Branding Day

Branding is a BIG chore. We spend a lot of time preparing for the big day and let me tell you it is WORK. It is also one of the best days of the year. We calve earlier than most (in January), so we tend to be one of the first brandings of the year, which is nice because once we are done with our branding, then we can enjoy everyone else’s!

What’s on the Menu?

One of my favorite parts of branding is the food, so of course I go all out! Let’s see what’s on the branding day menu:

Branding Day Breakfast:

First thing in the morning, I make my breakfast casserole bake. We always have company stay the night before the branding and I like to feed them before a long day’s work. It is the perfect breakfast recipe to feed a small crowd!

After breakfast, everyone saddles their horses and rides to gather the cattle.

When the riders get back, we work our cattle and sort the cows from the calves. After this, we start the branding. Ropers ready their horses, rope the calves, and drag them out to the wrestlers. Two people will wrestle one calf; one on the front and the other to wrestle the back (as pictured above). Once the calf is wrestled, they will brand, castrate (if a bull calf), vaccinate, de-horn (if needed), and ear mark each calf.

We brand about 200 head of calves in two separate bunches. Once the first bunch is complete, we take a break. Then all the snack time goodies come out.

Snack Time:

For snacks, I like to cut up cheese and summer sausage to serve with crackers.

I also make two delicious types of muffins: raspberry crumb and apple cinnamon crumb muffins. These muffins are a huge hit! And they are the perfect treat to eat outdoors! The crumb topping can be slightly messy, but so worth it, and in the branding corral, who cares?

Once snack time is over, we gather our second bunch and finish the job. This takes us until about 11:30. Then it’s time for the main event, lunch.

Lunch Time:

In the past, we have always done taco/nacho bar, but this year we got a little more creative and decided to try something different. I made pulled pork sandwiches, my mother made a large brisket and potato salad, and my cousin made her pasta salad. Served with chips and buns, you’ve got a full meal. The pulled pork sandwiches were a HUGE success. Everyone raved about the flavor. You can find my pulled pork sandwich recipe HERE. If you are looking to feed a crowd, this is the way to do it! The cleanup was rather easy, and I love that I can start this recipe early in the morning and still help at the branding while the food is cooking.

I did make two different types of pulled pork, one crockpot of spicy and one crockpot not spicy. The spicy was a HUGE hit! Next year, I’ll probably make two crockpots of spicy pulled pork and one non-spicy for the kiddos.

Dessert:

Branding day lunch can be stressful, so I like to make dessert something that I can make the day before. I make cookies, and as simple as they may sound, you will NOT be disappointed. These cookies are so soft and fluffy and the absolute perfect dessert. I will even make my cookie dough the night before and then bake my cookies the next day to help alleviate the long day of baking. The day before the branding is when I make both types of muffins and both types of cookies. It can be a LOT of work. However, it is so worth it. See all my baked goods below.

Now back to the dessert. Everyone loves these cookies. I make two kinds; orange chocolate chip and lemon rosemary. For some reason, I have found that men like the orange chocolate chip flavor better and women tend to like the lemon rosemary flavor better. I have NO idea why, but that seems to be how it goes.

Branding Day Cleanup

After everyone has eaten and nearly gone, I gather a group of guys to help haul everything back to the house (we eat in our big metal shop building). I start cleaning everything up and putting it away. We can finally breath once the job is done!

Branding day is truly a long day, but it is one of my favorite days. From cooking to cleaning to moving cows, there is a lot of preparation work that comes ahead of time. However, it is all worth it to have a big job done all within a day. We can’t thank our help enough.

Until next year, branding crew!

Sincerely,

The Barn Soured Ranch Wife