skinless chicken breast. There are 29 cuts of beef (grain or grass finished) that meet government guidelines for lean, like the tenderloin, sirloin and 95% lean ground beef.  One 3.5-ounce serving of grass-finished beef offers 15 milligrams more omega-3 than other kinds of beef. However, in general, beef is not considered a primary source of omega-3 fatty acids.

 

While grass-finished beef can contain more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) than other kinds of beef, research has not determined whether this difference results in a more significant health benefit.  Health professionals believe CLA, a polyunsaturated fatty acid, has cancer-fighting properties.

 

Grass-finished beef provides 4 percent of the Daily Value for Vitamin E compared to 1.5 percent for grain-fed beef. Vitamin E-rich foods such as almonds provide 24 percent of the Daily Value for Vitamin E. (-beefboard.org)

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Wet vs Dry aging and why?

 

Due to our individual small batch process, we are able to provide both a dry and wet aged product that you will not find in typical supermarket beef.  Our processors and butchers work with us to create an optimal aging schedule for each individual beef based on carcass characteristics and specific flavor goals for the end product. Our beef is typically dry aged for 21 days then cut and individually vacuum packaged.  The vacuum packaging provides an additional wet aging process that occurs when oxygen is removed from the package and the beef is sealed away from ambient air.

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Dry-Aged Process

Dry-aging refers to the process of hanging beef or placing it on a rack to dry for several weeks. During this time, moisture evaporates from the muscle, creating and sealing in a higher concentration of flavor. This style of aging is often looked at as the purest form. However, it comes at great cost and time expenditures. The beef must be stored for long periods of time in colder temperatures, which is why  dry-aged beef is seldom offered outside of high-end steak houses.

Flavor Enhancement - Dry-aged beef is sometimes described as having a nutty, roasted flavor with a great deal of depth.

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Wet-Aged Process

Wet-aging refers to the process of vacuum-sealing the beef to retain its moisture. Brought on by advancements in plastics and refrigeration, wet-aging is still a relatively new technique. However, its popularity has grown dramatically due to ease of shipment and a shorter aging process consisting of no more than two weeks. Although the aging process is short, the enzymes are able to tenderize the meat with no risk of weight-loss or dehydration.

Flavor Enhancement - Since the vacuum-sealed plastic doesn’t allow the meat to breathe, it ages in contact with its own juices, which creates a savory taste that many have come to love. Most meat purchased from a store is wet-aged unless otherwise specified.

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How is your beef packaged and how long can it be stored?

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Recent advancements in vacuum packaging technology and techniques have created incredible opportunities for keeping fresh food frozen and safely stored for extended periods of time.  Our beef is vacuum sealed, heat treated, and flash frozen to -30 deg F.  The standard USDA recommendation for storing frozen meats is up to 12 months.  However, industry experts claim with vacuum packaging and proper temperatures, meat can be safely stored for 2-3 years without negative impact on quality or safety.

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Filets and strips OR t-bones and porterhouse steaks?

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When you select your cuts on a wholesale beef share, you can specify t-bones/porterhouse steaks, or you can opt for boneless strip loin/NY strip steaks and filets.  We will typically have both offered on a retail cut basis. Unfortunately, we can't have all of both from the same beef!  Strips and filets, still on the bone, comprise a T-bone steak. The t-bone/porterhouse steaks are actually a two in one cut!  (Also note the marbling in this grass finished TSB Porterhouse!)

Additionally, the difference in a porterhouse and t-bone is the size of the filet portion.  The porterhouse comes from the larger end of the short loin and has a filet section that measures at least 1.25 inches.

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