Breed: Our cows belong to the Avileña negra ibérica [Black Iberian Avileña] breed, the native breed of the area. They are crossbreed with limousine studs as the mixture of both breeds is considered to improve the quality of the meat. Limousin studs are strong specimens, used to mobility and rotational herding.
Feeding: Our cattle are bred outdoors and are fed with forage and fodder produced in the farm. To reduce the environmental impact, we keep a low rate of animals so we cultivate the exact amount of pastures and grass that are needed to feed our flocks.
Natural cycle management
Our animals are not artificially fatten as we respect the natural cycle and their morphological development.
Calves are grown on a long-term lactation basis. This improves their welfare as they grow freely along their own mothers.
After weaning, they keep their natural development feeding with pastures and fodder. By the end of the process they start to be fed with natural cattle feed produced in our farm.
Integrated ecosystem/Increase of organic waste: Keeping livestock outdoors helps the pastures to be fertilised by the organic waste produced by the cattle that improves soil quality. Livestock farming interacts positively with the environment, developing a balanced and productive ecosystem..
Meat quality: The result of our caring is a high organoleptic quality meat, a rich source of many nutrients and of an excellent taste. Its bright red colour indicates the presence of antioxidants and omega-3 polyunsaturated fat. Our careful feeding and caring ensures our customers they get a premium product free of chemicals and antibiotics.
Meat cut: Our team is leaded by Miguel Ángel Valverde, butcher of Dehesa El Milagro, and José Tejedor, master butcher and our special advisor in meat cut. They both have a large professional expertise in meat preparation and cut that guarantees the quality of the pieces they cut, pieces that help the final customer to enjoy the whole flavour of the product.
Eco-certification and labelling: Our meat is certified and labelled with the Spanish Sello de Calidad y Certificación Ecológica [Eco-certification and Quality Seal] that guarantees the quality of the entire productive process (breeding, feeding and preparation).
BEEF AND PRIME BEEF
Beef can be categorized according to Spanish Law (Real Decreto 75/2009) in different qualities depending on the age and the gender of the animal.
Therefore, ternera [beef] stands for a female animal weaned at a minimum of five months old intended for slaughter at a maximum of 14 months after a minimum of three months intensive fattening, with a minimum carcase weight of 150 kg. And añojo [prime beef] refers to an animal weaned at a minimum of five months old intended for slaughter at a maximum of 16 months after a minimum of three months fattening, with a minimum carcase weight of 225 kg.
In Dehesa El Milagro we breed our animals ecologically until they are fully developed as beef (11 months) or prime beef (15 months). And although both meats are the same product, they are different in their age, climate conditions they are raised, season they are born, pasture quality, etc.
Our breeding systems do not allow selling veal meat as weaning is postposed to the latest moment and never before the first six months that calves spend outdoors fed by their mothers. We add at least another six months of breeding to guarantee a healthy and natural growth.
We consider crucial to ensure animal welfare as a way to protect their natural development, allowing the necessary time to achieve the aimed quality.
OXEN AND ADULT COWS
We also offer our customers the best red meat of adult animals that, after years of breeding, are finished by adapting their feeding to improve their quality.
Our oxen of Avileña breed are four year-old castrated bulls that herd together with the rest of the cattle, shepherded in rotational cycles to protect the pastures and prepare the stubble in the farm. This lets the animals to move semi-freely allowing them to have a natural feeding that improves significantly the meat quality.
Our exclusive ecological ox meat is simply delicious with an intense and mellow taste, bright red colour, with stripes of fine fat. In mouth, its tenderness is outstanding as well as its intensity and flavour.
We offer different cuts as sirloin, loin, T-bone steak, fillet steak, tenderloin and beef shank. We also sell 100% unspiced hamburgers and we are starting to market traditionally-made cecina [cured beef], prepared with the silverside and topside, aired from six to eight months, smoked and dried.
When cows end their breeding cycle, they are overfed for the last 3-4 months to get a tender and tasty red meat.
