The 5L Gang
Our Story
Welcome to 5L Meat Shop, where we are committed to helping busy moms, fitness enthusiasts & autoimmune sufferers like you. We conveniently provide the best meals for their families, secure award-worthy cuts of beef and source a clean protein source that you can trust so that they can finally find peace of mind at dinner time, maximize their results in the gym and eat the foods you love again . Have you ever purchased an expensive steak at the grocery store just to be disappointed with the flavor or eaten what you thought was a safe cut of meat just to wake up with inflammation issues? Well, that is where our story begins.
Just like many of our best customers, we understand what it is like to feel the guilt of yet another fast-food dinner, having to reach for the A-1 to cover up the taste of disappointment and not be able to trust what’s being sold at the supermarket. That is why in 1977 we started raising Red Angus cattle with meat quality in mind. It took a lot of years of trial and error to find what genetics produce the highest quality meat for you and your family. We truly thought we achieved our goal in 2020 and we launched 5L Meat Shop.
With lots of acres, just as many animals and a lot of hard work we are committed to doing things the right way. Today, we are recognized as a leading farm-to-table meat producer our customers have grown to know and trust.
At 5L Meat Shop, we are committed to regenerative farming, pasture-raising, 100% grass-finished as well as grain finished without any of the harmful vaccinations or questionable treatment of the animals you will find in most available sources. We believe this is essential for providing a quality product that is healthy for families and healing for the environment.
We are proud to be a part of the farm-to-table movement and to be able to offer our customers the highest quality meat that is perfect for families who appreciate convenience without sacrificing their health, nutrient-dense and not only delicious, but safe to consume .
Many of our customers have found our products filled the freezer with the highest quality and healthiest beef, make it not only easier to eat Paleo, but make it enjoyable too and we believe you will too.
We hope that you will join us in our mission to keep families healthy without compromise, eating clean, whole foods and championing the healing power of farm-to-table meat , by supporting our farm and sharing your experience with friends and family as well.
Thank you for choosing 5L Meat Shop. We look forward to serving you and bringing you along in our farm journey with you and yours.
A Little History of the 5L Meat Shop
We are a family owned, family run business in South West Montana. Our family has been working in agriculture for 9 generations, 5 generations in Montana. Our kids will be the 10th generation growing up in agriculture.
Larry and Lisa both grew up in ranching families. Larry being from North Dakota move to Montana with his family in 1980. Larry's family moved to Livingston where he met Lisa. They began their lives together ranching and ended up in Sheridan, MT in 1991. Four of their five kids are very involved on the ranch. Everyone has their favorite parts of the ranch and it makes work much better when you enjoy what you do.
We grow all of our forage here in Montana as well. Harvesting all of our own hay and silage to feed the cattle through the Montana winters, when we don't have grass for them to graze. As a family we work together to supply high quality meat to our community and beyond. We believe you should know the rancher behind the meat you eat.
Meet the Family
We started 5L Meat Shop in June 2020. There was a great need for meat around the world. We had the beef and wanted to start suppling our local communities with high quality beef raised locally.
We strive to raise cattle with great carcass traits throughout our cow herd. We raise all the Beef just outside of Sheridan, MT. Our beef is mainly Red Angus and some Charolais crosses. All our meet is all natural, no added hormones and antibiotic free. We offer pasture raised Grain Finished Beef as well as 100% Grassfed Beef. We dry age all the beef for 2-3 weeks to add extra flavor and tenderness.
Our Grain finished beef is fed grain for the last 100-110 days before they are butchered to add the extra marbling & flavor.
Our 100% Grassfed Beef is summered on grass and during the winter when there is no fresh grass we feed hay that we grow right here on our ranch in Southwest Montana. They will never have grain in their lifetime.
We carcass ultrasound all of our beef before we send it to the butcher. Which means we take a picture of the steaks from the outside of the steer. This tells us how well the steer will grade (how much marbling), the size of the ribeye, how much back fat and a tenderness score. It is very important to us to bring you quality meat consistently. By doing the ultrasound it gives us a chance to cull anything that doesn't meet our high standards before we ever send them to the butcher.
How we got started selling our Meat
We started 5L Meat Shop by going to Farmers Markets around Montana. Which was a great way to get our name out around the state. After the summer markets were over we needed to have another option to sell our meat. So we opened a store front in Sheridan. It was a big jump for us but it was a great decision for both our business and our community. We still continued to make deliveries to larger communities around us every other week.
Shipping Our Meat
After opening our store front we were looking for more ways to grow our meat business. The answer seemed to lie in shipping our meats directly to customers - and finding customers who want to know where their meat comes from and appreciate high-quality, well-raised meats.
We shipped out first boxes of meat in December 2020 and continue to ship meat right to your doorstep. We want you to have the highest quality meat you can get with the least amount of hassle.
The 5L Brand
5L represents a family of five L’s—Lawrence, Lillian, Larry, Linda and Lenny Mehlhoff. Descending from a long line of farmers and ranchers, 5L Red Angus began raising Red Angus cattle in the late 1970s in North Dakota. Previously, they raised registered Shorthorns and commercial cattle. In 1977, they purchased a few registered Red Angus and moved to Paradise Valley, south of Livingston, Montana in 1979. In 1979, they purchased the Centurion Cattle Co. Red Angus herd from Nebraska. Their son, Larry purchased some Red Angus females after graduating from high school in 1979 and started his own herd of reds. When Lawrence was forced to sell out in 1985, Larry purchased some of his cattle as well. Since then, Larry has expanded using an extensive A.I. program and retaining most of the heifer calves.
The five L’s have now grown to seven L’s in the second generation. Larry married Lisa Stands in Paradise Valley in 1983, and they now have the five L children—Laramie, Larisa (married to Zach Oldenburger in 2014), Landon (married to Amy Shibe in 2012), Larinda (married to David Aborn in 2015), and Logan. Most of them play a very vital part of the ranch operation, working in all phases of it, from haying and irrigating to all aspects of the cattle work.
The 10th generation of ranchers have started here at 5L. There is 5 little ones running around the ranch learning the ropes now.
Presley is 7 and full of energy! He loves the cows and of course his pony named Oreo. He is becoming quite the little ranch hand, from checking cows to giving shots he is in the middle of everything.
Charlynn is 6 she is the little princess. She loves all the animals, especially the pigs. She will spend hours talking to them and giving them advice on how to each the treats she brings them. She also has a horse (Bingo) that she loves to ride around the ranch.
Oakley is 4 and a little tom boy. She enjoys doing anything her big sister does. She loves all animals and spoiling them with treats. She also enjoys riding whatever horse happens to be available.
Laredo is 4 he is such a little ham. His little personality brings a smile to everyones face. He loves his horse Tango and of course any time he gets to ride in the side by side. There is no wondering what Laredo is thinking he lets you know on the spot!
Larriat is 2 now and is full of personality and has a mind of his own. He likes to be in the middle of whatever is going on. He has started a toy tractor collection that is growing rapidly! Pappa is his hero and he will do anything to steal his hat and headset.