On a homesteaded ranch 35 kilometres out of town, Scott Dickson and Robert Brouillette could be found appraising a swaying stock of hanging lambs last Friday.

“In the future, this is the size I would go for,” Brouillette told Dickson, gesturing toward the largest of the half-dozen: a 63-pound sheep marbled with sinews of muscle and fat.

Brouillette, the executive chef of the Gold Rush Inn, is making plans for the meat raised and cut at Dickson’s brand-new butcher outfit at the Takhini River Ranch. He listened attentively last week as Dickson showcased his products, from meat hanging whole to freezer-packed chops and ribs. Dickson removed the lid of one container to reveal 10 kilograms of corned beef, marinating in spice and salt.

“You could make Reubens out of that,” Dickson said.

Travelling to a second walk-in cooler, Dickson presented three heaping shelves of vacuum-packed beef, set aside especially for Gold Rush plates.

Brouillette took several cuts of beef shank from the selection, to be used for an Osso Bucco short rib feature at the Gold Pan Saloon that weekend. He promised to sample the corned beef, and discussed plans for a Takhini Ranch burger after the holidays.

This close interaction among chef, butcher, farmer and product is exclusive to the Takhini River Ranch, which was newly minted as a licensed butcher this month. The farm is a hyperlocal one-stop-shop that gives chefs the opportunity to get close and creative with the products they serve.

Takhini Ranch co-owners Scott Dickson and Jackie McBride-Dickson are firm in their commitment to do everything themselves.

They raise their own animals with home-grown hay before slaughtering using a mobile abattoir, hanging and butchering the products on-site. Their meat is grass-fed and hormone-free.

“With your animals, they get stressed out (when moved), so we prefer to do it here,” Scott said of slaughtering the animals on-site.

Doing everything on-site also means controlling the hang time of the animals.

“We decided we wanted to handle the process from start to finish,” Jackie said.

That control means they can work with local chefs to provide specific, curated products.

Brouillette told the Star he enjoys brainstorming with Scott, exemplified most recently by the Tomahawk steaks they worked on together for an agriculture banquet recently.

A Tomahawk is a ribeye steak cut with several extra inches of bone, thusly named for its resemblance to a single-handed axe and the striking visual impression it makes.

“That’s the fun part, Scott can cut everything,” Brouillette said. “I say, ‘Scott, cut some Tomahawks,’ and his eyes get big, he says, ‘That’ll be fun!’”

Because the entire process is controlled in one place, Brouillette says, creativity can span to the earliest stages of raising meat.

Next year, he plans to work with Scott and Jackie to adjust the feed given to animals. Adding beer, beets or chocolate milk to animal feed can impact the flavours, he said.

“To me, this means everything,” Brouillette said. “It’s honestly what we want to do as chefs, as much as possible, to be able to serve good local products to the customers.”

While relatively new to the butcher scene, Scott and Jackie have been raising animals on their 160-acre farm for several years.

They purchased the land, entirely forested, in 2006. They cleared it themselves and built a house, a butcher shop and space for raising sheep, cows and pigs.

“I think we appreciate it much more; (because) we homesteaded it,” Scott said. “We had help from the neighbours … but I did a lot of it myself.”

In 2018, Scott and Jackie were awarded Yukon’s Farmers of the Year for the “love, care and attention” they paid to the craft of cattle-raising.

Last year, Scott graduated from Old’s College with distinction as a professional meat processor. Now that they’ve established themselves as a butchering outfit, they have plans to build a commercial kitchen and release a line of products: meat pies, sausages and classic shepherd’s pie (cooked with lamb) as well as bread and sausage rolls.

According to Jackie, the ranch’s growth coincides with a long journey of learning to homestead step-by-step.

“We started with just a few cattle; we learned that,” she said. “We’re still learning. It’s a lifestyle and a process, and our clients help us.”

Jackie and Scott have established close client relationships with the aim of welcoming open communication and feedback. Their work is constantly shifting according to the needs and desires of their clients.

“The sky is the limit,” Scott said of the ranch’s future.

“We’re trying to have a sustainable farm,” Jackie added.

They hope to establish wind and solar power technology to their farm over the next few years.

Scott and Jackie purchased the Takhini River Ranch more than a decade ago because of Jackie’s love of horses and horseback riding.

One thing led to another, they said, and their farm grew with their knowledge of the trade.

Now, the Takhini River Ranch is home to 60 breeding ewes, the result of several years spent building the herd, and 50 head of cattle.

They grow three varietals of alfalfa as feed for the stock. This Christmas, they hope to begin selling lambs for the first time as an alternative meat for Christmas dinner.

Scott said he never intended to take up homesteading, though he comes from a long line of outfitters and this history provided some experience in animal care and butchering. The family operation, Dickson Outfitters, is the oldest in the Yukon and is currently operated by Scott’s brother.

“I never knew I was going to become a farmer,” Scott said. “It just started evolving.”

He was inspired to take a butcher course by several friends who had gone to Old’s College.

“I met a whole bunch of wonderful people, the teachers there were top notch,” he said of the experience.

Scott graduated from Old’s with a network of industry professionals and a full database of recipes, both of which he will utilize as the Takhini Ranch grows.

Now that Takhini is licensed as a butcher, Jackie and Scott are looking forward to diversifying their client base.

Scott, who originates from Burwash Landing, is a member of the Ta’an Kwäch’än First Nation. He works for the nation’s council as a special project manager, and the farm is on traditional Ta’an Kwäch’än territory.

Now that the Takhini Ranch is licensed as a butcher outfit, Yukon First Nations have the opportunity to purchase meat for general assemblies and potlatches.

“They usually go and hunt moose for the potlatches … but moose are becoming farther and fewer between,” Scott said. “There is an opportunity for them to come to us instead of hunting moose. Same with the sheep. We’re doing baby steps, but there’s so much further we can go with it.”

Shawn Fummerton, the executive chef at the Coast, has plans to heavily feature Takhini River products in the rollout of the hotel restaurant’s new menu in January, and will serve Takhini lamb at the Festival of Trees this weekend.

“Scott takes such pride in what he does,” Fummerton said. “Seeing the care that goes into (the products), and knowing what these animals eat, and how it affects the taste and quality … you know exactly what you’re getting.”

Fummerton, who moved to the Yukon from Toronto in August, said he was pleasantly surprised by the expanse of products available through local farms in the territory.

“I’m blown away by how willing (farmers) are to work with a lot of local chefs, and really push that forward,” he said. “Letting us be the ambassadors of your hard work –– there’s something really exciting as a chef, to be able to do that.”

Fummerton plans to localize the Coast’s menu using Takhini Ranch products.

Taking the farm-to-table approach one step farther, he is planning for a cyclical process where the restaurant’s produce scraps are returned to the farm to be used as feed.

“We’re going to work with them to incorporate everything,” he said. “That cycle from chef to farmer and back.”