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You are here: Home / MEAT & SEAFOOD / Welcome North Cascade Meats

Welcome North Cascade Meats

by Melissa Arbiter, Meat Team

Enrique Barrau North Cascade Meats by grazing cows trees

We love doing business with other co-ops, and this new cooperative is bringing local, grass-fed beef to our stores. At left is Whatcom County farmer and cooperative member Enrique Barrau.

Local, grass-fed, and cooperatively owned—we're so happy it’s here!

Having lived in Whatcom County for the past eight years, I have developed a passion for learning where my food comes from. I prefer local over organic any day and, given the chance, I will take a drive out into the county to get a glimpse of where my food is grown. Before working for the Community Food Co-op and becoming the meat department manager at the Downtown store, I was always curious about how and where to get local beef. Driving around the county, I’ve seen many pastures dotted with happy cows, munching on grass.

The question for me has been: where can I buy the meat from these cattle?

Up until now, the Co-op has carried a small selection of frozen, local, grass-fed beef from Matheson Farms located near the Guide-Meridian on Smith Road. Having enough beef from one small, local farm to supply two busy stores is a stretch, which is why we mainly carry Country Natural Beef and Painted Hills Grass-Fed Beef. These are both excellent sources of delicious beef that satisfy our Meat Guarantee, but definitely not as local as I’d prefer.

Thankfully, we now have North Cascade Meats: A Farmer’s Cooperative. This farmer-owned-and-managed cooperative has begun work to establish a new USDA meat processing facility, in partnership with Del Fox Custom Meats in Stanwood, to service farmers in Island, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties. They’ve already established the North Cascade Meats grass-fed brand in the region to provide their cooperative members with a marketing program offering an above-average return on their livestock. This means that those happy cows you see while enjoying pastoral views of the countryside may very well be what’s available on our shelves.

cows walking on grass by fence with mountains and trees in background

Barrau Farms offers lush pasture with a view that most any farmer (or cow) would envy.

North Cascade Meats is currently providing us with pasture-raised, grass-fed beef from two local farms: Forest Cattle Company in Skagit County and Barrau Farms in Whatcom County. As more farms join the North Cascade Meats cooperative, we’ll have more beef available. For the time being, what we have on our shelves from week to week will vary depending on how many cattle are processed from each farm.

So far the meat that has arrived is gorgeous and is competitively priced. Each cut is labeled with a “local” and “grass-fed” green sticker as well as a sticker noting which farm that particular cut came from. Looking for a particular cut? Just ask us at the meat counter!

Learn more at northcascademeats.com and forestcattle.com.

Grass-fed Beef

In general, grass-fed beef has a deeper, “beefier” flavor than its grain-finished counterparts. Nutritionally, it contains less saturated fat but more of those healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Typically, you’ll want to cook grass-fed meat less as it tends to be quite lean.

My favorite way to enjoy grass-fed steak? A nice ribeye, brought up to around room temp, seasoned liberally with salt and pepper, and placed in a rocket-hot cast iron pan with some fat (bacon grease, ghee, or coconut oil are all good choices). Sear both sides and when it’s about 10 degrees away from the desired doneness pull off the heat to rest, covered, for at least 8 minutes (this allows it to finish cooking and ensures all those tasty juices stay in the meat).

As always, your meat department experts love what they do and are more than willing to share cooking tips and ideas … just ask us!

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raw steak with rosemary whole peppercorns garlic cloves salt

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A plate of vegan Thanksgiving food, such as plant-based loaf and cranberry sauce, ready to be enjoyed for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Turkey Alternatives

Not a turkey fan? Accommodating dietary restrictions? We’ve got you covered with nine turkey alternatives — both plant-based and meat-forward! PLANT-BASED Plant-Based Holiday Roasts In-house Vegan Holiday Loaf This delicious housemade loaf is made with chickpeas, oats, vegetables, and mushrooms then glazed with a sauce full of classic Thanksgiving ingredients! [...]
An oven-roasted turkey sits on some lemons ready to be enjoyed for a holiday dinner.

Four Approaches to Cooking Your Thanksgiving Turkey

Should I brine my turkey? Should I let my spouse fry the whole bird this year? How do I achieve a quicker cooking time? We have some turkey-cooking techniques for everyone from the Thanksgiving chef to the person who begrudgingly took on the challenge this year. Oven Roast Oven roasting [...]
thanksgiving dinner spread

Our Guide to Holiday Turkeys Available at the Co-op

All the turkeys available for purchase at the Co-op are from Mary’s Turkeys. Choose from three fresh, never-frozen turkeys: natural, organic, and heritage.

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DOWNTOWN STORE & DELI • map • 360-734-8158 • 7 am – 9 pm
meat and deli counter: 7 am – 7 pm
made-to-order counter: 7 am – 6 pm
salad/hot bar: 7 am – 6 pm

CORDATA STORE & DELI • map • 360-734-8158 • 7 am – 9 pm
meat and deli counter: 7 am – 7 pm
made-to-order counter: 7 am – 6 pm
salad/hot bar: 7 am – 7 pm

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