Meet the people behind the ingredients! We are thrilled to introduce you to Brasstown Beef, a family operation run by Steve Whitmire in North Carolina. You'll find Brasstown Beef's sirloin steaks and sliced steak in our meal kits and in our grocery offerings. One taste of their steak, and you'll understand just how good it is. Brasstown Beef recently started offering home delivery of curated boxes of their product, which you can learn more about at the end of our interview with Steve!
Tell us about Brasstown Beef. How and when did your family's farm first get started?
Our family has been farming these mountains a long time. The first Whitmire, John, came over from Germany in 1757 and helped establish Whitmire, South Carolina. In 1820 my direct line moved up to Rosman, North Carolina, and there are still Whitmires around Brevard and Rosman today. My father bought the first 235 acres here at Brasstown in 1954, and over the years we grew that to the 1,020 acres we farm now. Brasstown Beef came out of all that. A family that knows its ground, its cattle, and its neighbors.
How has the operation evolved over time?
When my father passed in 1998, I had a decision to make. Sell the place or change how we did things. I changed how we do things. We moved from unregistered commercial cattle to raising registered animals and selling the cattle, and started building the herd around genetics, then paired that with careful nutrition management so the beef eats as good as it looks on paper. Brasstown is purely natural Angus raised cattle. We have gone from selling cattle to putting our beef on menus from Virginia Beach to Key West, and now on family tables through home delivery.
What makes your product stand out from the rest?
Most beef in the grocery case comes from somewhere nobody can name. Ours comes from us and our group of family farms that raise cattle right, just like we do.
That is the part people notice first, but the reason they come back is the beef itself. We spent years building this herd around genetics, and we pair that with nutrition management that does not cut corners. You get a steak that is consistent every single time. Tender, and beefy in a way people are not used to anymore.
Beef the way it ought to taste.
Favorite ways to enjoy the sirloin steaks or sliced steak?
I do not do much to a good steak. For sirloin, let it come to room temperature, dry it off, then kosher salt and coarse black pepper. Get a cast iron skillet or the grill screaming hot. Hard sear on both sides, pull it at 130 to 135 degrees for medium rare, and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before you cut it. A little butter at the end does not hurt.
The sliced steak is the weeknight hero at our house. Hot skillet, quick sear, and it is done in a few minutes. We pile it on toasted rolls with peppers and onions and a slice of provolone, or throw it over rice or a salad. It is also great in tacos. You do not need a recipe. You need heat and salt.
Tell us about your new Barn2Door delivery program!
We made it easy to get Brasstown Beef delivered straight to your door. You shop online through our Barn2Door store (linked here) and pick one of our curated boxes: the Family Farmhouse Box, Grill Master's Box, Smokehouse Box, Steakhouse Reserve Collection, Ground Beef Box, Monthly Essentials, or a Herd Share subscription.
Home delivery is free in the Greensboro, Charlotte, and Raleigh, North Carolina areas and the Atlanta, Georgia area, reaching about 90 miles out from Greensboro and about 30 miles out from Atlanta. If you are outside those areas, we have pickup points through retail stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. We are adding more delivery areas as we grow, so it is worth checking back.
Come see the farm sometime! We are at 1960 Brasstown Road, Brasstown, North Carolina.
