Here, on The Meat Show (a great name), Nick Solares tries a unique idea: BBQ made from dry-aged beef. It costs $47 per pound.
Of course this “dry-aged” BBQ is in New York City, as true Texans wouldn’t have anything to do with this. Now I love dry-aged beef in a steak (preferably aged 30 days or longer), and wouldn’t be opposed to trying some of this pricey barbecue, but I was dubious about whether the added rub and smoke would obscure the pure gamey meat flavor of a dry-aged steak. However, Solares seems to think otherwise.
Oh hell, I’d probably buy it. There’s nothing like the flavor of a good steak made from dry-aged beef, and life is short.
Well, that’s a waste of money!
Some years ago I smoked wild caught Norwegian salmon that went for $29/lb at Whole Foods. It didn’t taste any different than my smoked Atlantic farm raised salmon at $5/lb.
Same thing with Texas chili. I’ve done it with round steak, tenderloin, chuck and shoulder. It’s all in the cooking technique, not the cut o’ cow.
So, yeah, y’all New York city slickers feel good about yourselves paying $100 for a bowl of “Texas” chili cooked by a yankee. Makes me feel good just thinking about it!
I think it is also the heavy-handed flavoring inherent in certain methods. Smoking is typically not subtle, nor the amount and type of seasonings in chili.
But the cut of meat can make a difference. Many years ago I did a lot of salt water fishing and smoked a lot of fish. If I couldn’t get a type of fish to taste good enough to eat, as a last resort I would try smoking it. I learned that there are some fish that just can’t be made palatable.
That’s when you lutefisk!
I’m scared.
He said *palatable*. 🙂 (To be fair, I’ve never tried lutefisk, though I can’t say I’ve been sold on it, as a Norwegian I used to know described the taste as a cross between vodka and soap.)
I am sure it is different, not sure about quality to price. Being a vegetarian for over a decade and then returning to meat and approaching steak for the last decade with an elitist attitude, I can say I’ve prepared and had prepared for me $5 to $50 steaks that are nearly identical in pleasure. I am often left mystified why there is not a closer correlation to price (same goes for wine, obviously).
Nevertheless, experimentation with food is always a good thing.
I live near that place. I haven’t tried that particular item, but I like their food in general. It’s not the best BBQ in NYC, though. There are a bunch of restaurants that do pretty authentic BBQ – Texas, Memphis, Kansas City, North Carolina, etc.
Maybe I’ll go try that and report back to you.
Native Texan in NY, myself, can’t say “Hill Country” is much like anything I had back home, and I lived a bit south of Austin pretty close to Lockhart.
Hometown BBQ in Red Hook, though, is the real deal. Native Brooklynite runs it, and he studied with the legendary Louis Mueller back in Texas to learn the craft, and damn if he don’t know some smoke.
His bark is worth the bite. Knowhudimean.
I try to avoid Brooklyn as much as possible, but if I’m ever in Red Hook I’ll check it out. Thanks for the recommendation. Blue Smoke is pretty good (but not for Texas style), and there’s a new place I forget the name of that’s over near sixth ave and tenth street (I think) that’s pretty good.
You can treat yourself to this on my dime when I lose our Trump bet….
“Here, on The Meat Show (a great name)… ”
Seeing as you like that name, Dear PCC(E), I have to share with you my son’s college tour at Bard last year.
We were being walked down a beautiful winding forested path (of which there are many…beautiful campus) and the student tour guide was taking the interval to explain all the sustainable, vegetarian and vegan options for the student diet. They even have their own sustainable farm on campus.
I most heartily approved of everything she was saying, but, being from Austin, felt an overwhelming urge to be a wiseass and make a crack for the carnivores when she stopped, turned and said, “But we also have a club on campus called MEAT… Men Eating Animals Together. They may have to change the name though, because I just joined.”
My son is now firmly established in the Language and Thinking seminar for incoming freshman and becomes an official Bardian in September.
I am thrilled.
How is “dry-aged” different from “carefully rotted for a month”?
None. Like a whole lot of food getting it to rot in just the right way is what it is all about. Heck, beer, wine and spirits wouldn’t exist if we never let our food rot!
It’s like me “aging gracefully.”
What do you think of wet aged? I know the purists prefer dry but apparently you lose a lot by dry aging.
wet aged is largely what you get at any grocery store. The meat isn’t “fresh” as most would understand it and has been in plastic for weeks.