Amarillo or bust: Part two
Though educating center-of-the-plate specialists was the No. 1 goal during the International MBA class, we made sure they were well-fed, too. When I wasn’t snapping plate photos for Black Ink’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, I was taking my own to share. (While it felt a little braggy to send them to my husband who was back home eating leftovers and solo parenting in my absence, I knew he’d appreciate the beefy job perks.)
But we knew we were in for an especially big treat when we walked in to Trail Boss Ranch Cooking on Nov. 15. Danielle Matter, the event’s planner, and I arrived early to make sure everything was ready to go while the class finished up touring the packing plant. The first thing we noticed was a centerpiece created just for us by the trail boss himself: Two Certified Angus Beef brand briskets on ice.
“You can’t make good brisket without the Certified Angus Beef brand,” he said.
After the class finished their meal (for many, it was their first time to have brisket, a Texas staple), they loaded the bus again for the 100-mile drive to the Bradley 3 Ranch.
Though all of the participants had been excited to set foot on a working ranch (and the excitement only grew as the bus travelled down the final four miles of “caliche road,” the local term for gravel road), few were prepared for what they’d see.
“This place is as big as my country!” one participant exclaimed.
After they got over the shock of being told to watch out for rattlesnakes by James Henderson, the class eagerly looked around the sale barn, a new high-tech chute, and a pen of bulls that will be offered in the operation’s February sale. They had many questions, and the majority said it was their favorite stop so far.
As the sun set, the class gathered around James, Mary Lou Bradley-Henderson and Minnie Lou Bradley for a photo op under the ranch gate. They asked about the cattle guard, those funny-looking birds (Sandhill cranes) and cattle rustlers before returning to the barn for a chuck wagon dinner.
Tomorrow they’d be 1,200 miles away in Wooster, Ohio. But, tonight, they had the ranch.
-Katrina
Katrina Huffstutler is a freelance writer based in Electra, Texas. She’s a frequent contributor to the Black Ink team and lover of functional cattle and quality beef.
P.S. Missed part one? Catch up here.
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