YAK TRACKS: Meet Our Bobcat Neighbor

Rare to see a bobcat in the Mad River Valley.

But sure enough - one's been around the yak farm of late.

We're all that concerned about the yaks - they'd have no trouble dispatching a Bobcat - but we are curious about keeping the neighborhood safe. This fella looks to be nursing a hurt paw and maybe slightly older. We'll keep you posted.

YAK TRACKS: Happy Thanksgiving from Vermont Yak Company!

The Thanksgiving Farmer's Market at the Round Barn today proved a huge success.

Good to reconnect with Valley neighbors and friends.

Here are some images from the day, below.

We'll be taking this coming week off from blogging - a "social media fast," to rest, recreate, and enjoy the company of family.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

YAK TRACKS: American YAKBread in Burlington

Delivered 30 pounds of sausage and ground to American Flatbread in Burlington this afternoon.

"We're very impressed with the product," said Chef Brian as I was leaving. "We'd like to get yak up here as a special every few weeks." I'll be sure to pass that on to the rest of the team.

Here's Chef Brian's full recipe:

I fire roasted a mix of the sweet and hot Italian sausage in our hearth,
then put the sausage on a flatbread with creamy alfredo sauce, roasted
delicate squash, baby arugala, and red onions. All the ingredients used on
this flatbread were either local or organic.

Yak to the future!

YAK TRACKS: Yakking with Pete's Greens In Vermont's NEK (Northeast Kingdom)

I delivered 70 pounds of our fabulous YAK BEER BRATS sausage to one of Vermont's most forward-thinking farm operations yesterday.

Pete Johnson of "Pete's Greens" is a true visonary.

Here's a look at his Craftsbury-based farm up in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom.



He's laid out several giant four-season greenhouses on his property, buildings big enough to get a tractor in for planting and plowing.



Pete currently offers several hundred individual "shares" of vegetables. Vermont Yak Company is excited to be part of their fairly new 65 customer "meat share."

YAK TRACKS: SPECIAL! Vermont Yak Stew at SKINNY PANCAKE

Vermont Yak Stew with Pete's Greens' organic carrots, potatoes and onions.

Only at Montpelier's Skinny Pancake this week.

YAK TRACKS: Got Yak For the Holidays?

Vermont Yak Company
November 2009 “Yak to the Future” E-Newsletter
www.vermontyak.com

November: Yakking for the Holidays!
“Lean, keen, and grass-fed green.”

Thanksgiving Farmer’s Market
Sunday, November 22 from 9 – 1
Waitsfield’s Round Barn Inn

Buy your steaks, ground and 4 kinds of sausage – hot, sweet, beer, maple - for the holidays!

For more information, or to buy through us at Steadfast Farm, contact us via e-mail at info@vermontyak.com, # 802.279.8302 (the yak phone).

YAK TRACKS: Yakking About Yak "Retirement"

Happy Hunting Season here in Vermont!



I stopped by the local general store this morning to put air in the ties of the F-150, and ran into a small group of hunters who bagged this deer literally 20 minutes into their morning, the first day of hunting season here in Vermont, up off of the Moretown Common road.

It got me thinking about how we at Vermont Yak Company are in the meat business ourselves, though we are working with a domesticated animal, not one in the wild.

And then, I remembered an ongoing discussion on our YAKS YAHOO listserve about how to process yak meat.

From our YAKS YAHOO list - an elegant;y simple description of how to process yaks on-farm. We've done one of these ourselves at Steadfast Farm - to those who aren't used to local meat processing, the procedure may seem a bit grisly. But this is how its been done for thousands of years, friends.

Call animal to a special area with alfalfa they love, and that we can access easily with the backhoe or a tractor and fence off. Shoot and cut throat to bleed. (This is the hardest part for me, fortunately my husband does this, because they trusted us and were happy to come over, but by the time the bleeding stops I've wiped away the tears and have to go to work.)

Hook back legs through a cut near hock to bucket of backhoe with chains. Lift and lay out carcass on back on 2 big beams, to aid in skinning, covered with clean tarp. Begin skinning. Periodically lift with backhoe to allow hide to fall away while cutting off feet. Hang and gut. Use sawzall to split down backbone. Rinse to remove any cartilage or debris. (Am told by processor, getting it too wet could interfere in the aging process). Quarter with a hand meat saw, allowing quarters to lay down on clean sheets in which they're wrapped, and take to the processor where they're directly hung in the cooler to age for 2 weeks.

YAK TRACKS: Yakking About "To Nose Ring, or Not to Nose Ring?"

From our YAKS YAHOO list:

Hello All:

Please help me with the decision as to whether to place a nose ring in my bull yak or not. He is very sweet, but he is a bull. However, I'm afraid of him getting the ring caught on something and injuring or ripping off his nose. He is 19 months old.

He has been raised as if he was a steer, and only realized this summer that he was a bull, and soon to be a father.

Any and all input would be greatly appreciated.

YAK TRACKS: Yakking About The "Yakity Yak" - and SNOW in Mad River Valley!

Picked up a "to go" order this afternoon from Skinny Pancake chef Tucker for four "Yakity Yaks."

I realize I am a bit biased here - but the garlic and onion infused ground yak, when combined with the apples and cheese, proved delicious.

And look, Tucker can "chalk" a yak, too!



And here's the F-150 Pick Up with a light dusting of the white stuff - bring on the winter.



BIG FARM day today: yaks separated, vaccinated, and young boys are now castrati.

YAK TRACKS: Yakking About the "Yakkity Yak" Special at Montpelier's "Skinny Pancake"

...All I have to say is - I gotta get over to try this special.

Skinny Pancake Chef Jeremy Silansky (with whom I have had the good pleasure of herding our yaks last summer) has prepared a mouth-watering-ly "yaktastic" special at the Skinny Pancake in Montpelier this week.

Here 'tis:

VT Yak Company Yak with Champlain Orchard Apples, Pete's Caramelized Onions, and Grafton Smoked Cheddar in a Gleason's WW Crepe.

All week long. For $10. Sign me up.