A view of White Oak PasturesWhen I first met Jenni Harris, I simply knew her as the effervescent college pal of my good friend Jon. She was humble about her work, never letting on that her father's award-winning ranch, White Oak Pastures, was cornering the market for grass-fed and humanely slaughtered beef. After reading about the ranch in Barry Estabrooks, "The Need for Custom Slaughter," I decided to interview Jenni- the Market Development Manager for White Oak Pastures- about food, sustainability and her favorite things to eat.
Mooooooooo.What is your favorite food tradition?
Being a gracious southerner, we like everything fried :) Having the ability to roll anything in flour and throw it in oil is a beautiful thing.
What is your favorite dish to prepare? Do you mind sharing the recipe?
I love the off-cuts. That being said, my favorite cut of beef is cow tongue. I grew up eating everything from the nose to the tail, which I believe is the most important part of selling beef. When that animal was slaughtered, it gave up its filets, ribeyes and New York strips – but it also gave up its tongue, liver and heart. What gives us the authority to say what is edible/desirable? I believe that nose to tail butchery is as important as any other part of animal husbandry.
I love taking a few cow tongues, cooking them in the oven at a low temperature for many hours covered in salt, pepper, onions, garlic, BBQ sauce and red wine.
Jenni and her father Will Harris, accepting the 2011 GRACE (Georgia Restaurant Association) Innovator of the Year award.Do you feel comfortable explaining where meat comes from to a child?
Absolutely. There is nothing to hide when questions are asked about the slaughtering of an animal – when you take pride in doing it humanely. It is true that an animal will lose its life, but there also comes a belief that it was put here for that purpose. Raising animals with dignity and respect and watching them express their natural instincts is truly rewarding.
It's all love.What is your vision of the future of White Oak Pastures?
White Oak Pastures has striven to fill the demands of educated and sophisticated consumers that have expressed value in an alternative food production system. I hope that in the future, we can not only provide a tangible product for consumers, but an education on how they too can farm alternately.
White Oak Pastures' grass-fed beef is available across the eastern United States, and business is growing.Describe factory farming in ten words or less. Describe sustainability in ten words or less.
Factory farming: efficient, confined, affordable, mechanized, centralized, intensive, industrialized, excessive, consistent, quick.
Sustainability: artisan, conscious, humane, slow, healthy, controlled, careful, passionate, ethical, succession-based.
