Farm & Ranch Life

Chicken Fried Steak and Cream Gravy

The first cool front is the signal for this one. Hooser cutlets come to you already tenderized, so supper is down to a good dredge, hot tallow and a cream gravy you build in the same pan. Cast iron if you have it.

Ingredients:
4 Hooser Reserve or Wagyu cutlets
2 cups flour
2 tsp black pepper, plus more for the gravy
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
Half tsp garlic powder
2 eggs beaten into 1 and a half cups buttermilk
Hooser beef tallow for frying
3 cups whole milk
Mashed potatoes, for serving

How to:
1. Whisk the flour with the pepper, salt, paprika and garlic powder. Put the buttermilk and eggs in a second dish.
2. Dredge each cutlet in flour, then buttermilk, then flour again. Let them rest 10 minutes so the coating sets.
3. Heat a half inch of tallow in the skillet to 350 degrees. Fry two at a time, 3 to 4 minutes a side, until deep golden. Drain on a rack, not a paper towel.
4. Pour off all but about 4 Tbsp of drippings. Whisk in 4 Tbsp of the seasoned flour, cook a minute, then add the milk a little at a time. Simmer until it coats a spoon and pepper it heavier than feels right. Gravy over the steak, never beside it.

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: September Calendar

Free Beef Fridays run year-round here at the ranch, and the September calendar is packed with something good every single Friday. Spend $100 in the shop and walk out with a featured cut on us.

• SEPTEMBER 4 2 Delmonico steaks, Hooser Reserve or Wagyu
• SEPTEMBER 11 2 lbs Wagyu ground beef
• SEPTEMBER 18 1 Hooser Reserve hammer
• SEPTEMBER 25 20% off all beef, birthday week

This is our little way of saying thank you for supporting a local ranch. Every Friday in September the shop is open, the coffee is on, and that Friday’s featured cut is on us when you spend $100 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 Fridays run year-round, 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: Football Edition

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

The prize: 1 pack of flank steak. Spot Maggie out on the route, snap the pic, tag us, and you could walk away with supper on the house.

September Double Day: one day each month is a special Double Day, announced on Facebook the day before it happens. On Double Day, Maggie can be spotted in Frost, Italy, Mertens, or Blooming Grove, and the prize doubles to 2 packs of flank steak.

Half the fun is the hunt. Maggie turns up all over town — Friday night ballgames, the feed store, the tailgate lot, the drive-thru — just about anywhere folks are out and about. Keep your eyes peeled all month long, because every single sighting is a fresh chance to win and a good excuse to wave hello.

It is one of our favorite ways to get out into the community, say thank you to the families who keep this ranch going, and put some premium beef on your table while we are at it. Give us a follow on Facebook or TikTok so you never miss a Double Day, and be sure to tag us when you spot her — we always love seeing where Maggie turns up next.

The fine print: sightings at the ranch don’t count, accounts must be public, follow all the rules to qualify, and only 2 entries per household per month (one Regular Day plus one Double Day).

Keep your phone handy. Maggie’s out there making deliveries and spreading the love all month long.

Cotton Is Coming In

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

A stripper takes the whole boll, lint and seed together, 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.

Turning Toward Fall

The worst of the summer heat is starting to break, and you can feel the shift coming. Mornings are cooler, the days are getting a little shorter, and the herd is settling into the easier end of the season. 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.

This is also when our attention turns toward fall. The spring calves have grown fast over the summer, and we are starting weaning prep — 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 as the season turns — 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.