Many moons ago, 2011, the local butcher started carrying beef from Brandt Beef in California.
The ribeye was one of the mostest bestest tasting steak I ever sank my teeth into.
It was without a doubt like crack cocaine addictive. At least to me.
Everyone that I shared it with raved about the flavor. It was rich and tasty and just
so meaty delicious that, writing about it, makes me feel like one of Pavlov's Dogs.
Anyway , after awhile maybe 6 months or more, it didn't taste the same. When I questioned
the butcher shop manager he said others noted it as well. They contacted the farm and were told
nothing had changed with the cattle or feeding program. Brandt soon fell by the wayside and
the butchery changed brands to Cedar River last I knew.
The flavor of the now in stock beef didn't compare to the Brandt that I got before that.
Here is a post I did back then <<<
Anyway, I was wondering what is the best tasting steak you know of? Steak that has that "smell" when
you're cooking it on the grill and then the taste that just reminds you of the feeling of euphoria
when you hit your taste buds with the best steak ever.
find a farmer/rancher close to where you live make a deal for half a beef whether that be paying for some feed etal. that will be the best beef you ever had....
ReplyDeleteThis...or go to sams or costco and buy a rib roll and cut your own steaks. It ain’t rocket science. Cut them an inch thick and wrap them in saran and newspaper and put them in the freezer. Get a couple out to thaw. Season with salt and pepper...fire up the grill.....grab a refreshment or two and cook away! .I refuse to eat a steak that I don’t cook myself.....to each his own,
DeleteMany ranchers in Okla. now selling direct
DeleteLocal angus beef, grass fed with a bit of grain just prior to butchering. 1/2 cow for under $1,500.
Delete(Q- was the change in taste of the Brandt Beef due to mRNA in the feed?)
Snake River Farms American Waygu Black Grade. When medium rare it is buttery soft and juicy.
ReplyDeleteDayum, that’s gold on the plate....we’re working class here, CAB (certified angus beef) is the best for the buck.
DeleteThe last GOOD steak I had was a couple months ago at a Hoity Toyty local restaurant.
ReplyDelete$50 for a Rib Eye but it was what a Rib Eye should be.
It was my youngest daughters after Surprise Wedding Dinner that we got a day and half's notice for so I paid for the wedding party.
14 people cost me $1150.
Every other Rib Eye I have had at all the local Apple Bee's, Outback etc. over the last year looked like shit, were full of fat and gristle and were about a half inch thick. One was so bad I sent it back.
It's pretty bad out there.
This $50 steak was a full inch thick and perfect.
I'm with Phil about the state of ribeye in the United States these days. What most places claim to be ribeye is a national disgrace and they should be tarred, feathered and run out of the restaurant business and I flat-out won't order a steak at Applebee's and etc. anymore. It's almost like they're encouraging us to eat ze bugz.
DeleteI'm also with that first Anonymous guy who said find a local farmer, etc. That's what we did and it's much better that way, although there is a local butcher who's reliable that we trade with some. We had to kiss a lot of frogs to find those guys, though.
It's what was for dinner.
ReplyDeleteI like mine almost gristle with some A1 sauce.
That smell will get you going and it is right up there with the percolating coffee maker scent.
My oldest is a butcher. She complains about the number of cutters with no real training ruining meat cuts. If i want something good i ask her to cut it for me.
ReplyDeleteExile1981
Grass fed beef here in Northern Oklahoma. Big and Little Bluestem, Switchgrass, and Indian Grass is the normal fare for the mostly Black Angus. If snow lasts more than a week in winter, we add some Alfalfa hay and some sweet feed. Otherwise, just prairie grass. Rib Eye is my favorite cut. One inch thick is my choice. Cooked over charcoal to a medium doneness. Do not overcook. I'm serious. Don't. Salt and pepper. That's it. If the wind is right when I'm cooking, the ranch dogs a mile away will start barking and howeling. I answer them back.
ReplyDeleteI've never had a steak in a restaurant that is as good as I make at home using my own beef.
ReplyDeleteSteak always wins. That's why there's no such thing as a chicken knife.
A very fun book on the subject: Steak; One Man's Search for the World's Tastiest Piece of Beef by Mark Schatzker. Chapters include Texas, France, Scotland, Italy, Japan, Argentina, etc.
ReplyDeleteThere is a well known steak house in Amarillo Tx. called the Big Texan. What is not so well known is their beef comes from their own farms and has for decades. Don't know all the details but they have an aging process that is their own. They have an online presence and like the other similar steak order places shipping is high but...... The steaks are as good as anywhere in the lower 48 I have ever found. Now you don't know me but I am a retired truck driver having been in 11 of the top 15 5 star steak houses across this country. Was a bucket list item to eat in them all and in 20 years missed it by 4. Worth a shot but as always YMMV. As a quick addendum I never made the stockyards in OKC but was told they were even better, not sure if they are online though.
ReplyDeleteI asked my cousin who him and his brother have been cattle haulers for over 50 years now, he said that's a tough question, he actually has hauled to Brandt years ago, I asked if Harris ranch was still good, he said they changed owners, but thought they were still good.
ReplyDeleteSteve Medlin owns houseofbeef.net, small place , but he said the steak sandwich they serve is incredible, and has a good menu, I don't think they deliver, but you can check.
Best beef I ever had was from a wrangler named Duwayne Baxter out of Paso Robles, he would give a 1/4 beef to a friend for letting him graze her property.
Last thing I didn't know, my cousin said there's 3 cuts, Prime is the best, Choice can be okay, and select is what you get from McDonalds.
Good luck Irish, and thanks for your awesome website.
The Brandt website says they focus on one breed of cattle: the Holstein.
ReplyDeleteThis immediately struck me as odd. Holsteins are very commonly used in the dairy industry but not a breed I associate with beef production. Not to say that it isn’t done but with so many other breeds specifically raised for beef - Herefords and Angus, for example - and the fact that Holsteins are arguably the most common dairy breed caused me to wonder.
Howdy. I grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm from the 50's till the 80's. Thats all we ate; "retired" dairy cows. My mother would pan fry them in an old skillet; an aluminum one (sorry all you cast iron aficionados). Was the best steak evah! Unfortunately, my father didn't care for steak and he would have the butcher grind EVERYTHING up into hamburger. Yeah, you read that right. He would save out a few steaks and the roasts so we could have pot roast for Sunday dinner.
DeleteThat explains the problem. Holsteins are for milk, not meat. I think they taste terrible. And unfortunately beef breeds are used as studs to breed holstein heifers because the calves are smaller so the heifer can deliver her first calf easier. Then those calves are raised and sold for meat. Hence the deterioration of our beef in the commercial market. ---ken
DeletePine Club, Dayton Ohio. Filet very rare, charred lightly on outside. Bleu cheese, stewed tomatoes and fried onion strings. Heaven.
ReplyDeleteCan't compare a steak to Crack , unless you have sucked one off in alley for a steak.
ReplyDeleteLOL
DeleteA local family owned grocery store has its own meat department that buy local, they cut 2" minimum steaks. Best restaurant steak I ever had was across from the Missouri Governors Mansion in Jefferson City. Rub eye soaked in butter, fresh horseradish and a baked sweet potato... cut it with a fork, melt in your mouth...
ReplyDeleteThose political hacks live the good life.
The Latham Kansas Saloon in the middle of the Flint Hills every Saturday night. Locally sourced and butchered beef from the pasture to the plate. Packed out every week.
ReplyDeleteI buy whole sirloin tip knuckles at around 3.69 a pound that weigh about 15 pounds and make my own.
ReplyDeleteBeehive, Albany, TX sadly closed and only the Abilene, TX restaurant left. Haven’t been to it. Written up in Southern Living, Texas Monthly and others. Ribeye or Filet was the only argument.
ReplyDeleteAmen brother. Worked a pipeline job in Albany in the eighties, stayed at the motel across the parking lot from the Beehive for several months. Ate there most every evening, greatness! Only downside was the dang motel smelled or curie if to close to the office end. Nice folks though.
Delete4 nights every deer season for a few years. The brother owners have a kick ass history, my daughter and I got to hear the early day part of it passing through when I had to stop for a steak.
DeleteAs we plummet faster into the approaching disaster you'll find that if you want something done right, do it yourself.
ReplyDeleteTwas ever thus.
If you have acreage, grow yer own.
I don't have enough acreage but I have a friend that does.
This year he and I each bought 5 very young (3 month) Limousin bulls for $800 each.
In 2 years they'll be ready to go to the big house.
In the meantime they are happy grazing on his pastures.
I go by once a week with a basket of carrots and apples for them.
I may buy 5 more next year.
I buy local beef. Pay cash-under-the-table because the IRS can go fuck itself.
ReplyDeleteFind someone who produces the best quality that you like.
For example, one of the local sellers in my area somehow produces beef that has a slight "peanut" taste to it.
I've asked him about it, and he says he just lets his cows free range and eat hay. Then in the last month before butchering he feeds them a bit of "sweet feed" (which doesn't have peanuts in it). Neither of us can explain the taste, and therefore there's a chance that some small change to the cows' environment might make that taste disappear. Maybe it comes from the creek water, maybe it's some weed they found to eat on the property...who knows?
Picanha cut aka sirloin cap or collet muscle is the Brazilian National cut of beef. I go to a restaurant supply shop and get the whole sirloin then butcher the Picanha out, sous vide it at 135F a couple of hours, sear it for melt in your mouth deliciousness.
ReplyDeleteWaygu Outside Skirt steak. From Texas Star BBQ.
ReplyDeleteI suspect it's growth hormones or vaccines. Heads up: In May 2023 FDA and USDA approved mRNA vax for livestock. I now get my beef, pork, some seafood and chicken from Seven Sons in Indiana. Just had a couple of steaks I open fire cooked and I was disappointed when there wasn't one bite left. I am so happy with Seven Sons I have a hard time choosing what I will take out of the freezer. Another juicy roast, another pork tenderloin, wild caught salmon....
ReplyDeleteBeen to Harris Ranch a few times; very good quality beef.
ReplyDeleteFound a small packing plant in Lakeview, OR, long ago and for years on our annual trip there would bring enough rib eyes home to have a couple a month and occasionally treat someone to dinner.
Moved to NE Texas a couple of years ago and found a local packing plant. They source local grass fed beef and they cut to order, too. The rib eyes are beautifully marbled and I have them cut to 1.5" thick. The filets are even better. Have them cut to 2" thick. Everything is individually plastic wrapped so prepping them for the freezer only take putting them in freezer Ziplocks. I can't believe my luck to have this so close to home!
Ohmi beef, or bust. Best steak in Japan, nay the world.
ReplyDelete