Bar Five Blast!

Golden Friday! by Liz Wemeier

2011-11-26T23:31:00.000-05:00

At the Bar Five Ranch, the house, the farm and all its inhabitants can breath a deep sigh of relief, for Friday marks the first Friday off since April. For new readers, allow me to explain; Bar Five is a family-owned business with deep roots in value, tradition and customer satisfaction. We (meaning the family and I) bring farm-fresh products to the Farmers Market in Downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis every Saturday and Sunday throughout Spring, Summer and late Fall (and even WINTER!) Working as a farmer is easier said than done! Alone with the changing weather, harsh temperatures, spiking electric and gas prices makes sustainable farming in the 21^st Century un-ideal for a small business.

On top of growing crops and animals, there is also a growing family; with 4 kids all ages spread out through college to junior high school the parents and owners at Bar Five have learned to juggle their dynamic lifestyle for 11 years!

The busy season for Bar Five runs from April 1^st to October 31^st, hitting all three seasons Spring, Summer and Fall, they can be found at 7 markets a week on average! They specialize in fresh poultry, pork and beef products along with hand-made chicken sausages in a variety of flavors not found anywhere else. Their name, family, surrounding vendors and customers are all unique, which is reflected in the meat. The dynamic and large offering of meat varieties within the brat category alone is astonishing!

But to relate why this Friday, November 25, 2011 was called “Golden Friday” instead of Black Friday is really quite simple: it marks the end of the busy season and the beginning of relaxation and rest. By the time I have eaten my share of turkey on Thanksgiving and have come out of my “turkey coma” I feel the exhaustion of the past 5 days. In 5 days my family’s business processes, cleans, packages, labels and delivers turkeys to our dedicated customers at the farmers markets either a day or two before Thanksgiving. Along with most of the family being in school and some at college 70 miles away the production seemed much harder this year. But not to fear, having worked with family in tighter situations has brought on manageable teamwork and great experiences for all at Bar Five.

While some families decide to brave the crowds and shop early Friday or other families decide to enjoy their relatives company, Bar Five is outside tidying up the far-too-long neglected house. Friday allowed for John and Jake to work on the cattle drinker. One of the most important and necessary elements animals need to survive in the winter is: water (clean water). John and Jake fixed the float and small heater that keeps the water from freezing in our Minne-Snowta weather! Jess and Liz hauled in small square bales for the chicken, duck/goose, turkey and sheep pens and insulated the inside corners and floors for the coming cold. Later Jake hauled in the rest of the large round bales from the fields; Jess and Liz worked to remove posts from the temporary fences that were put up earlier in spring, summer and fall. The night ended on a good note as Jess and Liz found a surprise in the cattle’s hay this evening: 3 large goose eggs!

THANKSGIVING TURKEYS!

2011-11-16T13:17:00.000-05:00

BAR FIVE is once again providing

“Farm-Fresh, Free-Range, All Natural”

Thanksgiving Turkeys!

"Happy Thanksgiving"

from the

Bar Five Family!

HOW WE GROW FARM-FRESH

WE DON’T USE ANTIBIOTICS, HORMONES OR ANIMAL BIPRODUCTS!

(WE WANT TO EAT TURKEY TOO, SO WE DON’T ADD ALL THE JUNK!)

FREE-RANGE ALLOWS FOR 24/7 ACCESS TO PASTURE

WE GROW THEM OURSELVES

Market Pick-Up Days and Times for Turkeys

Minneapolis Farmers Market

HWY 55 & Lyndale Ave

Tuesday, NOV. 22^nd 9a.m. to 12

St. Paul Farmers Market

Downtown St. Paul, 5^th & Wall St.

WEDNESDAY, NOV 23^RD 10 A.M. – 4 P.M.

Fall on the Farm

2011-11-16T11:41:00.000-05:00

Fall is often regarded by many Minnesotans as their favorite season, for the astonishing colors of yellow, red, gold, and green are only available for viewing in a short, abrupt season.

Cool, brisk morning air with the sun barely peaking over the horizon, streaking the sky with pink, purple and blue ripples across the Minnesota blue sky.

The BAR FIVE family eagerly starts the day to take care of the animals and start the harvest season! Everyone this fall season seems to be enjoying the nice warm weather that has carried us into the middle of October. The intimidating apprehension of winter occupies the minds of farmers and fellow Minnesotans alike.

With soybeans, corn and hay to reap before the nice warm weather turns to freezing cold and the rush of finding a home for all crops and animals to bunk is occupying the minds of all farmers.

Turning of Seasons

2011-10-04T16:50:00.000-04:00

As schools begin anew, the weather changing to accompany the fall harvest season, the leaves painted with beautiful displays of autumn colors.... Bar Five also prepares for the coming months.
With the Farmers Markets on the weekends, the family at Bar Five never ceases to continue the family tradition of excellence and brings "farm-fresh" meats and eggs to its customers!

Check out these fall time pictures of the farm and all its occupants! :)
Notice the fall color of brown, green, and yellow.

Soybean Field

Hay Meadow

Summer in Review!

2011-09-14T17:14:00.000-04:00

As usual, Bar Five continuously dedicates themselves to the community and local 4-H competition and showing of animals.
Jake and Jess showed sheep and cattle this year at the Sibley County Fair.
Later they went on to the MN State Fair for the 4-H Chicken BBQ contest that took place by the DNR fish ponds!

Upcoming Party

2011-06-07T21:44:00.000-04:00

Dear Bar Five Blog Followers!
It is to my greatest pleasure to inform you that MIK WEMEIER, JOHN WEMEIER's daughter has graduated from MAYER LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL on Sunday, June 5th 2011. She will be celebrating her graduation AND 18th Birthday on JUNE 12th, 2011, and she wants to invite all of her Bar Five friends to a HUGE feast and celebration! (Please don't feel obligated to come out and bring a gift, your presence in celebrating, eating great food catered by BAR FIVE and having fun with the Bar Five Family is a gift enough!

The celebration will be held at:

Baylor Regional Park

Norwood Young America (NYA)

10775 County Road 33
The Party runs from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
This means that Bar Five will be cutting early from the SUNDAY market in both ST. PAUL and MINNEAPOLIS Farmers market. We are going to leave at 12 p.m., so please come early to purchase your meat.

Spring Rain at the Bar Five Ranch!

2011-05-24T00:55:00.001-04:00

Dear Followers,
this past month of May has been quite.... Dreary! :( Going to the market this weekend we had many amazing and wonderful customers come through the harsh and pounding rain... determined to GET OUT!
Decidingly-determined to get to the market for a fresh dozen of EGGS or meat for the following nice days of sunshine for the grill... marketeers dodged raindrops and came prepared for mother nature's defiant weather!
Similarily, the animals at the Bar Five Ranch were not going to be kept indoors! (or in-Barns) LOL!
Posted are captured moments of the rainy Saturday on May 21st of the turkeys, chickens and other random pictures of life on the farm at Bar Five Ranch! Enjoy.

Our field road as the rain came down lightly, Mik caught this pic for her Photo class and it is AMAZING!

Mik scored a moment of with our turkeys enjoying the bright morning sunshine before the rain on Saturday!

One of the very many chickens running around on our farm that decided to venture out into the wet rain for fresh air and exercise!

The field road AFTER the rain and clouds slightly cleared up!

A pair of Canadian geese on the field road, in the rain, enjoying the warm shower! <3
Anyone need any dandelions for wine-making or tinctures?
I feel like I have my own personal "Yellow-Brick Road" LOL!

Some really cool-looking clouds over our homestead!

More clouds!

Clouds AGAIN!

In the making.... SAUSAGE!

2011-04-21T23:22:00.004-04:00

Jessy Labeling and Vacuum Sealing the Snack Sticks!

Close up of the Snack Sticks in the vacuum sealer

MMMMM! Deliciousness!

Jessy and Snack Sticks Display after Sealing!

CLOSE UP! SMILE! :)

Dad (John) and Dave stuffing and measuring the snack sticks before they enter the smokehouse


Mik pricing meat at the meat scale and LOVING her job!

How well do YOU know your sausage maker?

In our case, BAR FIVE has many MAKERS, in fact they are all FAMILY!

Step-By-Step we handle the meat, from stuffing, smoking, packaging and labeling the product!

How many others can say they get a "CLOSE-UP" on their producer?

-Happy Eatings!

Easter Egg Coloring!

2011-04-21T23:02:00.000-04:00

Dear Readers,
This week at Bar Five we colored Easter Eggs for our family festivities! Check out our fun Family Photos!

These colorful expressions of Easter will be at the St.Paul and Minneapolis Farmers Market this Weekend from 9 to 12!

Second Week of Spring Market!

2011-04-14T20:28:00.000-04:00

Spring Is HERE!

How are you showing your

“SPRINGY” FEVER?

Bar Five Meat and Poultry Celebrates by waking up the JOKE BOX!

What animal always goes to bed with its shoes on?
A horse!

What do you call a pig with no clothes on?
Streaky bacon!

What did the farmer call the cow that would not give him any milk?
An udder failure!

Here is some fun FARM INFORMATION you wouldn’t find anywhere else!

· The average cow can smell up to 6 miles away!

· There are 350 squirts in a gallon of milk!

(A squirt is defined by the process of hand milking a cow)

· A cow daily produces 7 gallons of milk a DAY!

· 46,000 glasses of milk per year for ONE COW!

· A cow is an herbivore- only has teeth on the bottom of its jaw!

Specialty Items this WEEK!

Ø Tuscan Chicken Brat

(Tomato, Basil and Parmesan Cheese)

Ø Raspberry Chiptole Turkey Burgers

Ø Chicken Pot Pies!

Ø Blueberry Chicken Breakfast Links

Ø Beef Snack Sticks- Made this week!

We will also have COLORED Easter Eggs again this week!

Order today- Custom made/ Pre-Colored Easter Eggs!!

BAR FIVE MEAT AND POULTRY

Will be at BOTH

St. Paul and Minneapolis Farmers Markets

EVERY SATURDAY!

Check out our BLOG PAGE TODAY!

http://barfiveblast.blogspot.com/

or e-mail us at:

mailto:barfivemeatandpoultry@gmail.com

Grilling Idea #1

2011-04-07T15:19:00.000-04:00

Hello! Are you tired of cooking indoors? With March's cold, snowy weather I am ready to pull out my grill and flare it up! Today I am going to share with you one of my favorite "chicken on the grill" receipes.

Preparation:
* 2- 1/2 Chickens
* Seasoning- Season salt (my preffered seasoning),
but there are other options like: salt and pepper, grilling herbs, McCormick's Kickin' Chicken rub or your own!
* Grill

Instructions:
1) Start grill
2) As the grill is warming up, remove chicken from the plastic package, discard the plastic in the waste/recycling.
3) Put chicken on a clean plate or surface
5) Trim chicken by removing excess skin or fat
- this is another personal preference, it also helps reduce flare-ups as chicken is cooked over the grill
6) Season chicken with desired seasoning
7) When grill is ready, place chicken on the grill.
PREFERABLY BONE SIDE DOWN!
- this allows for an even cooking of the meat on the opposite side
- reduction in lost amount of juices and dry white meat
- reduces flare ups
-easier, just put the chicken on the grill and let it cook for 25- 40 minutes
(may vary on the type of grill and setting of heat)
8) Check chicken for doneness by using a thermometer and placing it in the white and dark meat.
Thermometer must read 165 degrees Farenheight!
9) Enjoy!

Spring has Come! So has the Markets!

2011-04-07T15:01:00.000-04:00

Greetings Customer!

Come help

BAR FIVE

Celebrate the OPENING of

SPRING FARMERS MARKET

this weekend!

EVERY Saturday both Minneapolis & St. Paul Farmer’s Markets will be OPEN!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Getting Ready for Easter?

We have got you covered…

Sign up today for

BAR FIVE EASTER SPECIALS!

v HAM (original wood-smoked ham)

v Smoked Whole Turkey

v Fresh Whole Turkey

v Rabbit – NEW!

v Leg of Lamb

v Pork Crown Roast

This Week at the Farmer’s Market….

v Regular (Wood Smoked) Bacon

v Hungarian Pepper Bacon

v Smoked Turkey Legs

v Raspberry Chipotle Turkey Burgers

v Chicken Pot Pies

v Ground Beef

v Fresh Chicken

-Whole

- Breast

- 1/2 Chickens- Get your grills ready!

- Leg & Thigh Quarters

- Wings

-Drummies.

v Chicken Sausages

v Pork Brats

v Beef Bacon

v Chorizo Sausage

v Meatloaf Mix

v Breakfast Sausage

- Smoked Links

- Zesty Breakfast Patties

- Bulk Breakfast Sausage

- Chorizo Sausage

- Chicken Breakfast Links (3 Flavors!)

Any Questions? Comments? Orders?

Contact us at:

Phone 507-964-5612

E-Mail: barfivemeatandpoultry@gmail.com

Spring Break, College Visit, Baby Calves and Sunshine

2011-03-27T17:59:00.000-04:00

This past week Liz came home for college spring break and helped mom (Laura) finish wallpapering the kitchen and mud-room. Then, they worked on putting the house back together, including pictures or wall ornaments.

This coming week Mik is visiting Liz at Saint Catherine University on Monday and Tuesday! Mik is going to get the college experience of going to classes, viewing campus, reading a campus map, and touring St. Paul Highland.

This past weekend there were 2 baby calves born! One was early Friday afternoon to Jacob favorite heifer, Shasta, the heifer he took to the county fair. A beautiful bull calf was born to Shasta on the cold Friday night. The second calf was born to a cow named Montana, for she came from Montana state and has a distinct red/brownish color to her coat. This momma cow is very protective of her calf and we have not yet been able to find out the gender of this calf. :(

SUNSHINE!! When will we get it? I know!
This week promises to give us lots of sunshine until this weekend, then we will be getting lots of warm weather to melt the snow.

Thursday Night Prep

2011-03-25T00:32:00.000-04:00

Good Evening!
Tonight we are getting prepared to prepare ourselves for Friday's preparation for Saturday St. Paul Farmers market! (wow what a mouthful)

That includes coming up with a new product item: Turkey Breast Roast!
Ever heard of it? NOPE, neither have we! So now we are going to shake up the kitchen with a healthy piece of meat and bake it in the oven with some vegetables! mmmmm YUM :)

Smoked Chickens are marinating and being prepped for the smoke house, we will smoke them tomorrow morning so they are fresh for Saturday! There are many ideas and uses for Smoked Chicken, like:

Chicken Salad- Top off your favorite lunch or dinner salad with chunks of smoked chicken
Chicken Soup- Add smokey and salty flavor to your favorite soup
Smoked Chicken- as the main course, add favorite vegetables, (potatoes, green beens, sweet corn)

We will also have Rabbit tomorrow!

Chicken Pot Pies also will be brought, so if you have a hankerin' for a juicy, tasty pot pie... come and get them! :)

Snowed INN!

2011-03-23T23:49:00.000-04:00

Today the Bar Five kids had NO SCHOOL... due to the large amount of snow, rain and ice on the roads.
As everyone was home today we needed a meal that would be filling and fitting for a cold day.

MIK pushing snow and having fun! (=

One of Bar Five's daughters, MIK, pushed snow around the farm to continue farm chores for this evening!

And then.... to she came into the warm house for lunch and was surprised with a feast.... ROAST TURKEY!

Roast Turkey on a Winter Day is wonderful memory of HOME!

Even the animals were out in the snow today, I guess they can handle a few more days of cold and snow.... they should be used to it by now!

As a follower of Bar Five Blast... what did you do on your Snow Day? (if you had one) How did you spend the day enjoying the extra few inches of snow? Let us know! ;)

Cold Weather calls for a Warm Meal!

2011-03-20T22:12:00.000-04:00

Tonight Bar Five is creating a warm meal for all its' children: Liz, Mik, Jess and Jake are eagerly awaiting a warm beef roast to emerge from the oven. Its wrapped carefully in aluminum foil to preserve the flavor and juice that will be turned into a rich gravy to accompany the rosemary and garlic potatoes, green beans and slices apples.
Tomorrow the left over meat will join the children at school as Roast Beef Sandwiches for lunch! Ohh YUM!

THANK YOU!!!

2011-03-13T13:51:00.000-04:00

Here is a big "THANK YOU" to all our St. Paul and Minneapolis customers who came to visit us at the market!
We made it through the cold, bone-chilling wind, along with slippery ice patches today that made the market less lively and cheerful today! :(
But, no matter! There is a predicted amount of sunshine and warm weather coming to MN to brighten up the market!
Keep in touch for EASTER SPECIALS soon to be posted to our Facebook Account and here at the Bar Five Blast!
:)

St. Paul Farmers Market TODAY

2011-03-12T09:09:00.001-05:00

Come see Jake, Mik, John and Liz @ St. Paul today!
Also, come pick up you CORNED BEEF, IRISH BACON and BEEF BRISKET for the upcoming St. Patrick's Day Event! :)
Hope to see you there!

Spreading the Wings!

2011-03-11T00:10:00.000-05:00

BAR FIVE MEAT AND POULTRY

Heading out to acquaint wholesome, nutritious food to attentive customers pursuing a healthier, alternative lifestyle!

Mission Objective: Inform the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area with BAR FIVE's meat and eggs

Step 1: Head to the FARMER'S MARKET weekly on Saturdays...(yes even in the winter!)

Step 2: Offer Fresh, Quality products to customers without taking the flavor of the farm out of the product or selection!