Immigrant families in the United States sometimes travel far and wide to find the foods that remind them of home. For some, that means coming to Riverslea Farm in Epping? to pick out a healthy, fat lamb for a backyard roast. The farm has cultivated a group of uniquely international customers who demand fresh lamb and goat.
As NHPR's Raquel Maria Dillon reports, this is the busiest time of the year there; Greek Orthodox Easter was this past Sunday.
SOUND Baa, baa?
These little lambs are white and fluffy ? cute enough for an Easter greeting card. These guys are lucky ? they didn?t end up as Easter dinner.
SOUND Baa, baa?
When you buy meat from Riverslea Farm, it's still on four legs. Most customers slaughter the animals right here on a concrete slab next to the red barn. Farmer Jeff Conrad supplies the simple tools: plastic bags, water, and a knife.
JEFF :06 Most of the animals are born here, they look me in the eye as they're born, and they die here.
Conrad and his wife Liz sell high quality lamb and goat ? they promise it?s tender, juicy and young. These days, they breed their animals year round to keep a steady supply of young animals. 12 years ago, they had no idea there was an untapped local market for fresh lamb and goat.
JEFF :14 It grew from 2 sheep and a goat to hundreds of them. Hehehe. We put a sign on the highway to get rid of some of them and we are now just about full-time doing that.
LIZ :16 we couldn?t bear seeing our animals get trucked away. We were raising them with dignity and we wanted to know how their entire life went. So we allowed a customer to buy an animal and slaughter it here.
The farm?s reputation spread by word of mouth in the immigrant communities of Manchester, Lowell, and Lawrence.
LIZ :08 most of our customers are 1st generation immigrants. They cook with all the parts of the animal which they couldn?t normally get here in stores.
JEFF :08 we have a list of people from 40 countries. name a country, a part of the world. They come here.
LIZ :23 Afghanistan, almost every middle eastern country. Eastern Europe. Bosnian, Serbian, Albanian. Macedonia. Uzbekistan. Laotian, Nepalese. Philipino. Caribbean. African. Nigeria, Kenya.
Their customer list is an outline of new immigration patterns in New England?s old mill towns.
The Conrads work 18 hour days during holiday season. The rest of the year their steady customers are Muslim families, looking for meat butchered according to the dietary strictures of the Koran.
LIZ :13 Half of our customers are Muslim. They wanna know that their goat or lamb wasn?t raised with swine. many of our customers say a prayer when they?re slaughtering their animals so in that respect it?s a halal slaughtering.
Liz Conrad says the one thing her customers have in common is that food is central to their celebrations ? whether the occasion is religious or a party for a new baby or a new home. And when they entertain friends and family, they like to serve fresh food that isn?t wrapped in plastic and Styrofoam.
LIZ :14 a lot of our customers will say I don?t know what I want yet I have to call home and talk to my mother. Hehe! They?re calling Africa, South America. And lots of times mother is mailing them the spices for the dish.
Manchester residents Demetrios Galanis is a regular customers. Last week, he bought the best lamb he could find to celebrate Greek Orthodox Easter last Sunday.
GALANIS :16 the lamb has to be number one. it?s a tradition day, it?s Easter! Once a year, it?s Easter. The biggest holiday to everybody, Greek orthodox, Catholic, Protestants?
Usually the price of an animal is negotiable because Galanis, and the rest of the customers at Riverslea farm like to haggle. Jeff Conrad says it?s taken him 12 years to learn how to bargain with his customers, so he doesn?t put himself out of business. But in the meantime, he?s learned some great recipes ? like how to roast lamb on a spit, in the Greek tradition.
GALANIS :13 you marinate it and you cook them outside, you know like barbeque. oregano, salt, and a black pepper. And garlic here and there.
His friend, Costas Makres, is especially looking forward to a special delicacy: roast homemade sausages ? called ?co-co-reet-si,? they?re made with sheep?s intestines and innards. Makres says his Easter dinner is an all day affair.
MAKRES :11 I start it early in the morning, I eat all day, drink all day, have a dance, party, the people is coming everybody. Have a good time.
He says the neighbors don?t mind the backyard party, they?re invited. One goat yields 30-pound of meat ? that feed 20-25 people. So last week, the invitations were flowing freely.
GALANIS :21 When we gonna cook next time out. I?m gonna have my friends, we?re gonna cook together. I?m gonna call you to be there and if you gotta time to spend time with us you see and you join us.
For NHPR News, I'm RMD, in Epping.
GALANIS you promise? yeah, if you call me I'll come. Thank you very much? Bye-bye. Happy Easter!
