Ain’t no party like a grass-fed party

As you know, the folks at La Cense graciously offered me some samples of their product recently, and as a proponent of grass-fed beef who sometimes has trouble finding local sources, I agreed to give it a try. We tasted the rest of the beef that was sent to me over the weekend, enjoying a beautifully marbled ribeye for Friday night’s dinner, and thick, juicy burgers for Sunday lunch.

Mike salted and seared the ribeye in his usual fashion, and as we did with the petit sirloins, we kept the sides simple, serving it sliced alongside baked potatoes and wedges of radicchio with buttermilk blue cheese dressing. Ribeye is probably our favorite cut for steaks, and this one didn’t disappoint – it had a robust beefy flavor and great texture.

The burgers were a pleasant surprise. I’ll be honest, I like to make my own, because I like “stuff” in the mix – finely grated onion or shallot, a little tamari and Worcestershire, some chopped or dried herbs. I was a little wary of an unseasoned, pre-formed patty, but these were really good. I did give them some salt and pepper on each side as they cooked, and while I would have liked a little more salt throughout the meat, the pure beef flavor was a nice change of pace. I overcooked them just a bit (we generally like a bit more pink in the center), but they remained very juicy.

I think I still prefer mixing my own burgers, but I can see a place for pre-formed patties in our home – they’ll be great for an easy lunch for Mike, or if we just don’t want to fuss with making our own. I can also see them as a good option for singles or small households – at 6 oz. of beef per individually sealed patty, they could be a nice alternative to buying a whole pound of ground beef to crumble into smaller servings of tacos or chili or a meaty pasta sauce.

We’ll still buy local whenever possible, but Mike and I both came away very impressed by the flavor and quality of La Cense Beef, and they’ll be a great option for those times when we can’t get the cuts of beef we want from closer to home.

Now, I’ve mentioned a giveaway, and here it comes: the folks at La Cense want to give one of you the chance to taste their grass-fed beef for yourself. Here’s the deal:

• Head over to Grass-Fed Party.com, register, then leave a comment in this post, only, with your membername to be entered into a random drawing for a chance to win. The prize: 2 burger patties and 1 petit sirloin, shipped direct to you from La Cense.
• You must be a U.S. resident to be eligible to win (sorry – their rule, not mine).
• Finally, please comment only once, and comment only if you are eligible to win, otherwise the random prizewinner selection thingy (yes, that is a technical term) won’t work right. I will have to delete duplicates and non-entry comments. (Also, keep in mind that comments are moderated, so if you haven’t posted here before it may take a little time until your comment shows up!)

Enter by midnight (EST) on Monday, December 1st – a winner will be chosen at random, and I’ll make the announcement here the next day. Good luck, and here’s to the Grass-Fed Revolution!