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Q. Why can’t a decent steak be found in either
store or restaurant in Springfield at any price? Springfield businesses are
fond of complaining about locals shopping out of town, but no one listens
when it is explained that I would rather buy my dry-aged USDA Prime beef
locally, but I can’t find it, let alone as an organic product. I know
there is a market because I give out the Web site I use at least three
times a week. Ken
A. It would be nice to hop in the car and buy top
quality prime, dry-aged beef in Springfield whenever we felt like it.
Unfortunately, while you’re right that there is a market for it here,
it’s not a big enough market for stores to keep it on hand. Dry-aged
prime beef – the crème de la
crème of beef – isn’t
always easy to find in larger cities, let alone here. It’s also
expensive because of several factors. Some have to do with its being prime,
others with the dry-aging process. To best understand why dry-aged prime
beef is so hard to get – and so good – let’s separate the
two.
USDA Prime: The
USDA grading system began in the early 1920s. It wasn’t an objective
government quality analysis, but a response to cattle growers in the
Midwest and East who wanted to differentiate their animals from Western
“scrub” cattle.
USDA grades are based on the marbling, or amount of
fat distributed throughout the meat, which is the primary factor in
determining beef’s flavor, tenderness and juiciness, though there are
other factors including breed, age, exercise and feed, slaughter
conditions, and aging (after slaughter). Prime isn’t what it used to
be, either; the USDA reduced its marbling requirements in 1965 and again in
1975 in response to pressure from producers who, as cattle farming was
becoming increasingly industrialized, wanted standards lowered to increase
the amount of beef that could be labeled “prime.”
Even so, the amount of prime beef is less than 2% of
total U.S. beef production. So, there’s not a lot of prime beef to go
around, even at high prices. Peter Luger’s, the venerable Brooklyn
steakhouse regarded as America’s finest, warns on their Web site that
there is a “severe shortage” of prime beef. Dave Zier of
Zier’s butcher shop in Wilmette says, “There’s always a
shortage of prime – and these days it’s very short.”
Dry-Aging: Less than a century ago, most beef and virtually all
steaks were dry-aged, or “hung” for several days to up to a
month, because the grass-fed, pastured animals had had far more exercise
than the CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation, a.k.a industrial farm)
feedlot cattle that supply most of America’s beef. Dry-aging allows
protein-breaking enzymes to tenderize the meat. It also concentrates the
flavor, making for a wonderfully beefy tasting steak. Dry-aging has fallen
out of favor with all but a few steakhouses and butcher shops because of
its cost. There’s the expense of longer-term storage, but the biggest
cost lies in the loss of weight that occurs when the meat is dry-aged, and
the extra trimming that must be done – as much as 20 percent.
Locally, Humphrey’s Market (1821 S. 15th St.,
217-544-7445) has a true butcher shop. They have some prime beef (usually
frozen), and place special orders. Champaign’s Ye Old Time Meat and
Deli Shop (2018 S. Neil St., 217-351-9123) has several cuts of fresh prime
beef available.
Sangamo Club manager David Radwine used to age steaks
in-house for 12 days at his Crow’s Mill School restaurant in the
1980s. “I still remember them as some of the best I’ve ever
had.” These days, Charles and Limey’s (620 S. First St.,
217-522-6300) features prime steaks that are aged in-house for 20 days.
There are numerous Web sites that offer dry-aged
prime beef, and I’m sure many are excellent. A couple of years ago,
however, I discovered a relatively unknown treasure: Zier’s Butcher
Shop in Wilmette, whose dry-aged prime beef compares favorably with some of
the best known purveyors in the U.S. I found out about Zier’s on a
Chicago food blog. The blogger had ordered steaks from Lobel’s, the
famous (and famously expensive) butcher shop in Manhattan’s exclusive
Upper East Side that caters to the rich and famous. The blogger was
dismayed by the quality and price of the Lobel’s steaks and posted
photographs comparing them with similar cuts from Zier’s. It
didn’t take a meat expert to see that Zier’s was far superior.
“Yeah, I couldn’t believe those
pictures,” said Dave Zier when I told him that’s where
I’d found out about his shop. “I’ve got another customer
who has an office in New York. He’s bought meat at Lobel’s and
says, ‘Dave, you wouldn’t believe what they charge and
it’s not even as good as yours.'”
Zier and his wife, Denise, started the business 23
years ago, although the location has been a butcher shop since the 1890s,
and looks it. The contents of the display cases are far more intriguing
than those in my Uncle Ray’s old butcher shop, however: wild game,
housemade sausages, smoked meats (including salmon), Wagyu beef, and that
wonderful dry-aged prime beef.
Everything I’ve had from Zier’s has been
wonderful. I’ve shopped there several times, as well as placing mail
orders. Zier’s has a Web site, but mail orders must be placed by
phone. That’s actually an advantage: Zier’s has the personal
service and custom ordering that comes with a small family-owned business.
I called the Thursday before last Christmas to see if there was any way to
have a prime rib roast shipped by the holiday. The woman who answered said
no, but then paused. “Let me call you back,” she said
hurriedly. “I’m going to see if I can catch the FedEx
guy.” She was a bit breathless when she called back: “We
can do it!” she said triumphantly. The (fantastic) roast
arrived Friday afternoon. Zier’s dry-aged prime beef certainly
isn’t cheap, but the roast was exactly half the price of the same
size prime rib on Lobel’s Web site.
Loading my purchases into the car on my last visit to
Zier’s, I saw a woman walking two large dogs coming down the street.
A few yards from the shop entrance, the dogs began dragging her towards
Zier’s door – clearly they knew a good thing when they smelled
it!
Zier’s, www.ziersprime.com, 813 Ridge Road,
Wilmette, IL, 847-251-4000
DRY-AGING BEEF AT HOME
I’ve been successfully using the following
method of dry-aging beef since 1995 when I first read about it in the
November/December issue of Cook’s
Illustrated Magazine in an article
entitled “Perfect Prime Rib.” Even if your beef isn’t
prime, it will make a noticeable improvement in its flavor and texture.
It’s easy – all that’s really necessary is having enough
room in your refrigerator. A second refrigerator in your basement or garage
is ideal. After some brief preparation, the meat goes in the fridge and,
except for making sure the humidity level stays high, you can ignore it
until ready to cook.
I haven’t dry-aged any beef at home since I
discovered Zier’s, but I’m excited about doing so with some of
the locally grown, grass-fed beef that’s available at places such as
Sangamon Valley Cattle Company in Pleasant Plains (www.svgrassfedbeef.com,
217-487-7664) and Triple S Farms (sold at Wednesday Farmer’s Markets,
www.familyfarmersmeats.com, 217-895-3652)
Only large cuts of beef can be successfully dry-aged;
individual steaks or portions would completely dry out before they could be
properly aged. Choose a strip loin, sirloin, tenderloin, prime rib, or
rib-eye, etc. that’s at least large enough to serve six-eight people,
remembering that the meat will lose weight during the aging process. Cook’s Illustrated notes
that a seven-pound prime rib will lose approximately a pound if dry-aged
for a week; the meat will lose even more weight if aged longer – up
to 20 percent. If I’ve aged more meat than I need for a
specific occasion, I wrap the extra tightly in plastic wrap (after
trimming) and freeze it for another meal or two.
Allow enough space in your refrigerator so that
nothing is touching the meat and so that air can circulate freely around
it. It’s also important that your refrigerator be cold enough –
between 34° and 38° Fahrenheit. A humidity level of between 70
– 80 percent is ideal, but it’s not necessary that it be
precise; I usually empty out the vegetable bin and put some water in it and
refill as necessary. A small pan could also be used.
Pat the meat dry and place it on a wire rack. Set the
wire rack on a platter or rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels. Make
sure that the towels aren’t touching the meat – the goal here
is to allow the cold air to circulate around it. Place in the refrigerator
and let age for at least seven days and up to three weeks. The longer the
meat ages, the more the flavor will develop and the more weight it will
lose.
Before grilling or roasting the meat, trim off any of
the exterior meat and fat that has dehydrated. Cut into individual steaks
or portions as desired, and let the meat come to room temperature before
cooking.
Contact Julianne Glatz at realcuisine.jg@gmail.com.
This article appears in Aug 21-27, 2008.
