Steak

[richlevy]

I just joined a beef club at work. Usually you buy beef in quarters but I found someone to split with so I am buying 1/8th of a cow.

The meat comes from here and is butchered here. This all happens about a 1 hour drive from my house. In my opinion this is going back to the old days when we lived closer to where your food was grown.

So I'm going to be paying for somewhere around 100 lbs of beef at about $2.50 per pound but which will end up as only about 60-70 lbs of meat after trimming and dry aging. This works out to about $4 per lb. A good portion of it will be ground beef or hamburger patties, and $4 is a bit much for that, even though it is natural beef. But I will be paying the same $4 a pound for porterhouse steaks, ribeye steaks..... I have to negotiate with my beef partners over the cutting instructions, and this is their first time doing this too. I plan on paying an extra 10 cents per pound to have the ground beef frozen and packaged as burgers. I will probably have the cheaper roasts cut into 'chip steak', which is what we Philadelphians use in our 'steak' sandwiches.

We're already clearing space in the freezer for the meat, which will be ready in May.

I have already promised Wolf and a few others a bbq invite for the summer. This was made before I went in on the beef order. You can all expect burgers and steak sandwiches at a minimum.

[xoxoxoBruce]

With a name like Smuckers...

[Sundae]

Rich - we had a Meat Club at the Pelton Arms in Greenwich.
I didn't contribute as the portions were generally family sized, so no good to me.
It's a good way to buy meat though.

Better than a man in a heavy overcoat and a couple of carrier bags offering to sell you some.
No, really, it happens. Properly packaged and sealed. Obviously shoplifted. Our pub never bought any meat this way. I can't say that about the customers.

More common in urban areas was the Meat Raffle.
There was one at the Hazells Club (Hazell, Watson and Viney) the printers where Dad used to work. He only bought one ticket a week, but I remember winning at least once a month.

That's just the vagaries of childhood, we probably only won a prize two or three times, but they went from full roasts down to sausages and mince. So in pre-freezer days, at least in our house, I remember gorging on meat "from Daddy's work".

[bbro]

There's a meat delivery company in the states called Omaha Steaks. Always wanted to participate, but never had the money or the need for that much beef for one person - lol. Maybe if I had a better freezer.....

[xoxoxoBruce]

Omaha is a good outfit, I've bought gifts for people from them many times. The shipping will kill you if you don't buy quantity, though. You'd be better off to try to find a local butcher that has locally sourced beef. There's probably some hippie groups around that will help you find local sources.

[infinite monkey]

omg...from Omaha's website.

WANT!

I gotta stop coming to this thread.

[richlevy]

IM, stop posting meat porn.


This is for Sundae

The name Beefeater is of uncertain origin, with various proposed derivations. The most likely one[2] is considered to be from the Warders' right to eat as much beef as they wanted from the King's table. Various historical commentators have noted a preference for beef among the Warders and the Yeomen of the Guard. It is theoretically possible that these professions enjoyed rich, hearty broths as well. Count Cosimo, Grand Duke of Tuscany, visited the Tower in 1669 and commented "A very large ration of beef is given to them daily at court...that they might be called Beef-eaters".[3]

[Sundae]

There was a question on QI the other night (well, I was watching on Dave, so the programme may have been years old - I tend to date it by Stephen Fry's fluctuating weight) where a Yeoman of the Guard was shown.

The contestants were asked what his title was.
Poor old Alan Davies did say Beefeater.
And was of course immediately docked points; officially the Beefeaters are only the Yeomen Warders. How can you tell? From what I remember the only difference is a sash.
But QI trades on pedantry.

When you come to the UK I can take you on a Haunted Walk of the Tower of London. I'm properly read up on it and have a guidebook and all. Well, except it's bloody expensive to get in nowadays, and I'm not just talking about the Bloody Tower...

PS - yes Shawnee. Beef porn it is. Bad girl.
I'm having chicken tonight in an otherwise meat-free week.
If it wasn't planned I'd be eating soft, succulent, squishy, bleeding steak.
Bought a reduced cut on Tuesday. Just one sirloin. In freezer. Not the best treatment for good steak (and Morrisons do look after their meat) but convenient for me.

When I'm in the mood I'm gonna hit that steak like a barbarian.
But I will not be pressured into it by porn!

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by Sundae

When you come to the UK I can take you on a Haunted Walk of the Tower of London.

And when you come to the U.S. I'll take you to South Philadelphia for steak sandwiches from Geno's Steaks and Pat's King of Steaks, two rivals situated a stones throw away from each other and maintaining a feud that makes the Motangues and the Capulets look like kissing cousins.

The Philadelphia Cheesesteak is to Philadelphia what Fish and Chips is to London. It is our street food. A piece of our history and culture wrapped in greasy paper and ready for a quick bite.

For the record, Geno's and Pat's use different cuts of meat sliced differently. They both, however, serve up Cheez Whiz as a topping, something you must try. You should try them both, but do not declare a favorite until you are safely back across the Atlantic.


http://matadornetwork.com/nights/ame...y-cheesesteak/

[Sundae]

LJ promised me a real cheesesteak when I hit Philly. So you'll have to fight over it.
Wow, what a prospect! Two erudite men vying to buy me American street-food.

Hang on, this is a dream right?

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by Sundae

LJ promised me a real cheesesteak when I hit Philly. So you'll have to fight over it.
Wow, what a prospect! Two erudite men vying to buy me American street-food.

Hang on, this is a dream right?

Well, I once read somewhere that 'A true gentleman will always give another the honor of paying the bill'. Of course, this was from a book on etiquette I picked up at %90 off from the discount table, so there might be a bias.

The beef order proceeds. It is at the butcher and my partners have submitted the work order. I'm already trying to decide if I start with a steak, or make burgers or steak sandwiches. Pan fry in cast iron skillet or put on the grill....... Bear in mind that this is half of what they consider a normal order. At 1/8th of a cow, I only expect a few short ribs, and maybe 3 of each type of steak.

This approximates how I feel, although for "Wells Fargo wagon" substitute "meat wagon"....and then spend 30 minutes erasing the negative connotations of the phrase.

[jimhelm]

Well, sundae...you go have one of those south street messes with Rich first, and then I will take you someplace good. Those guys may have ' invented' it, but there are plenty of places that do it better. The white house in AC, Chicks, Pudge's, just to name a few.

[Sundae]

You know I'm kinda writing a bucket list.
With a little more urgency than before.

I'ma gonna get to Philly.
So youse are both on notice.

(Not the same as being on report)

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by jimhelm

Well, sundae...you go have one of those south street messes with Rich first, and then I will take you someplace good. Those guys may have ' invented' it, but there are plenty of places that do it better. The white house in AC, Chicks, Pudge's, just to name a few.

Well la-de-da. The next thing you know you'll be extolling the virtues of Swiss cheese.

I'll admit to the touristy nature of these two. However, to me a cheesesteak isn't a cheesesteak unless it's on an Amoroso's italian roll or something very very close to it. And American cheese is ok, but Cheez Whiz might as well as have been invented for the cheesesteak.

Jim's Steaks, maybe. The number one draw for Pudges is that it's the alternative to driving 45 minutes into the city for a real cheesesteak.

[jimhelm]

Well, when she comes, we will all go together. Ill drive.