It’s not like I have a free 16-ounce rib-eye steak for lunch every day, but today I made an exception.

It started when I wrote an article about buying meat at the farmers market. In it, I had a lot of nice things to say about the pork and not a lot of good to say about the beef, which overall I found lamby and dry:

> If you like corn-fed beef, you will taste grass-fed beef and wonder who stole your meat. Grass-fed beef is leaner, easier to overcook and more likely to taste livery.

Then, on Saturday, I was at the U District market. As I passed by the Skagit River Ranch stand, I saw that they’d posted a more recent article I’d written, one about lard. Then a guy bought some lard, right in front of me. I couldn’t resist. I asked him what he was going to do with the lard. (“I’m going to put it in the freezer next to my schmalz.”) Then I admitted that I wrote the article.

Eiko Vojkovich, who owns Skagit River Ranch and runs the stand on Saturdays, overheard me. “You’re Matthew? I need to talk to you.” Uh-oh. “You didn’t try my steak, did you?”

“No,” I admitted. I didn’t try her steak because I hardly ever eat steak, and for the meat article I wanted to stick to my usual cuts as much as possible. (I had tried Skagit’s chuck roast, and it was good, although the burger I made with it did taste like lamb.)

Vojkovich went on to explain that the meat from the other stand at the market is from dairy cows, and she wanted me to understand that good steaks come from good genes, and I was not going to be disappointed with a steak from one of her beef cattle. Then she reached into the cooler, pulled out a one-pound rib steak and handed to to me. “Here. On the house,” she said.

I am not supposed to accept freebies, and I made noises to that effect. But I could see in Eiko Vojkovich’s eyes that there was no *way* I was going to win this, and that if I tried to pay for the steak, I would risk being chased down the concourse and having my money thrown at me. Not that I put up much of a fight, admittedly. I don’t know how much they charge for rib steaks at Skagit, but it’s not far under $20 a pound.

Today I made the steak for lunch. I put on a lot of salt and pepper and seared it five minutes per side in a hot skillet. While the steak rested, I made a pan sauce with red wine, shallots, and some of the veal stock from Sea Breeze Farm, which turned out to be rich, gelatinous, and perfect. A pat of butter to mount the sauce, and it was lunchtime.

Really, I didn’t intend to eat the whole steak when I sat down, but suddenly it was gone. Vojkovich was right, of course. This is a no-compromise steak: grass-fed, with all of the environmental, nutritional, and humane goodness that implies, and with great texture and flavor. It helped that I cooked it perfectly medium-rare; usually I screw this up. There was a gaminess to the fattier portions that was much more pronounced than in a corn-fed steak, but I assume most people do as I do and leave the fattiest parts on the plate. (And I assume those who don’t are after a real animal experience anyway.) The only thing you don’t get in a steak like this is a low price–and good steaks are never cheap.

Sorry I didn’t try your steak earlier, Eiko.

Skagit River Ranch