If you care about steak and if you care about what you put into your body, it stands to reason that you should care about what the cow you’re eating was putting into its body, too.

At Alderspring, a family-owned cattle ranch that’s been purveying some of the finest beef in the country for over 20 years, the cows graze on a steady diet of various grasses and legumes like clover and sainfoin and well, that’s it. The pasture is not sprayed with insecticides, pesticides or any other chemicals. The animals aren’t fed any genetically-modified corn products, growth hormones or antibiotics. Indeed the whole ranch—some 1700 acres of near-virgin high mountain pasture, plus an additional 46,000 acres of wild range— is 100% certified organic by the Idaho Department of Agriculture. 

This dedication to producing a truly “wild protein”.

This dedication to producing a truly “wild protein,” comes from the owners Glenn and Caryl Elzinga’s belief that health should always come first. Nearly every decision they make comes down to a question of whether something will improve or reduce the health of their customers, their animals, their land and their community. Using natural pest control, crop rotation, weed grubbing and manure management for the land and the ancient practice of “husbandry” for the animals, the Elzinga’s are a welcome antidote to the age of industrial mega-farming. 

“We’re not some corporate deal or tech startup,”

the Elzingas say. Instead they are committed to small-scale artisanal food production (the scale is truly small, with all of the work done by the Elzingas, their kids and a few cowhands). 

You can buy bones for making stock, oxtail for making stew and tongue for tacos lengua.

Of course, all of that is well and good, but noble intentions don’t necessarily yield delicious results. But the combination of heritage cattle raised on exceptionally nutritious grasses grown on highly mineralized mountain soils under the watchful eyes of the Elzingas creates beef that surpasses all expectations. Their products run the gamut from mouthwatering ribeyes, strips and filets to ground beef, roasts and more. You can buy bones for making stock, oxtail for making stew and tongue for tacos lengua. They’ll even sell you eighths and quarters of beef—but we’d only recommend that if you have a walk-in freezer.

If not, it’s a pretty excellent reason to invest in one. 

www.alderspring.com