A recipe by San Francisco Bay area locavore Chef James Stolich.

As I mentioned in my last eBook — Praise the Lard — there has never been a better time in recent years in the United States to source your own local ingredients and adopt a Mediterranean approach and lifestyle for shopping, cooking, and eating.

All over the country, farmers markets are popping up, and more people have access to small, local producers and purveyors. Here in Northern California, we have a plethora of small farms doing amazing stuff, all organic, free-range, and devoid of antibiotics.

Today we are going to focus on Prather Ranch and their amazing beef products. Located under the shadow of the majestic Mt. Shasta in Northern California, Prather Ranch is a sustainable, 40,000-acre cattle, hay, and farming operation. I caught up with Prather Ranch retail shop owner Doug Stonebreaker at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco to ask him what makes Prather beef so special.

Winter Braise of Prather Ranch Beef

Winter Braise of Prather Ranch Beef 1of8

Ingredients

  • 2-3 pounds of best-quality brisket
    (if you cannot source Prather Ranch beef, ask your local butcher to recommend 
grass-fed beef from a local farm. Better yet, go to your nearest farmers market
 and ask around until you find the best purveyor of humanely raised cows.)
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2-3 medium carrots, chopped
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 heaping tablespoon organic tomato paste
  • 1 bottle of dry white wine
  • 2 sprigs oregano or marjoram
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 bunch Swiss chard, washed, coarsely chopped, stems removed if large
  • 1 piece fresh horseradish for grating
  • juice of 1 lemon

Winter Braise of Prather Ranch Beef 2of8

Instructions (in a Breville Slow Cooker)

  1. Take your meat out of refrigeration and place onto a platter. Salt the 
meat aggressively and allow it to come to room temperature (1 hour). 
Using the easy sear insert from your slow cooker on the stove top, heat
 4 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat until almost smoking. Place your 
meat into the insert and sear until deep, dark, golden brown on both sides 
(approximately 6-8 minutes for each side). Remove your meat to rest. 
Discard any excess fat.
  2. Still on the stove top, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and scrape up any 
brown bits using a wooden spoon. Add the carrots, onion, and herbs. 
Salt the aromatics so that they begin to break down. Now is also a good time to grind in a bit of fresh pepper. Cook until the 
carrots and onions are soft and translucent, not brown (approximately 4-5
 minutes). Create a little well in the middle of the pan and add in the tomato 
paste. Allow to cook and almost “rust” for 1 minute. Stir the paste through
 the vegetables.
  3. Add the meat back in, along with any drippings from the platter on
 which it was resting. Pour in the wine and bring to a boil. Pour in
 additional water—if needed—to nearly cover the meat. Boil for 6-8 minutes 
or until most of the alcohol has burned off.
  4. Place the insert back into the slow cooker base, turn the dial to high,
 and cover. The meat will require 5-6 hours of total cooking time.
 Every 1½ hours, flip the meat gently and, if needed, add more water.
 Optional: once the meat is done, I like to put it into the oven at 375° 
with the lid off for 30 minutes to slightly brown the top. The slow cooker’s
 insert can be put right into the oven.
  5. Skim off any fat from the surface and discard. Remove the meat to a
 cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes.  Over a medium flame,
 gently boil the sauce to reduce. Drop in the Swiss chard and pour the lemon
 juice over the top. Allow the chard to “melt” into the sauce. Use tongs to
 help incorporate it (6-8 minutes).
  6. Slice the meat into nice pieces and arrange onto plates. Place a bit of
 chard next to each fillet of meat, and spoon a bit of sauce over the top 
(be sure everyone gets their share of carrots). Serve immediately along with
 freshly grated horseradish.

Note: This dish can be made a day in advance and refrigerated after allowing to cool. Reheat the dish on the stove top over a medium flame and then proceed with adding the chard and plating the dish.

Winter Braise of Prather Ranch Beef 8of8

Instructions (in a Dutch Oven)

  1. Preheat your oven to 375°. Take your meat out of refrigeration and place on a platter. Salt the meat aggressively and allow it to come to room temperature (1 hour). In a large Dutch oven, heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat on the stove top until almost smoking. Place in your meat and sear until deep, dark, golden brown on both sides (approximately 6-8 minutes per side). Remove your meat to rest. Discard excess fat from the Dutch oven.
  2. Still on the stove, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and scrape up any
 brown bits using a wooden spoon. Add the carrots, onion, and herbs.
 Salt the aromatics so that they begin to break down. Now is also a good time to grind in a bit of fresh pepper. Cook until the
 carrots and onions are soft and translucent, not brown (approximately 4-5
 minutes). Create a little well in the middle of the Dutch oven and add in the tomato
 paste. Allow to cook and almost “rust” for 1 minute. Stir the paste through
 the vegetables.
  3. Add the meat back in along with any drippings from the platter on 
which it was resting. Pour in the wine and bring to a boil. Pour in
 additional water—if needed—to nearly cover the meat. Boil for 6-8 minutes
 or until most of the alcohol has burned off.
  4. Cover with the lid and place into the 375° oven for approximately 4-5 hours. Every 1½ hours, flip the meat
 gently and, if needed, add more water. Optional: once the meat is done, I like to remove the Dutch oven’s lid
 and continue cooking for 30 minutes to slightly brown the top.
  5. Skim off any fat from the surface and discard. Remove the meat to a
 cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes. Over a medium flame,
 gently boil the sauce to reduce. Drop in the Swiss chard and pour the lemon 
juice over the top. Allow the chard to “melt” into the sauce. Use tongs to
 help incorporate it (6-8 minutes).
  6. Slice the meat into nice pieces and arrange onto plates. Place a bit of
 chard next to each fillet of meat, and spoon a bit of sauce over the top
 (be sure everyone gets their share of carrots). Serve immediately along with
 freshly grated horseradish.

Note: This dish can be made a day in advance and refrigerated after allowing to cool. Reheat the dish on the stove top over a medium flame and then proceed with adding the chard and plating the dish.