The Perfect Breakfast Food

What’s the perfect breakfast food, according to your farmers?

Is it a smoothie full of hidden organ meats, freeze-dried berries from Mt. Everest, and a dozen types of organic greens? (My crunchy self is giggling over this one!)

Is it a powdered mix that serves itself up all hot and caffeinated as a one-pot wonder?

Is it the sweetly encrusted donut that is the only thing you can face at that hour of the morning before your coffee has kicked in? Hey, some breakfast is better than none, right?

Is it a 16-course gourmet meal complete with locally-grown edible superfood flowers, homemade bread with freshly-churned butter, biscuits, pancakes, a tall glass of fresh raw milk, and a plate full of farm-raised eggs, bacon, sausage, and ham?

Well… My husband would probably nod his head vigorously to this last option, and I’ll give you a hint that it’s the closest thing to what I envision as the perfect breakfast food for the fast-paced family on the go. But not the whole 9-yards. Just that last little 3-letter word.

Ham.

But not just any ham.

Real, smoked, pasture-raised, chemical-free, deliciously natural ham. Just sweet and salty enough to be nice and hammy but not overwhelming in any particular direction, and of course plenty smoky. The best part is that it’s sliced thin enough to thaw quickly and cook even more quickly with little effort (choices include ½” or ¾” thick).

Just warm your skillet, maybe toss a tablespoon of butter or lard on unless you’re using cast iron, and lay the ham steak gently down. Warm over medium heat until steaming, then flip and repeat, a few minutes per side. Voila! Done. Breakfast. The perfect breakfast.

What’s so perfect about pasture-raised ham?

Well, it’s sweet enough to face in the wee morning hours. Lightly salted so you don’t have to guess on seasoning. Nice and smoky. And our favorite feature: Ready to heat and eat.

And even if that’s all you eat for breakfast, you’re probably going to have one happy tummy all the way to lunch, not to mention you hardly had to do anything to prepare breakfast, and there might be enough left over for tomorrow or to carry with you for lunch! But you can get fancy, too, and cook some eggs or biscuits or hashbrowns or whatever you like, and have a delicious country-style farmer breakfast. Toss the bone into a freezer bag and save it to add to your stockpot next time you make broth to get even more value from this humble but lovely little cut.

So why am I telling you about ham steak when you’re busy stuffing Christmas stockings and trying to keep the baby from climbing the tree (at least that’s what happening at our house…)?

Because I have been pondering a renewed vision for helping folks get healthy by getting back in the kitchen, eating the right things, instead of feeling overwhelmed by daily decisions, the last of which ends up being what’s for breakfast/lunch/dinner. Maybe you just need a few good, but brainless, decisions to help you along your way. Enter pasture-raised ham for breakfast. Sure, doll it up with some scrambled eggs and fresh fruit if you like and are able. But the point is, even if all you eat for breakfast is a chunk of SGR ham, at least you are eating something filling and real. Ham steaks also make a pretty convenient quick-dinner idea, whether you do breakfast for dinner or chop it up for soup or eat it on a sandwich. It even goes great as a centerpiece meat alongside mashed potatoes or rice!

Ham is a cut we produce a lot of because, well, the rear-end of a piggy is pretty large! We finally found a smokehouse that will do an all-natural cure for us, so we are excited to officially introduce this delicious and convenient cut of pork! Check out all our delicious and clean smoked products here.