Hailing from the Pyrenees, a distinctive French cattle breed now grazes in Fallon.
As early as the 16th century, Gascon cattle — a rugged, gray-coated, horned breed — could be found grazing high in the Pyrenees mountain range of France. Hot summers, harsh snowy winters, and limited vegetation shaped the breed to handle tough conditions.
So when Bench Creek Ranch owner Paul Plouviez, a native of France, observed that the Angus cattle he was raising were not grazing on the higher, mountainous areas of his roughly 570,000-acre property east of Fallon, his thoughts turned homeward.
With their thick coats, ideal for temperature regulation, and long-trekking capabilities, Gascon cattle, Plouviez posited, would thrive in The Oasis of Nevada — but getting them there wasn’t going to be easy.
Croissants to Cows
In 1981, Plouviez came to San Francisco from France for a work trip, and he decided to stay. After opening a French bakery in the city, crafting croissants and baguettes, Plouviez purchased a factory and began producing a line of popular fruit-juice-sweetened cookies, a natural food company he grew and eventually sold.
“I started to invest in real estate, and I decided to buy a ranch,” Plouviez recalls. “I was looking to buy a ranch in California, but, even in 2005, everything was so expensive, and nothing could make any money.”
When he was growing up in the small town of Grenay near the Belgian border, Plouviez’s father was a butcher, and the boy often worked in the shop. So while the ranching business was a new one for the former baker, the meat industry was in his blood.
In 2006, Plouviez and his wife, Shizuko Shimada, purchased Bench Creek Ranch, part of a historic homestead founded in the early 1900s when the mining town of Wonder was booming. Over time, the couple purchased two other properties around Fallon to add to the ranch.
“It was new for us to be in this kind of business and not easy in the beginning, like everything,” Plouviez says. “But the open ranch, the space, you feel like you are free here.”
Growing Gascon
In 2012, after years of raising other breeds of cattle, Plouviez imported 72 Gascon embryos from France, a complicated and expensive process. Transferred into surrogate cows, the first round only resulted in seven births.
“The first six were male and only one female. It was not a good start,” Plouviez says with a laugh.
But Plouviez persevered. Over the years, the herd has grown to 136 Gascon cows and 52 bulls. While a portion of the ranch remains a calf-cow operation in which other breeds can be sold, Plouviez is now producing enough Gascon meat to supply Momma’s Meat Co. in Fallon, Taylor’s Market in Sacramento, and Butcher Boy Meat Market in Reno, in which he was an early investor.
Specialty Product
Gascon cattle produces a rich, dark-red meat that is extremely tender, thanks to short muscle fibers and generous marbling.
“In Europe, the Gascon is not a big breed like Angus here or Limousin or Charolais in France. It’s a delicacy in specialty stores,” Plouviez says.
At Bench Creek, Plouviez finishes the cows with a mixture of omega-3-rich flax and yellow peas, which he manufactures through another company he and his wife own, Promega Feed, for cattle, pigs, and poultry. For Plouviez, it’s about raising his animals right, not quickly.
“Hopefully, one day, we will only have Gascon on the ranch, but it will take many years,” Plouviez explains.
Bench Creek Ranch Japanese Hamburger Steak with Red Wine Sauce
(courtesy of Shizuko Shimada, co-owner, Bench Creek Ranch in Fallon. Serves 4)
2 tablespoons neutral oil, divided
½ onion, minced
¾ pound ground beef and pork (8 ounces beef and 4 ounces pork or 9 ounces beef and 3 ounces pork, depending on preference)
½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
½ teaspoon nutmeg
⅓ cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons milk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons red wine (or substitute beef or chicken stock)
Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil, then the minced onion. Sauté the onions until tender, then add to a bowl with ground beef and pork mixture. Season with salt, freshly ground pepper, and nutmeg. Next, add panko, milk, and the egg, and mix well. Form into four tight, oval patties. Indent the center of each patty with two fingers.
In the same pan, add the second tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the patties and cook until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Add red wine to pan and reduce heat to low. Cover pan with lid and cook 5 to 7 minutes until cooked through. Transfer patties to a plate and use pan to make sauce.
For sauce
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons red wine (or substitute beef or chicken stock)
3 tablespoons water
Add butter, ketchup, Worcestershire, red wine, and water to the same pan with the patty drippings. Mix well and bring to a simmer over medium heat. When sauce thickens, remove from heat and drizzle over hamburger steaks.
