Taking Comfort in the Joys

Taking Comfort in the Joys

Little things add up during the holidays, like pulling out the faded index card with your grandma’s cookie recipe or finally learning your dad’s secret for perfect prime rib (who knew it was the salt?!). Offering your 4-year-old niece the questionable advice told to you by your uncle: Santa has to drink so much milk — why not give him a little glass of whiskey, instead?

These are the small, glittering moments that create traditions and forge bonds over generations, and every family has their own. We asked our Snake River Farms colleagues for their favorite holiday comforts. The crazy thing is, every family is different, but our comforts share one intangible quality. They bring us closer together.

Perfect Prime Rib, Year after Year 

Duane and Stephanie Huffman have been married for 34 years. And for nearly every Christmas, prime rib has been the star of their table. And in all those years, their recipe has never failed them.

“I stole the recipe about 30 years ago from the son of a guy I worked with who was a chef,” Duane says. “We might have overdone it a little bit in the past, but that’s not the recipe’s fault. That’s the chef’s fault. And it still turns out great.”

DUANE: We have done a couple different kinds. Typically, we do a boneless prime rib. It’s kind of the thing for us. It brings the family together, and it feeds everybody.

STEPHANIE: I love it. I look forward to Christmas prime rib every year.

DUANE: You know, I try to pass this off on Stephanie every year for Thanksgiving, but it has never been accepted.

STEPHANIE: Yeah, no. We’re having turkey.

DUANE: This recipe is really basic and easy. The "secret" ingredient is Johnny's Seasoning Salt.

STEPHANIE: I like to take the leftovers and put them in the crock pot, and that becomes either beef tips with gravy over potatoes or a pot roast.

DUANE: We don’t use ribeye for pot roast! I always give her crap, but it’s always the best pot roast you’ve ever had.

Perfect Prime Rib 

1. Put a layer of rock salt in the roasting pan. (I don’t know why we do this, but we always have!)
2. Season up the prime rib with minced garlic, salt, pepper, and a heavy coating of Johnny's.
3. Set the oven on broil. Put the prime rib in the oven for maybe 15 to 20 minutes and get the crust going.
4. Drop the temperature to 250°F and then let it go for four or five hours until the internal temperature is 135°F. Then take it out of the oven.
5. Let it rest, slice it up, and it's time for dinner. 

> Discover prime rib perfection in our guide - Learn More

A Cut-and-dried Family Tradition

When Seth Mortensen’s family left South Dakota to move farther west, they lost easy access to one of their favorite snacks: Sturgis Beef Jerky. 

“It’s just the flavor profile of it,” he says. “In my opinion, it’s what jerky should be.”  

Seth’s sister-in-law would mail packages to Seth and his wife, but when she moved to Idaho their supply dwindled. Seth’s mom brings packages of jerky when she comes to visit and for Christmas (she once drove four hours to find a store that sold it), but a few years ago his family in Idaho had an idea. What if they just made it themselves? 

A holiday tradition was born.

“We actually make it together,” Seth says. “There isn’t really a recipe, it’s more like a process.” 

Making Jerky is simple, but over the years Seth and his family have worked out a few tips to make theirs as close to their favorite brand as possible. 

They start with 10 pounds of Snake River Farms chuck roast that they pop into the freezer for easier slicing. Once it has firmed up, Seth gets to the controversial part.


“The thickness of the slice is the most criticized because it affects the tenderness of it a lot,” Seth says. 


One of the key steps, he says, involves plenty of patience. “I think the thing that makes a big difference is that we slice the meat and then put it into a colander set in a bowl, then let it dry for a couple of days before putting it in the marinade.” 


That releases additional moisture, which is replaced by a salty, delicious marinade over the course of several days. After that, the dehydrator does the rest of the work. 

“It’s not a super involved process, but it's something everyone can do together,” he says. “The kids can help, and everyone takes turns watching and deciding when the next batch is ready.”

His kids, who are 7 and 5, have already embraced the tradition. “They pretty much are involved in the whole process,” Seth says. “They love taking the jerky off the trays and getting the first taste test.” 


Everyone — even the family dog that once pirated a two-pound bag for himself — snacks on homemade jerky throughout the holidays. By New Year’s Day, the supply is pretty much tapped out. 


Until next year.

Aunt Megan's Jerky 

Ingredients 

• 5 pounds SRF chuck roast
• 20 ounces soy sauce
• 12 shakes each of onion powder, garlic powder, 
• and lemon pepper
• Half a handful of dark brown sugar
• 10 to 12 drops Tapatio hot sauce
• Liquid Smoke, to taste

Directions

1. Slice the meat ¼-inch thick against the grain. Place sliced meat into a colander in a bowl to catch the drips. Then, put the colander, bowl, and meat into the refrigerator.
2. Mix the soy sauce, spices, sugar, hot sauce, and liquid smoke in a bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves. 
3. Add the drained beef to a pan. Pour the marinade over the beef and place the pan into the refrigerator for four to six days. Mix the beef and marinade every day to ensure the meat evenly absorbs the liquid. 
4. After four to six days, remove the beef from the marinade and transfer to a dehydrator. Sprinkle the beef with additional lemon pepper before starting the dehydrator. Dry to your preferred consistency. 

> Craft Jerky Excellence - Shop SRF Chuck Roast Now

A Little Lagniappe for Thanksgiving

Liz Moore’s family spent a lot of time in the Galveston and Houston areas of Texas, just a couple hours from the Louisiana border. 

“My dad was in the oil fields his whole career, and so we did a lot of Louisiana cooking,” she says. “It’s kind of our family’s thing.”

"We make a lot of gumbo, a lot of dirty rice, a lot of red beans and rice, and barbecue shrimp. We love Cajun food."

So when legendary chef and Louisiana icon Paul Prudhomme came out with “Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen” in 1984, it became a must-have. “You know, it's kind of funny. You can walk into anybody's house in our family, and they're always going to have ‘The Joy of Cooking,’ cookbook, an old church cookbook, and ‘Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen.’” 

Somewhere along the line, Liz’s family’s take on Prudhomme’s Cajun meatloaf became a must-have. “The funny thing about this meatloaf is, I’m not entirely sure how it ended up being a Thanksgiving tradition,” she says. “But we make it every year. We do the Cajun meatloaf and dirty rice in addition to a full Thanksgiving spread.” The meatloaf is always the most popular dish on the table, Liz says. No matter who is hosting, the meatloaf makes an appearance.

Liz makes her family's version with Snake River Farms ground beef and Kurobuta ground pork. Sometimes the meatloaf is smoked in a Traeger to add another layer of flavor.

At the table, the meatloaf is served with jalapeno gravy. But that's just Day 1. Liz says the leftovers are just as delicious, if not more so. "It is so good, and they are the coveted leftovers. That's the first thing to go. Her favorite snack is meatloaf and mashed potatoes sandwiched between the sides of a homemade roll then dipped in gravy. Is it a bit extra? Of course. In Louisiana, they have their own word for that: lagniappe. 

Cajun Meatloaf

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup finely chopped onions
• ¾ cup finely chopped celery
• ¾ cup finely chopped bell peppers
• ¾ cup finely chopped green onions
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ cup evaporated milk
• ½ cup ketchup
• 1½ pounds ground beef
• ½ pound ground pork
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
• ½ cup very fine dry breadcrumbs

Seasoning

• 2 whole bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground red pepper (preferably cayenne)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon white pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Combine seasoning and mix ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, celery, bell peppers, green onions, garlic, Tabasco, Worcestershire and seasoning mix. Sauté until mixture starts sticking excessively, about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping the pan bottom well. Stir in milk and ketchup. Continue cooking for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. Place beef and pork in an ungreased 13-by-9-inch 
4. baking pan. Add eggs, cooked vegetable mixture, and breadcrumbs. Mix by hand until thoroughly combined. In the center of the pan, shape the mixture into a loaf about 1½ inches high, 6 inches wide and 12 inches long.
5. Bake uncovered at 350°F degrees for 25 minutes, then raise heat to 400°F and continue cooking until done, about 35 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

> Infuse Flavor: Discover Cajun Meatloaf Magic - Shop Ground Beef & Kurobuta Ground Pork

The Sweetest Tradition of Them All

Like a lot of families, Kally McIntyre’s family makes cookies at Christmas. But unlike other households, they don't produce a mere plate or two.

“It’s 20 batches of cookies,” she says. “And it’s a deal.”

The baked goods have even taken over the place where most folks sit down to enjoy their holiday meals. “We don’t even eat at the dining room table during the holidays. We eat somewhere else,” she says. “The dining room table is covered — I mean, every surface is covered — in cookies. After dinner, the kids go up to the table and pick all of their cookies. That’s dessert. But then we fill up a giant platter for people to take some home.”

Some of the cookies have been passed down from Kally’s Grandma Wagner, but some are more of the moment, like gingerdoodles.* Then there are Linzer cookies, spritz, pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting, cutout sugar cookies with frosting, and sugar cookies without frosting.

*A CROSS BETWEEN A SNICKERDOODLE AND GINGERBREAD, WITH CINNAMON FROSTING SANDWICHED BETWEEN TWO COOKIES.

But one cookie is always in rotation: Grandma Wagner’s chocolate marshmallow cookies. 

It’s a chocolate cookie that’s a cross between a cookie and a brownie,” she says. “Then there's a marshmallow and the entire cookie is covered in chocolate.” Her grandmother would top the sugary treat with a walnut, but her mom often adds tiny candy cane confections. 

Kally starts the baking bonanza around Thanksgiving, and by the end of Christmas Day, “everybody is full of sugar and can't eat another cookie,” she says. So, Kally boxes up the cookies by type and stores them in the freezer.

"After the holidays, we have Christmas cookies after we eat dinner," she says. The cookie stash lasts for months into the next year. 

And as for those chocolate marshmallow cookies: Kally says Grandma Wagner enjoyed eating her beloved cookies until she died at 99. Maybe a little sweetness is the secret to a long life, after all.

Grandma Wagner's Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies 

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1¾ cups flour
• ⅓ cup baking cocoa
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup sour cream
• Full-size marshmallows, cut in half
• Walnuts

Frosting

• ⅓ cup melted butter
• ⅓ cup baking cocoa
• 5 tablespoons milk or half-and-half
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 2½ to 3 cups powdered sugar

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375°F. 
2. Cream butter and sugars, then add egg and vanilla. Sift the dry ingredients together. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the sour cream to the creamed butter mixture. Mix until combined. 
3. Drop by teaspoons onto a greased baking sheet, then bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven, then place ½ marshmallow onto each cookie. Bake an additional 1 to 2 minutes, until the marshmallow is slightly puffy. 
4. Mix the frosting ingredients together, adding more milk or half-and-half if the mixture is too thick. Grandma Wagner put ½ of a walnut on top of each cookie and then frosted the cookie.