Summer Grill Tips

Steaks

Even most grocery “grass fed” beef is actually from a feedlot. They are fed all kinds of things to help make the meat more consistent and forgiving with rare temperatures.

Unless your beef was raised on a feedlot, we have found most our steaks are best at medium or even medium-well. We recommend about 125º plus a 5-10 minute rest where the steaks will get up closer to 130º.

Pork Chops

Most “happy” pork sold locally in the grocery is still raised in confinement, meaning - even though it is sold fresh - there is still a low trichinosis risk. We would still cook any fresh pork to 160º.

TC Farm pork is frozen which effectively eliminates that risk.

For our pork chops, we recommend cooking them to 130º. Allow them to rest for a few more degrees.

Brats

All of our brats are pre-cooked, and you might have wondered why.

We don’t use any binders or phosphates to increase the fat or water content in any of our sausages. This means the brats are best if cooked to a lower temperature to avoid fat rendering out. That’s something we can do longer and slower in-house than you could on a grill. This ensures safe temperatures and an ideal eating experience.

You want to avoid overcooking them and focus on searing the outside to get a good texture and bring the center to around 140º-150º so it is warmed through.

Fish

Don’t overcook the fish! Our fish is organically farmed without any risk of parasites or micro-plastics like wild-caught fish. This allows you more control over how much to cook the fish.

For the salmon burgers, we personally prefer to sear right from frozen in a pan with some olive oil. You can get great results grilling too. With higher Omega-3s than wild-caught fish, ours have more fat.

A bit of oil brushed on the outside can help with the sear. For the salmon burgers, we like to sear the outside quickly and then turn down the heat and slowly coast up to 140º or maybe 145º. To ensure safe eating, you’ll want to maintain something in that range for around 4-9 minutes (more time if you target the lower temps)

Rest your Meat

Resting is really important.

Cover your meat to avoid heat loss. Allow smaller cuts to rest 5 minutes and big roasts up to 20 minutes before cutting.

The larger the cut of meat, the longer you want to allow it to rest. Plan on smaller cuts to gain about 5º in the center and larger ones up to 10º.

Get the Temperature Right!

You want to know your target temperature when grilling. A few degrees make a big difference!

Getting it right matters. Make sure you have a real thermometer. None of our tips help much if you’re simply guessing at the temperatures! Over the years, we've made some recommendations. (There's an article below where we have a few linked.)

Our take? Like a good pair of shoes or a good set of tires -- a little investment in the right equipment will pay off for years to come!

Some other articles you might find helpful

Preparing Perfect Pastured Pork Chops

We've learned a lot over the years on how to prepare tender juicy pork -- not that dry cardboard stuff you might remember. A well prepared organic pork chop can rival any steak, give it a shot!

Get a Real Thermometer

I know, I know. You ARE a great cook and you probably don't need one all the time to get a perfect medium rare on your steak. BUT even after all this time, I am still surprised how much I appreciate a good FAST thermometer.

Perfectly Cooked Chicken Thighs

Slow growth chicken is nothing like the fast growth factory genetics found at the farmers' and supermarkets. While it tastes SO much better, it can also be trickier to cook. Here are some tips to make sure the next TC Farm chicken thighs you cook have great texture and taste amazing too!

Salmon Salad

Something a little different. We know you aren't going to eat meat at every meal! Here's a healthy and delicious salmon salad that is so easy to prepare and tastes fantastic.