Wilderness Ranch - Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do you offer free shipping?
A: Yes, we do offer free Local Delivery to most of the major communities in Southern Ontario! Check out our interactive Local Delivery Map here to see if you qualify for free local delivery. Orders over $350 qualify for free shipping to certain areas. If your order does not qualify for free shipping we still do offer Local Delivery but a shipping charge will be applied at the checkout. Note: We keep our delivery charges at cost or below to make it as economical as possible for you to enjoy our delicious meats. We would like everyone to try our meats with out a prohibitive shipping cost!
Q: How will my order arrive?
A: Depending on which delivery service you have selected at the checkout.
~If you have WR Delivery, your meat will be safely packaged in a recyclable cardboard box and delivered to you via one of Our refrigerated delivery vans. We will send you an ETA for your order the evening before the posted delivery day.
~If you have selected Courier Delivery your order will be safely packed in an insulated cardboard box with sufficient cold packs or dry ice to keep your order frozen in transit until it arrives at your door. We ship these orders every Wednesday with arrival at your door on Thursday. You will be sent a tracking # so you can track the progress of your delivery.
~If you have ordered a large quantity of meat or a Half or Whole Beef or a Half or Whole Pig. We will either deliver it with one of our refrigerated vans or if you are to far away for us to economically do so, we will ship it with Erb Transport Refrigerated Carriers additional shipping fees will apply at cost for these orders.
Q: Is your meat fresh or frozen?
A: Frozen. Our meats are all flash frozen immediately after cutting and packaging. Some of you may wonder why we freeze our meats. First, it makes it much easier for us to safely deliver your meat not having to worry about it growing bacteria. Second, freezing is natures way of preserving! There is no need for any preservatives of any kind this way. We also vacuum seal all of our meats to lock in all the fresh nutritious vitamins, minerals and nutrients and also to increase the stability of the meat when it arrives at your doorstep. Vacuum sealed meat can easily last for up to one year in the freezer as long as the packaging has not been compromised in any way. Sorry we don't offer any fresh meat orders at this time.
Q: Do you deliver your 100% Grass Fed beef to Toronto?
A: Yes! All of our on-line store products, including our 100% Grass Fed & Finished Beef, Pasture Raised Pork and Chicken are available for delivery to Toronto, and the entire GTA, including Milton, Mississauga, Scarborough, Brampton, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Pickering, and Markham. In fact, we are now able to ship our products to all of southern Ontario - all the way from Windsor & Niagara Falls in the south, to Sudbury and North Bay in the north - and from Sarnia & Goderich on Ontario's west coast to Ottawa, Kingston and Cornwall in the east.
Visit our Shipping Page for more information on our shipping options.
Q: What are your animals fed?
A: Our Black Angus beef animals are 100% Grass Fed & Finished, which means they are never fed any grain at all! In the Spring, Summer and Autumn months, the cattle spend their days grazing on a variety of grasses in our pastures at the ranch. During the winter months, they are fed hay (dried grasses) which was prepared in the summer months for winter feeding.
Our Pasture Raised pigs have the freedom run free, dig, and root at will where ever they please throughout the summer months. During the cold winter months, they are inside a barn with warm straw and have access to the outdoors. In addition to their diet of grass, roots, insects and anything else they may find in the great outdoors, they are fed a diet of oats, peas and barley - no corn, wheat or soy ever!
Our Pasture Raised chickens spend their summer months in the great outdoors as well - feasting daily on fresh grasses and whatever insects and bugs can be found. Throughout the winter months, they are kept inside a warm barn and fed hay (dried grasses prepared in the summer for winter feeding). The birds are also supplemented with GMO free grains.
Q: Where is Wilderness Ranch located?
A: Wilderness Ranch is a family farm located in the heart of Perth County, about 45 minutes west of Kitchener/Waterloo and an hour and a half from Toronto and the GTA. When you purchase your meat from Wilderness Ranch, you are supporting your local family farm! Visit our Contact Page for directions to Wilderness Ranch.
Q: What sets your beef apart from other conventional grass fed beef?
A: Wilderness Ranch Grass Fed Beef is 100% born and raised on Wilderness Ranch. We DO NOT purchase calves from any other producer or the stockyards to raise as grass fed beef. When you order beef from us you can rest assured that the beef that you receive from us has never left the care of us here at Wilderness Ranch. We believe in taking responsibility for every stage in the life of the animal. Our cows graze in a peaceful environment the way God and nature intended them to live. They spend their lives eating what they were designed to eat, and living where they were designed to live.
Q: DRESSED WEIGHT: Why do I get less pounds then I pay for when I buy a Whole or Half beef?
A: When you buy a whole or half beef from Wilderness Ranch you will be charged by the dressed weight of the animal that has been designated to your order. Dressed Weight is the hot hanging weight of the carcass at time of slaughter. The process of cutting always takes some of the weight off the original dressed weight. With an average (live or on hoof) weight of 950 lbs and the average yield of 55 %, the typical steer will produce a 525 lb (dressed weight) carcass.The dressed beef (or carcass) will yield approximately 340 lbs of red meat and trim and 185 lbs of fat, bone and loss. This is roughly a yield of 65% from the dressed or hanging weight. The way to get more bang for your buck when ordering a whole or half is to get all the marrow bones, knuckle bones, heart, tongue, liver and oxtail, this will increase your yield to roughly 70% at no extra charge. You only pay for the dressed weight that the butcher gives me and the more you get out of that dressed weight the better your yield will be. Typically the price / lb of cut meat is about 10-35% higher then dressed weight price, since there is more handling, inventory tracking, storage and logistical issues that come into play. So all in all it really does pay to buy by dressed weight if you are buying a large quantity. The price / lb of meat that you end up with in your freezer will be less then if you were to buy all the individual cuts separately.
Q: What will I all get if I order a Whole or Half beef?
A: When you order a whole or half beef the total amount of beef you get will be called the cut weight. In this total amount of cut beef, typically 50% will be Ground Beef and the other 50% will be Steaks and Roasts. This percentage of ground beef to steaks and roasts will vary somewhat on your cutting instructions to the butcher. For example, if you would like all the tougher cuts of meat (rump roast, and round roast) ground into the ground beef you will have more then 50% of the cut weight in ground beef. If you are wondering what you will do with this much ground beef, you have some options: you may specify to the butcher that you would like more stewing beef, or you can get creative and make your own burgers with the extra ground beef as well. The ground beef is exquisite in the fact that there is the perfect amount of fat. Not to much, and not to little! Just Perfect. The taste is out of this world tasty as well! 100% Black Angus Grass Fed and Finished Beef!
STEAKS AND ROASTS: Included in the Steaks and Roasts you will get: prime rib, round, rump, chuck, roasts and tenderloin, strip loin, t-bone, porterhouse, sirloin, and such like. Some steaks are not available depending on what other steaks you would like. Example: If you would like a strip loin and tenderloin the t-bone will not be available because it includes to two cuts. Click here to order now
Q: Is the meat dry aged?
A: All of the Wilderness Ranch Black Angus beef is dry aged for 10-14 days in a special cooler where the temperature is regulated to a certain degree and the correct amount of air movement is allowed to move through the cooler. The process enhances beef by two means. First, moisture is evaporated from the muscle. This creates a greater concentration of beef flavor and taste. Second, the beefs natural enzymes break down the connective tissue in the muscle, which leads to more tender beef. It's generally accepted that the taste of dry-aged beef is almost incomparable to that of wet-aged.
Q: Is Your grass fed beef marbled?
A: Definition: White flecks and streaks of fat within the lean sections of meat. So named because the streaks of fat resemble a marble pattern. Also called intramuscular fat, marbling adds flavor and is one of the main criteria for judging the quality of a cut of meat. In general, the more marbling it contains, the better a cut of meat is.Yes, our beef is marbled. Many of our customers will tell you that the marbling is second to none. Lean meat is not necessarily better, this is often a sign the animal was not properly finished. The healthy properties of CLA-conjugated linoleic acid and omega-3 are concentrated in the fat of the animal, not in the protein portion. Although there are many factors that can influence the flavour and tenderness of meat, marbling is the best indicator of flavourful, juicy meat.
Q: What is Your summer sausage like?
A: Definition: Summer sausage is the general term for any sausage that can be kept without the need of refrigeration.
Summer sausage is usually a mixture of pork and beef. Summer sausage can be either dried or smoked, and curing ingredients can vary significantly, although some sort of curing salt is almost always used. Seasonings may include mustard seeds, black pepper, garlic salt, or sugar. Wilderness Ranch summer sausage is very exquisite and made to perfection. Our summer sausage is made by a sausage maker that has been in business for many years and has very popular summer sausage and many recipes to choose from. The only recipe we use is: ALL BEEF. We use our own 100% Grass Fed, Black Angus beef - the beef is top quality, and no organs or scrap meat is used.Summer sausage is a PIONEER way of preserving beef, and a very good one at that. Just like in the olden days, our summer sausage can be kept without refrigeration. Although it can be kept with out refrigeration, we strongly recommend that you refrigerate if you plan to eat it at a later date. The summer sausage will come to you vacuum packed and frozen for freshness and quality. Our summer sausage will grace your taste buds with the taste of yesteryear, and bring back memories of years gone by.
