ABOUT
How Vorfreude came to be and why we chose dairy beef.
Meet the woman behind it all
Rachel has had a lifelong love of cows and ranching. As a young Oregon kid growing up on the edge of city limits, she would build cattle ranches with her Texas Longhorn play sets, read Little House on the Prairie and dream of living in the country with her cows. She solidified her dream of running a cattle operation after high school, when she deferred admission to college and worked on an Australian cattle station in the Outback.
Over time, Rachel became more environmentally conscious and interested in the ethical sourcing of her food. As she began to think more critically, she noticed how many marketing lies and loopholes were out there, confusing consumers. Words like “sustainable”, “free range”, “grass fed”, were used on meat labels, when the product was anything but.
Rachel Hinnen, Owner of Vorfreude Dairy Beef
Frustrated and feeling like she was unable to trust meat from anywhere, she decided to try the process herself. She did a couple ride-alongs with a mobile slaughter man, and quickly decided she wanted to learn more about processing and butchering. Over the course of several years she learned how to raise, process and butcher her own cows, from start to finish. After butchering, the beef aged in her neighbor’s walk-in cooler until it was time to cut them in his home shop.
Throughout the process she was able to learn from experts like Marena, manager of custom processing at The Meating Place, where Rachel also spent a game season wrapping custom meat. It was only a matter of time before she was collecting more cows to care for and folks were expressing interest in Rachel selling her own beef - and so Vorfreude Dairy Beef was born! Now, just about every minute of the day is spent thinking about cows.
In addition to producing choice cuts of dairy beef, Rachel has a sustainable body product and soap business that includes products made from beef tallow. She also practices acupuncture, is an avid hiker and cyclist, and loves cooking- especially with her beef products.
WHY
DAIRY BEEF?
“Dairy beef” means beef from ex-dairy cows and we chose it as our product for a multitude of reasons. This unique beef is dual-purpose and therefore more sustainable. The cows are fattened while living a life of producing milk, rather than just being fattened for meat. The meat is a deep, dark, beautiful red-purple color and the fat is often times a stunning yellow. The flavor is a lot richer and more beefy due to the animals older age and exceptional diet. The fat is sweet, nutty and buttery, and melts in your mouth rather than being gristly.
Using ex-dairy cows for premium beef is using these cows to their highest purpose. Otherwise, they would end up as ground beef in the commodity market. At Vorfreude Dairy Beef we believe their cuts are worth so much more!