Belted Galloway
Heritage Breed
Mountain Falls Farm raises heritage Belted Galloway beef cattle – an ancient breed originating from the Scottish Highlands and dating back over 1,000 years. “Belties” are very hardy and thrive in rugged environments. They grow thick winter coats and do not require barn sheltering. Belties are able to convert a wide range of forages into delicious lean and flavorful meat. Our pedigreed four principal breeding cows and bull are from Aldermere Farm in Rockport, Maine. Aldermere was the first farm to introduce the Belted Galloway breed into America from Scotland in 1953. Our small herd varies from 10 to 16 animals, which fits the carrying capacity of the current pasturage.
Grass-Fed BEEF
Our Belted Galloway cattle are entirely grass-fed, pasture raised, and free of antibiotics and hormones. They eat mostly everything and particularly enjoy our dropped apples, weeds, pumpkins, and tree leaves within reach. We’ve employed our Belties to clear invasive shrubs on the farm and vines of oriental bittersweet along the old stone walls.
Herd Management
When the cows are 24-30 months of age, they are fully grown and ready for market. We take them one by one to a custom USDA-inspected slaughterhouse that caters to small regional farms, and where the animals are humanely dispatched. The meat is typically hung for two weeks and then processed into individual cuts, cryovac packaged, and quick frozen. Occasionally, we sell live yearling calves to thin the herd and recently donated two cow/calf pairs to a local farm and environmental educational center.
Nutritional Benefits
Belted Galloway meat is superb and among the most nutritional of all cattle beef (see chart). Their meat is far healthier than industrial corn-fed supermarket beef – and (we think) much tastier than Black Angus!
From Our Farm to Your Table
Beef quantities are limited, so we like to be creative in using all available cuts. For example, our lean London Broil steaks are delicious when marinated and seared French-style in a cast iron skillet. Beyond steaks, we recommend trying the stew meat (New England stews, French carbonnade or daube Provençal and curries), slow-cooked brisket, short ribs (try them braised in brown ale), shanks (great osso buco), liver (no chemicals in these animals) with bacon and onions, or as paté, kidneys (steak and kidney pie), and heart (stew). Because the beef is very lean, care must be taken not to over-cook it. Our beef bones make outstanding broth and great treats for your dog.
“I’m ready for more bones and chopped beef. It’s the best beef for chili I’ve ever had.” – Neele, New Canaan, CT
THE PHOTO SAYS IT ALL!
“I’ll take more of your London broil and ribeye steaks – (5) ea. if possible. Carl will be delighted. He said after grilling up a steak one night, “Skip Hobbs is a wonderful human being.” Obviously the 7 months he was a vegan were traumatizing.” – Robin, New Canaan, CT
“It was very satisfying to hand out your amazing beef.” – Todd, Sheffield, MA (after donating 100 lbs. of ground beef to the Great Barrington Food Pantry where he volunteers).
More From Our Customers:
“Maggie and I cooked up some of your Mountain Falls Short Ribs last night. They were fantastic! Such a great beefy flavor, which was a nice change of pace given that a lot of the beef we eat lately is grain fed. Can’t wait to start trying the other cuts - I think Osso Bucco is next.” – Chase, New Canaan, CT