Day 22 of my “30 Days of MN Agriculture” is Tiffanie Tripp from Graise Farm. Graise Farm is located in Faribault. They raise pastured ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I love Tiffanie’s story about duck eggs. I learned a lot the nutritional value of duck eggs! It’s important to me that I share all types of farms and if you are looking for niche farms, please research the Minnesota Grown directory.
She also included a recipe – Spanish Tortillas (end of post)!
Social Media Sites:
Facebook: Graise Farm
Youtube: Graise Farm
Instagram: Graise Farm
Tell me a little about your farm and/or business?
Graise Farm is a small, diverse livestock farm located in between Faribault and Northfield. Formerly a dairy farm, we have repurposed many of the outbuildings into chicken coops and shelters for ducks, goats and pigs. All of our animals have daily access to the outdoors year-round and are raised humanely.
How long have you farmed or been in business?
2 years – We started raising a few chickens in November 2014.
Tripp family
Tell me a little about what you grown/raise/produce or service provided.
At Graise Farm, we raise pastured pigs, egg-laying chickens and ducks, broiler chickens, turkeys and goats. All animals have daily access to the outdoors. Almost all animals are fed certified organic feed with the exception of one flock of chickens that are fed locally raised feed(non-organic).
Where do you sell or provide services to? Who is your end consumer?
Our pasture-raised pork is sold direct to consumers by the half hog. We sell chicken and duck eggs at the Faribault Farmers’ Market and Linden Hills Farmers’ Market. Graise Farm chicken and duck eggs are available at Just Food Coop in Northfield. We sell our non-organic chicken eggs to Bluebird Cakery and under the brand Local Yolks at the Crack of Dawn Bakehouse in Faribault. Broiler chickens and eggs are available for sale at the farm. Most recently we started selling duck eggs to restaurants in Minneapolis that source food locally.
What makes your farm/business unique or special? What are you proud of?
Our farm is a retired dairy farm that has been in Tiffany’s family since 1944. We are proud to be repurposing the old dairy buildings and utilizing the land to raise diverse livestock species bringing the farm back to its roots and how it was in the mid-twentieth century.
Ducks
Why do you grow/raise/produce? What went into your decision to do what you do?
Initially, our goal was to raise food that we consumed ourselves. In our first year, we raised chickens for eggs and meat and pastured-pork, all organic fed. After taking a few farm classes through the Sustainable Farming Association, our interests changed from not only raising animals for food, but to also raise animals for different purposes on the farm. Our pigs root/till the ground. Chickens and ducks eat insects and provide high nitrogen fertilizer. This year we added goats to help control invasive plants and to reclaim old pastures.
What is one interesting fact about your farm/crops/livestock/business you would like to share.
You can eat duck eggs. In fact, duck eggs are highly nutritious. They have 50% more omega 3’s and 30% more protein than chicken eggs. You can use duck eggs for egg dishes in place of chicken eggs. Many people like duck eggs for baking as they are larger and richer adding more flavor to cakes and other baked goods. Duck eggs also bind better when baking with gluten-free flours.
Pigs
What is one thing you wish consumers knew about what you do or your farm/business?
GRAISE stands for Grassfed Raised Humanely Animals In a Sustainable Environment. These are all important values for us and our farm.
Who are your customers? Or what would you like to tell your customers?
Our customers are consumers that care about humanely raised animals and that seek out highly flavorful food from our pasture raised animals.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
We are organizing a new Winter Farmers’ Market in Faribault, MN to make it easier for consumers to buy locally produced food year-round. It will take place Saturdays 1-4pm at the Paradise Center for the Arts in historic downtown Faribault from November 19th to December 17th. Please join us! For market details see https://www.facebook.com/faribaultwinterfarmersmarket
Spanish Tortilla
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 lbs potatoes
- 1/2 small to medium onion
- 6-8 eggs
- 1 tsp salt or more
- 2 C olive oil
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly slice. Heat olive oil to a very hot temperature in a large frying pan. Oil should be about ¾” deep to cover potatoes. Add the potatoes and onions(optional). Completely coat them with oil. Reduce the heat slightly and continue frying. Stir frequently to prevent browning potatoes and using a straight edge spoon or spatula, cut or dice potatoes as they cook. When you can easily cut through the potatoes (about 10-15 min.) use a slotted spoon to remove the potatoes and onions from the frying pan and place them in a bowl. Remove the oil from the pan and place in a glass jar or container to use later.
- In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and salt well. Add the eggs to the potatoes and mix well. Using an 8-10" non-stick frying pan, return some of the oil(about 1/8c) to the pan and let it reheat. There should be a solid coating on the bottom of the frying pan to prevent the egg and potatoes from sticking. Once the oil is hot, pour in the potato mixture. Do not mix eggs in the pan. Let the egg mixture sit in the pan and turn the heat down so it doesn’t brown too fast. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to firm the edges of the tortilla around the edges. Shake the pan frequently to keep the egg mixture from sticking to the bottom.
- ?Now comes the fun part! Once the egg mixture is fully cooked through on the bottom of the pan and around the edges, place a large plate over the pan. The plate should be slightly larger than the diameter of the pan. Drain off some of the oil and flip the tortilla out on to the plate. (I suggest doing this over your kitchen sink.) Then immediately return the tortilla back into the pan sliding it off of the plate to finish cooking the other side. Cook on low heat about 5-7 minutes. Experiment with cooking less or more time. Some people like the inside to be more runny and others like it more cooked.
- ?This is the traditional Spanish tortilla. Once you've mastered this, try adding Spanish chorizo, peas or other ingredients that you like.
- ?
- Serves 3 as a main dish or 4-5 as an appetizer or side dish. This dish can be eaten for breakfast lunch or dinner or anytime in between.
More pictures:
Eggs
Chickens
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