Cheese Guide



Brandt Beef – The True Natural, is a single family owned, premium natural beef producer that is dedicated to sustainable practices and serves the upscale restaurant and retail markets.

Aside from Brandt's commitment to sustainability, all natural practices, complete source verification, and being a single family owned operation, Brandt holds the Master Chefs' Seal of Excellence and is the only beef producer to date that does. Brandt's practices, vision, and passion fall in tandem with DEAN & DELUCA's.

Both Brandt and DEAN & DELUCA are committed to bringing the highest quality foods to the market, and creating a gourmet experience for our customers.



Brandt Beef received the Master Chefs’ Institute Seal of Excellence for its commitment to producing a superior culinary product. To date, Brandt Beef is the only beef producer to receive the Seal of Excellence. To obtain the Seal, the Master Chefs’ team put Brandt Beef’s natural products through more than 120 tests, including blind testing versus three competitive brands. Testing focused on Brandt Beef’s primary use as a center-of-the-plate item in an upscale foodservice establishment. Tests were conducted on 22 different cuts of Brandt’s meat utilizing a variety of different preparation techniques and cooking methods. Brandt Beef consistently achieved first place rankings in the all-important categories of taste, texture and tenderness.

 

Brandt Beef utilizes a source verification and total asset visibility system to source verify and guarantee the safety of its 100 percent natural beef products. Datastar’s Global Track™ system is the only fully integrated source verification system in the industry and provides an audit trail of information by cataloging data at various points along the supply chain, including farm, ranch, processing plant, testing laboratory, transport vehicles, storage facilities, supermarkets and restaurants.

The system enables Brandt to provide the complete history of each product, from birth to consumption, in the bar code on its packaging. This product history also contains data from nationally recognized food safety laboratory Silliker, Inc., which tests samples from every Brandt Beef combo bin before any products are shipped. The source verification system can even minimize the social, economic and environmental costs associated with an outbreak for each organization across the supply chain. If contamination does occur, the system can pinpoint where contaminants entered the supply chain and isolate the problem immediately.

Brandt Beef maintains a “farm-to-fork” philosophy which involves raising its animals humanely and naturally without hormones or the use of antibiotics. It also provides education and recipes to chefs and consumers to promote the use of the entire animal. This commitment to sustainability also includes being responsible stewards of the land.

  • Brandt Beef employs crop rotation practices to maintain healthy soil for growing the alfalfa for its animals’ feed.
  • Brandt Beef composts its animals' waste to enrich the land. Utilizing the compost has allowed the Brandt family's farming operation to nearly eliminate the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Local farmers even purchase the compost to use in their own farming.
  • Brandt Beef uses flood irrigation to attract native birds which act as natural pesticides by eliminating unwanted insects from Brandt's fields.
  • Lady bugs are released on Brandt’s fields to naturally combat aphids.
  • Brandt Beef works with the Imperial Valley's burrowing owls, which act as natural predators that rid the fields of pests.

    • Burrowing Owls: Brandt Beef currently has 15 "owl boxes" on site which are 80 percent occupied by the Imperial County's burrowing owls. The owl boxes are placed four feet underground. The owls, which are about 10 inches in length, occupy these boxes and are natural predators of field mice, insects and other pests. The owls protect Brandt's fields from pests, while the Brandt family provides a home to these owls which are on California's watch list of endangered species.

    OXTAIL RAVIOLI WITH CRISPY CAPERS AND BROWN BUTTER
    Serves 10 (as hors d’oeuvres)

    Prep Time: 60 minutes
    Cooking Time: 45 minutes
    Ingredients
    5 pounds meaty Brandt Beef Oxtails cut about one inch thick, fat trimmed
    Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
    1 teaspoon dry oregano
    1 1/2 teaspoons dry thyme
    1 teaspoon bruised fennel seeds
    1/4 cup olive oil
    2 medium onions, diced
    1 celery rib, diced
    2 cups white wine
    4 garlic cloves, minced
    2 tablespoons aged sherry vinegar
    1 pound fresh goat cheese
    Fresh pasta sheets
    2 cups capers
    1 pound 8 ounces sweet butter
    Directions

    One day before serving, place oxtails in a large bowl with salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, fennel seeds and two tablespoons of the olive oil. Turn to coat all over. Refrigerate until ready to use.

    Preheat oven broiler and broil oxtails about seven inches from heat, turning to brown all over. Heat remaining olive oil in large enameled pot. Add onions, celery and carrots and cook until caramelized.

    Add garlic and sweat lightly. Increase heat to high and add wine, allowing alcohol to burn off. Bring liquid to a boil and add oxtails.
    Deglaze broiling pan with vinegar and one cup water and add to pot.

    Simmer the oxtails covered for about three hours or meat comes off the bones easily. Remove from heat, allow to cool and store in refrigerator overnight.

    The following day, remove oxtails from refrigerator and scrape off any fat. Pull meat from bones and reduce the remaining liquid to a glaze.

    Mix oxtail meat with goat cheese and enough glaze to make a stiff mix. Lay out one sheet of pasta and place one tablespoon mounds of oxtail mixture on sheet, leaving about 3/4 inches between each mound.

    With a pastry brush and cold water, brush in between each mound and lay another pasta sheet on top. Press down to seal each ravioli and cut out squares with a knife. Using a fork, crimp the edges to seal each ravioli. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

    Place capers in a small fry pan and add three tablespoons butter. Over medium heat, cook the capers until all the liquid is released and the capers are crispy. Reserve for recipe.

    Heat a heavy fry pan over high heat and add the remaining butter. Cook until foam subsides and butter has turned brown. Add one teaspoon sherry vinegar and the capers. Keep warm.

    Cook the raviolis in boiling water until they float, drain and toss with the brown butter and caper sauce.

    Season with salt and pepper to taste.