Teaming Up with Driftless Prairie Meats and Market

Farmers market season is finally upon us. One of my favorite parts of shopping at the market is being able to meet the farmers and become familiar with where my food is coming from. I love that The Chopping Block is a part of the Lincoln Square community, and we are so fortunate to be so close to the Lincoln Square Farmers Market right down the street.

We offer cooking demonstrations at the Lincoln Square Farmers Market every other Thursday throughout the market season. We shop for ingredients from the market's different vendors and create a recipe to cook live at the market in front of the patrons. Our hope is that they shop for the same ingredients and make the delicious dish at home! We really want to educate people how important it is to support local farmers and of course, teaching people how to cook is our number one passion.

While I was wandering around the market trying to figure out what I wanted to buy and make for dinner one Thursday, I happened upon a new vendor. I was so excited to meet Megan, the founder of Driftless Prairie meats. We got to chatting about her variety of offerings and her amazing farm, and I immediately bought two of her steaks. Then we got to thinking of all the wonderful things we could do to support each other!

One of the brilliant ideas Megan and I came up with was to use her incredible beef as the star of my market cooking demonstrations to educate the students on the differences between grass fed and grain fed beef.

I love doing a side-by-side cooking comparisons. I think that is one of the best ways to learn how things taste and change during the cooking process. I also like teaching people about all of the different cuts of beef that they are not familiar with. I am sure everyone has heard of filet, ribeye, or strip steaks, but have you ever had a chuck eye steak? Well, those are the steaks pictured that I sautéed for everyone. They are similar to ribeyes but come from the shoulder.

The demo was so much fun! Megan and her husband talked all about their beef and Driftless Prairie Farm and Market while I cooked two different chuck eye steaks, one was pasture raised and grass fed and the other was grass fed but grain finished.

The best part of the demo was when I plated up the tasting for the guests to try, I gave them a slice of each kind of beef and asked if they could tell the difference! Almost everyone could tell that they tasted different, not necessarily in a bad way but just different. Only half of the guests could pinpoint which slice was which in this blind taste test. It was really cool to watch everyone get so into it.

So, what are the main differences? The grass fed was slightly leaner and had a good chew to it. The flavor was really earthy, almost a little gamey. The grain fed had slightly more marbling, and the flavor was a little more rich and buttery. Did you know that grass fed beef is higher in omega 3 fatty acids compared to grain fed? I sure didn’t! The consensus from the crowd was that they were both extremely delicious, and everyone had their own personal favorite. I admit I like them both too, but I leaned more towards the grass fed as my top choice!

This is the complete recipe that I made at the market for everyone to try. I urge everyone to try shopping at their local farmers market and procuring these ingredients to replicate this delicious dish!

Sautéed Chuck Eye Steaks with Farmer’s Market Succotash and Tomato-Onion Jam

Scroll down for a printable version of this recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

For the tomato-onion jam:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 Dotson’s Farm sweet candy onions, medium dice

2 pounds Dotson’s Farm baby heirloom tomatoes, quartered

1/4 to 1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons apple cider or red vine vinegar

2 tablespoons basil, torn into small pieces

Salt and pepper to taste

For the succotash:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 Dotson’s Farm sweet candy onion, medium dice

2 Los Rodriguez Farm yellow squash, medium dice

4 Los Rodriguez Farm banana peppers, seeded and cut into medium dice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pint Los Rodriguez Farm yellow wax beans, vine ends removed, blanched, shocked and cut in half on the bias (see note, below)

1/2 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, rough chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

For the chuck steaks:

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

2 Driftless Prairie Market chuck eye steaks

Salt and pepper to taste

1. For the tomato-onion jam, heat a saucepan over medium-low heat, and add the olive oil. Caramelize the onions, stirring every 3 to 4 minutes, until they are deeply golden brown, a total of 15 to 20 minutes. Tip: If a lot of browned bits form on the bottom of the pan, deglaze with a splash of water. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Stir in the tomatoes, sugar to taste an. d the vinegar, and cook until the water from the tomatoes has evaporated and you’re left with a jammy consistency, about 20 minutes.

3. Add the basil and adjust the taste with more sugar and/or acid to your liking, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm.

4. To prepare the succotash, heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Sauté the onions, yellow squash and peppers until lightly caramelized, 4 to 5 minutes.

5. Add the garlic, and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Stir in the wax beans and tomatoes and cook until heated through.

6. Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

7. To cook the steaks, heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the grapeseed oil.

8. Season the steaks with salt and pepper to taste, and sear in the hot pan until well caramelized, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and repeat. Continue to cook the steaks until done to your liking- an internal temperature of 125° is ideal for medium rare.

9. Transfer the steaks to a cutting board and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Once rested, cut the steaks into 1/2-inch slices against the grain.

10. To assemble the dish, spoon the succotash onto your plate and top with a couple slices of the steak. Top with the tomato-onion jam and serve. 

Note:

• To blanch green beans or wax beans, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a generous pinch of salt. Drop the beans in the boiling water and cook until they are crisp yet tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the beans to a bowl of ice water to shock them. Once cold, remove them from the bowl and drain well. Cut as desired.

We will be back with free chef demos at the farmers market next Thursday,  June 13 at 5pm and every other Thursday after that. Make sure you stop by and try the free samples and gain some cooking knowledge! Driftless Prairie and TCB may team up again at the market this year, but in the meantime, we have a very special cooking class planned on Saturday, June 15 at 10am featuring Megan's wonderful beef cuts and high-level instruction. This is a hands-on class, and you will learn about three different cuts of beef that you may not be familiar with and the proper cooking techniques that each piece requires, all of which are easily executed by the home cook. The best part is, if you sign up for the class Megan will give you 10% off any purchases made at the Driftless Prairie booth during your farmers market visit so you can stock up on all of these delicious beef cuts.

We are both super proud of this class and can’t wait to share it with you all! Space is limited so sign up today.