Farm & Ranch Life

Wagyu Beef Stew

The first real cold front means it is stew weather. This one is simple, hearty and all in one pot, and Wagyu stew meat gets so tender after a slow simmer that it falls apart on your spoon. Serves 6, about 2 and a half hours.

Ingredients:

2 lbs Hooser Wagyu stew meat
1 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp Hooser beef tallow (or oil)
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 cups beef broth
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
4 carrots, cut into chunks
1 and a half lbs potatoes, cut into chunks
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 cup frozen peas (optional)

How to:
1. Pat the stew meat dry and toss it with the salt, pepper and flour.
2. Heat the tallow in a Dutch oven over medium high. Brown the beef in batches so it sears instead of steams, then set it aside.
3. Turn the heat to medium. Cook the onion 5 minutes, then stir in the garlic and tomato paste for 1 minute.
4. Pour in the broth and scrape up the browned bits. Add the Worcestershire, bay leaves, thyme and the beef.
5. Cover and simmer low for 1 and a half hours.
6. Add the carrots, potatoes and celery and simmer 45 minutes more, until everything is tender.
7. Stir in the peas, pull the bay leaves and season to taste.

Ranch tip: it is even better the next day. Make a big pot on Sunday and lunches are handled all week.

Introducing Hooser Whipped Tallow

We teamed up with M&C Tallow Co. to turn our own Hooser beef tallow into small-batch whipped tallow for your skin. Six scents plus a peppermint lip balm, all made right here in Italy, Texas.

Why tallow? It is one of the oldest skincare secrets there is. Beef tallow is rich in the same fats and vitamins (A, D, E, and K) that your skin already recognizes, so it absorbs quickly, moisturizes deep, and never leaves you greasy. A little old-fashioned, and that is exactly the point.

We whip ours light and fluffy and offer it in six scents: Lavender, Lemongrass Lavender, Bourbon, Sandalwood, Frankincense, and Heifer Honey, plus a peppermint lip balm to round out the lineup. A little goes a long way, so a single 4 oz jar lasts and lasts.

It started with a simple belief: nothing from our cattle should go to waste. Turning our own rendered tallow into something good for your skin is just one more way we honor the animal, support a local Texas maker, and keep it all close to home.

Shop Whipped Tallow →

Free Beef Fridays: October Calendar

Free Beef Friday runs every Friday throughout 2026 here at the ranch, and the October calendar is packed with something good every single Friday. Every $100 you spend in the shop earns a featured cut on us.

• OCTOBER 2 1 pack Wagyu cutlets
• OCTOBER 9 1 pack flank steak, Wagyu or Hooser Reserve
• OCTOBER 16 1 pack Hooser Reserve ground beef sliders
• OCTOBER 23 2 Wagyu Delmonico steaks
• OCTOBER 30 2 lbs Wagyu ground beef

This is our little way of saying thank you for supporting a local ranch. Every Friday in October the shop is open, the coffee is on, and that Friday’s featured cut is on us for every $100 you spend in the shop.

Pop in on the way home from work, swing by on your lunch break, or make it a new Friday tradition. Bring a friend, tell a neighbor, and try a cut you haven’t grilled before. Our crew loves talking beef and helping you pick the right cut for whatever you’re cooking that weekend.

Free Beef Friday runs every Friday throughout 2026, but each Friday’s featured cut is only available while supplies last and only in-store. Get here early for the best pick. Mark your calendars and we’ll see y’all on Friday.

Maggie Moo Round-Up: Pink Out Edition

Maggie Moo is on the MOO-ve! All month long, the Maggie Moo Mobile is out and about on deliveries. Spot her, snap a photo, post it publicly on Facebook or TikTok, tag @HooserCustomMeats and your location, and use #MaggieMoosOnTheMove to enter.

The prize: 4 lbs of Wagyu ground beef.

October Double Day: announced on Facebook at least 24 hours ahead. On Double Day, sightings in Frost, Mertens, Blooming Grove and Italy count too, and the prize doubles to 8 lbs of Wagyu ground beef.

This month Maggie is going pink for Breast Cancer Awareness. Catch her at Friday night Pink Out games, the feed store, the drive-thru, and just about anywhere folks are out and about. Follow us on Facebook and TikTok so you never miss a Double Day.

The fine print: sightings at the ranch never count, your post must be public and made the same day, and each household is limited to 1 Regular Day entry and 1 Double Day entry per month.

Cotton Is Coming In

Out here in Ellis County, fall turns the fields white. The bolls have opened, the leaves have dropped and the cotton pickers are starting to roll from one turnrow to the next. It is the busiest stretch of the year for every farm around us.

A John Deere picker pulls the lint and seed out of the open bolls and packs it into a round module wrapped in yellow plastic. Those modules sit at the edge of the field until the trucks haul them to the gin, where the lint is pulled off the seed, cleaned and pressed into bales.

Cotton and cattle have shared this country a long time. The seed the gin pulls out does not go to waste either: cottonseed has been feeding Texas cattle for as long as there have been gins, which is part of why you see cotton fields and pastures sitting side by side out here.

The trucks are running and the fields are emptying out fast, and we are right there with the camera. From the field to the freezer, every step matters, and you get to ride along for all of it.

Fall Is Here

The summer heat has finally broken, and fall is settling in. Mornings are crisp, the days are shorter, and the herd is enjoying the cooler weather. Fresh water, shade, and pasture rotation are still the daily routine, but the animals are moving comfortably and the grass is holding up well after a good summer of rotation.

Fall is also weaning season. The spring calves grew fast over the summer, so we are checking weights, making sure they are healthy and ready, and planning the timing so it is as low-stress as possible on both the calves and their mamas. It is one of the biggest jobs of the year, and getting it right sets up strong, healthy cattle heading into winter.

There is a lot to look forward to this season: cooler weather, good grazing, and the payoff of a summer of steady care. It is all part of how we make sure every steak that ends up on your plate came from a well-cared-for animal.

Fresh Beef, Always Stocked

We send roughly 20 to 30 head of cattle to the processor every month, which means the shop stays stocked with fresh cuts year-round. Every animal is dry-aged at least 21 days, hand-cut, vacuum-sealed, and flash-frozen so it’s ready for your freezer the same week it leaves the processor.

If you’re in the market for a quarter, half, or whole beef, just let us know and we’ll get you on the list. Custom cut to your preferences and packaged the way you want it. That’s a freezer full of beef raised right here on the ranch, and you choose every cut that goes into it.

Walk-ins are welcome too. The retail case stays full of steaks, ground beef, roasts, brisket, and everything in between. From the family cookout to the weeknight dinner, we have you covered. Fresh cuts, ready for everyone and anyone looking to stock the freezer.