Farmers Market at the Railyard
Santa Fe New Mexico Living– Focus on the Railyard
One of the joys of living in Santa Fe is being able to shop at the twice weekly Farmers Market that takes place at the Railyard (intersection of Paseo de Peralta and S. Guadalupe Street) every Tuesday and Saturday from 8:00 am to noon. The Farmers Market offers hungry Santa Feans a cornucopia of healthy, local food choices from over 100 active vendors. One Farmers Market rule is that all of the vegetables, fruits and nursery plants sold there must be grown in northern New Mexico. The same is true for at least 80% of the ingredients and materials used to make all processed and craft items.
Antonio and Molly Manzanares with their daughter-in-law (right) at their booth at the Farmers Market
The difference in flavor, aroma and texture between locally grown fruits and vegetables and their supermarket counterparts can be dramatic. This time of year you can find fresh roasted red and green chile, pumpkins, greens, apples, eggplants, herbs, root veggies, eggs, cheeses, grassfed meats, baked goods, fresh-cut flowers, dried foods, original crafts, body care and lavender products at the Farmers Market.
Recently we decided to investigate ordering a whole lamb from Shepherd’s Lamb, one of the Farmers Market free range and grassfed meat vendors. At $6.99 a pound carcass weight, it seemed like an opportunity to get a higher quality product at an affordable price, including hard to find cuts like the shoulder and ribs. Joseph Wrede of the restaurant Joseph’s Table in Taos revealed that Shepherd’s Lamb is one of his favorite local products in Food & Wine Magazine.
Shepherd’s Lamb, owned by Antonio and Molly Manzanares, is located in Tierra Amarilla, in northern New Mexico. The Manzanares’ write on their website that their “flock grazes on lush native mountain grasses (wheat grass, grama and fescues) and their favorite shrubs, such as mountain mahogany and snowberry. Another favorite feed of the lambs is plumajillo (yarrow). While on summer pasture, the flock and the shepherd’s camp are moved to a new location weekly. This allows the ewes and lambs to have access to fresh feed at all times and ensures the long term good health of the range.”
Shepherd's Lamb flock enjoying the free range
Best of all Shepherd’s Lamb is Certified Organic which means their lambs “are 100% free of genetically modified organisms, pesticides, medications, and growth hormones.” You can read more about how they raise their sheep and why it is so good for you here.
The website said that a full lamb would be approximately 45 to 55 pounds in carcass weight. Inspired by what we had read, we filled out the order chart which allows you to custom order some of the cuts of lamb and faxed it in.
Approximately 2 ½ weeks after we ordered our lamb, it was available for pickup at the Manzanares’ booth at the Farmers Market in two medium sized cardboard boxes and packed fresh in plastic bags suitable for the freezer.
Our lamb had a carcass weight of 49.5 pounds and yielded the following cuts of meat at a total cost of $346:
– 2 pounds ground lamb (in 2 one pound packages)
– 2.68 pounds lamb loin chops (in a 1.28 pound package and a 1.40 pound package)
– 2 pounds stew meat (in 2 one pound packages)
– .60 pounds lamb sirloin
– 1 pound lamb arm chops
– 6.3 pounds boneless lamb shoulder (in a 3.6 pound package and a 2.7 pound package)
– 4.2 pounds rack of lamb (in two 2.1 pound packages)
– 11.3 pounds leg of lamb (in a 4.7 pound package and a 6.6 pound bone in package)
– 3.3 pounds lamb shanks (in a 1.3 pound package and a 2 pound package)
– 1.3 pounds lamb neck
– 3.16 pounds lamb ribs (in a .72 pound package, a .84 pound package and a 1.6 pound package)
Santa Fe New Mexico Living – Homes for Sale in the Railyard neighborhood
Keller Williams Realty is located in the Railyard neighborhood area. If you are interested in living in the Railyard neighborhood, contact me, Karen Meredith, Keller Williams Realty, by e-mail or call me at (505) 603-3036 to see a list of homes for sale in the Railyard neighborhood. I would be happy to show you any of the homes in the Railyard neighborhood. If you have a home for sale in the Railyard neighborhood and would like a free comparative market analysis to see how much it is worth, click here.
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Santa Fe New Mexico Living – Winter Recipes
- Leg of Lamb with rosemary sprigs
Over the next weeks and throughout the winter and next spring, we’ll be working our way through our freezer full of lamb and sharing our recipes with you, along with other recipes using products you can find at the Farmers Market.
First up, that 4.7 pound leg of lamb, in this case a roast from the butt end. This was one of the best legs of lamb we have ever had. Flavorful, rich, juicy with a nice firm but tender texture, it was simply delicious!
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees (slow roasting will yield a more evenly cooked roast – lamb roasted at high heat is often well done on the outside and raw on the inside). Season the roast with salt.
2. Heat your roasting pan on the stovetop with approximately two tablespoons of vegetable oil. When the pan is hot add the roast to the pan with the fatty cap facing down. Sear for 5-8 minutes, until surface turns golden brown. Turn over and brown the other side for an additional 2-3 minutes (for even more browning, you can stand the roast on its side and brown each side for a minute or two).
3. Put the roast in the oven on a middle rack. Check temperature with an instant-read thermometer after 30 minutes and then every 15 minutes thereafter. For a rare/medium rare roast similar to the one pictured above, remove from oven when the temperature reaches 110 degrees. Leave it in longer if you like your meat cooked a little more, knowing that the final result will be close to medium when the temperature reaches 130 degrees.
4. Wrap the roast in foil, place it on a platter with a few rosemary sprigs underneath, and let it rest for approximately 15 minutes (the foil is important because the roast will retain less heat due to the low cooking temperature – also, adding the rosemary at this point prevents it from developing the medicinal flavor that rosemary acquires when it is introduced to heat).
5. Carve and serve with the natural juices from the platter.
Caveat – our stovetop runs a little cool and our oven may run a little hot, so your results may vary. The roast pictured took about a hour and a half to get up to temperature in our oven.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
You just did it for me! Thank you.
I can not say how much we’ve been enjoying the lamb we bought. It is interesting to know the breed. We are definitely going to buy another whole lamb this fall. The rack of lamb we had last week from Shepherd’s Lamb was the best rack of lamb that I have ever tasted.
Thank you Karen for publicizing the work of los chivaneros grandes del Norte, Tony and Molly Manzares. You failed to mention, not only is it free-range organic lamb — it is the churro sheep, the gift from the Basque Country to the New World. I hope to dine on their lamb soon.
Ritxard en Hawai’i nei