Where does one buy "Prime" grade beef? The best I ever find in the markets
is USDA Choice.

Paul Barrett

On Sun, 25 Dec 2005 12:21:02 -0900, "Paul & Robin Barrett"
> wrote:

>Where does one buy "Prime" grade beef? The best I ever find in the markets
>is USDA Choice.
>
>Paul Barrett
>

Specialty meat markets or online. I have the former available, so
cannot tell you about online. Google it.

Best of the holidays to you.


jim

ensenadajim wrote:
> On Sun, 25 Dec 2005 12:21:02 -0900, "Paul & Robin Barrett"
> > wrote:
>
> >Where does one buy "Prime" grade beef? The best I ever find in the markets
> >is USDA Choice.
> >
> >Paul Barrett
> >
>
> Specialty meat markets or online. I have the former available, so
> cannot tell you about online. Google it.

Talking through your ass... useless runty *******, ain'tcha.

He http://www.lobels.com

ensenadajim wrote:

> On Sun, 25 Dec 2005 12:21:02 -0900, "Paul & Robin Barrett"
> > wrote:
>
>
>>Where does one buy "Prime" grade beef? The best I ever find in the markets
>>is USDA Choice.
>>
>>Paul Barrett
>>
>
>
> Specialty meat markets or online. I have the former available, so
> cannot tell you about online. Google it.
>
> Best of the holidays to you.
>
>
> jim

Allen Brothers sells a lot of high end beef. Be prepared for sticker shock.

Peter
>

Paul & Robin Barrett > wrote:
> Where does one buy "Prime" grade beef? The best I ever find in the markets
> is USDA Choice.

If you are the Paul Barrett who lives in Dallas, you can find
it at Central Market. It's cheaper at Hirsch's, though.

--
Mark Shaw
================================================== ======================
"Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of mnshaw@
celestial fire called conscience." - George Washington gmail.com

On 25 Dec 2005 13:53:10 -0800, "Sheldon" > wrote:

>
>ensenadajim wrote:
>> On Sun, 25 Dec 2005 12:21:02 -0900, "Paul & Robin Barrett"
>> > wrote:
>>
>> >Where does one buy "Prime" grade beef? The best I ever find in the markets
>> >is USDA Choice.
>> >
>> >Paul Barrett
>> >
>>
>> Specialty meat markets or online. I have the former available, so
>> cannot tell you about online. Google it.
>
>Talking through your ass... useless runty *******, ain'tcha.
>
>He http://www.lobels.com


Were you speaking for me again, shelliebabie? Evidently, were I
talking through my ass.

I do have local meat shops that handle prime and there are several
online that I do not bother looking for because I have the former.

If all that went over your head again slelliebabie, next Christmas,
ask Santa Claus for a working brain.


jim

"Paul & Robin Barrett" > wrote in message
...
> Where does one buy "Prime" grade beef? The best I ever find in the
> markets is USDA Choice.
>
> Paul Barrett

If you live in SoCal, Gelson's carries Prime Grade; I've seen it at How's
Markets (used to be Hughes); Selected Ralph's in upscale neighborhoods, like
La Canada-Flintridge & parts of da valley. The big Whole Foods in Pasadena
also carries Prime.

Harriet & critters (J J the world famous jack russell terrior; P K the lady
manx; and my son Joseph who came back & is putting mom thru school)

"hw" > wrote in
nk.net:

>
> "Paul & Robin Barrett" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Where does one buy "Prime" grade beef? The best I ever find in the
>> markets is USDA Choice.
>>
>> Paul Barrett
>
> If you live in SoCal, Gelson's carries Prime Grade; I've seen it at
> How's Markets (used to be Hughes); Selected Ralph's in upscale
> neighborhoods, like La Canada-Flintridge & parts of da valley. The
> big Whole Foods in Pasadena also carries Prime.
>
> Harriet & critters (J J the world famous jack russell terrior; P K the
> lady manx; and my son Joseph who came back & is putting mom thru
> school)


I was gonna suggest Goldman Sachs.

Andy

Lobel's is fantastic, (and fantastically expensive), even though it
comes frozen.
Plus, their beef is dry-aged, which you can usually only find in fine
steakhouses.

Try their pork chops. You won't confuse them for the "other white meat"
type that you see in stores.

"Paul & Robin Barrett" > wrote in message
...
> Where does one buy "Prime" grade beef? The best I ever find in the
markets
> is USDA Choice.
>
> Paul Barrett

where is your nearest metro area?



>
>

Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:
> "Paul & Robin Barrett" > looking for trouble wrote in
> :
>
>
>>Where does one buy "Prime" grade beef? The best I ever find in the
>>markets is USDA Choice.
>>
>>Paul Barrett
>>
>>
>
>
> We are lucky to have a great butcher shop down the road as well as a fish
> monger. We don't always buy the expensive cuts so I'll go to the
> supermarkets for meat if it's on sale. I've alway got frozen tilapia on
> hand which I buy at the supermarket.

Same here, there is something to be said for those local shops. There is
a mom & pop place the next town over that has the best homemade sausage
and will get anything you want if they don't have it.



>
> Some of the larger chain stores have actual butcher shops in them and they
> will be able to order whatever you need.
>
> Michael
>

That won't be the case if Super Wally has taken over your area. All of
their adulaterated meat is processed by others.

It may depend on where you live. Around here some small farmers -
retired or with other jobs - raise a handful of cattle to feed
themselves and a few friends and sell for a little extra cash. We found
the one who supplies us by calling around local custom butchers to ask
if they knew any sources for custom or organic beef.

It's a trade-off. The fellow who supplies our beef doesn't have all the
special certifications so we have to take his word on how he feeds and
treats his animals. He says it's the way his Dad used to feed prime
beef for sale, and the taste says he's doing something right! He
doesn't advertise, so he and others like him are hard to find. And we
have to keep a freezer and accept a quarter at a time, all cuts.
Certified advertised specialty beef producers let you pick individual
cuts when you want them and make custom orders, but they charge 2-10
times grocery store prices, counting shipping. We pay about the same as
we used to pay at the store for much better beef. For us, this really
works.

Kathy

"Paul & Robin Barrett" > wrote in message
...
> Where does one buy "Prime" grade beef? The best I ever find in the
> markets is USDA Choice.

Without knowing where "one" lives, it's hard to tell you where to shop.

In case you live in Houston, though...you can find prime beef at Pete's Fine
Meats, on 5509 Richmond Ave (east of Chimney Rock). Also, B&W Meat Market,
on Shepherd, carries prime. Another place is Veron's Cajun Meat Market, in
Humble/Atascocita.

Mary

"Michael "Dog3" Lonergan" > wrote in message
...
> "Sheldon" > looking for trouble wrote in
> oups.com:
>
> >
> > ensenadajim wrote:
> >> On Sun, 25 Dec 2005 12:21:02 -0900, "Paul & Robin Barrett"
> >> > wrote:
> >>
> >> >Where does one buy "Prime" grade beef? The best I ever find in the
> >> >markets is USDA Choice.
> >> >
> >> >Paul Barrett
> >> >
> >>
> >> Specialty meat markets or online. I have the former available, so
> >> cannot tell you about online. Google it.
> >
> > Talking through your ass... useless runty *******, ain'tcha.
> >
> > He http://www.lobels.com
> >
> >
>
> Have you ordered from Lobels? Very cool site with lots of stuff to look
> at. Those Cowboy steaks look mighty tempting but I don't want the meat to
> be frozen. I know Omaha sucks and their steaks get here frozen and are
> pretty tasteless. Thanks for the site.
>
> Michael
>
> --
However, Lobels who sells retail and D'Artagnan who sells wholesale can't
sell outside of greater NYC unless they freeze their meats for obvious
reasons.

tuppy wrote:
> "Michael "Dog3" Lonergan" > wrote in message
> ...
> > "Sheldon" > looking for trouble wrote in
> > oups.com:
> >
> > >
> > > ensenadajim wrote:
> > >> On Sun, 25 Dec 2005 12:21:02 -0900, "Paul & Robin Barrett"
> > >> > wrote:
> > >>
> > >> >Where does one buy "Prime" grade beef? The best I ever find in the
> > >> >markets is USDA Choice.
> > >> >
> > >> >Paul Barrett
> > >> >
> > >>
> > >> Specialty meat markets or online. I have the former available, so
> > >> cannot tell you about online. Google it.
> > >
> > > Talking through your ass... useless runty *******, ain'tcha.
> > >
> > > He http://www.lobels.com
> > >
> > >
> >
> > Have you ordered from Lobels? Very cool site with lots of stuff to look
> > at. Those Cowboy steaks look mighty tempting but I don't want the meat to
> > be frozen. I know Omaha sucks and their steaks get here frozen and are
> > pretty tasteless. Thanks for the site.
> >
> >
> However, Lobels who sells retail and D'Artagnan who sells wholesale can't
> sell outside of greater NYC unless they freeze their meats for obvious
> reasons.

Not necessarily. I've had live lobster Same Day delivered, packed in a
special container cooled with dry ice but in such a way that the live
lobster was refrigerated, definitely not frozen. I'd bet were you to
inquire of Lobels they would inform you about how they ship
refrigerated all the time... it would be idiotic to freeze any tender
beef, imbecilic to freeze USDA Prime. The special shipping I'm sure is
why their prices are as high as they are... I'm sure those customers
who walk in pay probably 20% less... but hey, yoose rural types want
USDA Prime yoose gots to pay for to find you.

Btw, Omaha beef is "Branded" beef, it is not USDA graded, it's ungraded
beef, typically equal to low end Choice. USDA graded beef must be
offered for sale never frozen... branded beef is permitted for sale
frozen or previously frozen. Ground beef naturally gets no USDA
grade... don't ever buy that mystery meat from anyone, not even Lobels.
USDA grading is a voluntary program. Branded beef is never USDA
graded (USDA will not grade branded beef), always seems to cost about
20% more, and is rarely as high quality as USDA Choice. There are
hundreds of different Branded beef companys, Angus is a popular one...
they use red tinted plastic wrap and large impressive foil labels so
you can't see what you're buying, non-USDA graded is permitted these
tricks... without that USDA grade it's buyer beware.

"Sheldon" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>
> tuppy wrote:
> > "Michael "Dog3" Lonergan" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > "Sheldon" > looking for trouble wrote in
> > > oups.com:
> > >
> > > >
> > > > ensenadajim wrote:
> > > >> On Sun, 25 Dec 2005 12:21:02 -0900, "Paul & Robin Barrett"
> > > >> > wrote:
> > > >>
> > > >> >Where does one buy "Prime" grade beef? The best I ever find in
the
> > > >> >markets is USDA Choice.
> > > >> >
> > > >> >Paul Barrett
> > > >> >
> > > >>
> > > >> Specialty meat markets or online. I have the former available, so
> > > >> cannot tell you about online. Google it.
> > > >
> > > > Talking through your ass... useless runty *******, ain'tcha.
> > > >
> > > > He http://www.lobels.com
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > > Have you ordered from Lobels? Very cool site with lots of stuff to
look
> > > at. Those Cowboy steaks look mighty tempting but I don't want the
meat to
> > > be frozen. I know Omaha sucks and their steaks get here frozen and
are
> > > pretty tasteless. Thanks for the site.
> > >
> > >
> > However, Lobels who sells retail and D'Artagnan who sells wholesale
can't
> > sell outside of greater NYC unless they freeze their meats for obvious
> > reasons.
>
> Not necessarily. I've had live lobster Same Day delivered, packed in a
> special container cooled with dry ice but in such a way that the live
> lobster was refrigerated, definitely not frozen. I'd bet were you to
> inquire of Lobels they would inform you about how they ship
> refrigerated all the time... it would be idiotic to freeze any tender
> beef, imbecilic to freeze USDA Prime. The special shipping I'm sure is
> why their prices are as high as they are... I'm sure those customers
> who walk in pay probably 20% less... but hey, yoose rural types want
> USDA Prime yoose gots to pay for to find you.
>
> Btw, Omaha beef is "Branded" beef, it is not USDA graded, it's ungraded
> beef, typically equal to low end Choice. USDA graded beef must be
> offered for sale never frozen... branded beef is permitted for sale
> frozen or previously frozen. Ground beef naturally gets no USDA
> grade... don't ever buy that mystery meat from anyone, not even Lobels.
> USDA grading is a voluntary program. Branded beef is never USDA
> graded (USDA will not grade branded beef), always seems to cost about
> 20% more, and is rarely as high quality as USDA Choice. There are
> hundreds of different Branded beef companys, Angus is a popular one...
> they use red tinted plastic wrap and large impressive foil labels so
> you can't see what you're buying, non-USDA graded is permitted these
> tricks... without that USDA grade it's buyer beware.
>
I ordered Waygu from Lobels a couple years ago for shipment to my then home
in Nashville (actually Franklin...country music heaven...I hate country
music) TN. It did not arrive fresh but rather..."flash frozen."

On Wed, 28 Dec 2005 04:42:14 GMT, tuppy wrote:

>
> "Sheldon" > wrote in message
> ups.com...
> >
> > tuppy wrote:
> > > "Michael "Dog3" Lonergan" > wrote in message
> > > ...
> > > > "Sheldon" > looking for trouble wrote in
> > > > oups.com:
> > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > ensenadajim wrote:
> > > > >> On Sun, 25 Dec 2005 12:21:02 -0900, "Paul & Robin Barrett"
> > > > >> > wrote:
> > > > >>
> > > > >> >Where does one buy "Prime" grade beef? The best I ever find in
> the
> > > > >> >markets is USDA Choice.
> > > > >> >
> > > > >> >Paul Barrett
> > > > >> >
> > > > >>
> > > > >> Specialty meat markets or online. I have the former available, so
> > > > >> cannot tell you about online. Google it.
> > > > >
> > > > > Talking through your ass... useless runty *******, ain'tcha.
> > > > >
> > > > > He http://www.lobels.com
> > > > >
> > Not necessarily. I've had live lobster Same Day delivered, packed in a
> > special container cooled with dry ice but in such a way that the live
> > lobster was refrigerated, definitely not frozen. I'd bet were you to
> > inquire of Lobels they would inform you about how they ship
> > refrigerated all the time... it would be idiotic to freeze any tender
> > beef, imbecilic to freeze USDA Prime. The special shipping I'm sure is
> > why their prices are as high as they are... I'm sure those customers
> > who walk in pay probably 20% less... but hey, yoose rural types want
> > USDA Prime yoose gots to pay for to find you.
> >
<snip>
> I ordered Waygu from Lobels a couple years ago for shipment to my then home
> in Nashville (actually Franklin...country music heaven...I hate country
> music) TN. It did not arrive fresh but rather..."flash frozen."
>
Flash frozen is still frozen although it's state of the art freezing
and supposed to capture as many qualities of fresh as possible.... are
you absolutely sure it was flash frozen and not "cooled" to temps (and
feel) that mere mortals consider frozen?
--

Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.

sf wrote:
> tuppy puppy prevaricated:
> <snip>
> > I ordered Waygu from Lobels for shipment to my then home
> > in Nashville. It did not arrive fresh but rather..."flash frozen."
> >
> Flash frozen is still frozen although it's state of the art freezing
> and supposed to capture as many qualities of fresh as possible.... are
> you absolutely sure it was flash frozen and not "cooled"

Flash freezing does little to retain the quality of beef... one should
never freeze tender cuts... those who stock up their freezers with beef
from the rib, loin, and sirloin are morons.

I say "tuppy" puppy is a friggin' pinocchio snouted liar, has never had
any Lobels products, has never even been to their web site (obviously).
Best beef tuppy puppy has ever had is from a can of Campbell's.

http://www.lobels.com/custService/se...q_shipping.asp

I knew immediately that this tuppy puppy had to be lying... Lobels
would never sell frozen... besides, no one would pay those prices for
frozen. I wouldn't buy a frozen chuck steak... in fact chuck is the
best steak to grill, only people freeze them and then they are ruined
for anything but stew.. frozen chuck even makes a lousy burger.

Sheldon

ensenadajim wrote:
>
>
> Were you speaking for me again, shelliebabie? Evidently, were I
> talking through my ass.

You're all ass... LYING ******* ASSHOLE!

On Sun, 25 Dec 2005 21:58:46 GMT, "P.Aitken" > rummaged
among random neurons and opined:

>
>
>ensenadajim wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 25 Dec 2005 12:21:02 -0900, "Paul & Robin Barrett"
>> > wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Where does one buy "Prime" grade beef? The best I ever find in the markets
>>>is USDA Choice.
>>>
>>>Paul Barrett
>>>
>>
>>
>> Specialty meat markets or online. I have the former available, so
>> cannot tell you about online. Google it.
>>
>> Best of the holidays to you.
>>
>>
>> jim
>
>Allen Brothers sells a lot of high end beef. Be prepared for sticker shock.

Worth every dime where the steaks are concerned. Had their prime rib
for Christmas and, although it was very, very good, was not so
exceptional that it was worth the price.

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA

"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

On 28 Dec 2005 07:42:18 -0800, "Sheldon" > wrote:

>
>ensenadajim wrote:
>>
>>
>> Were you speaking for me again, shelliebabie? Evidently, were I
>> talking through my ass.
>
>You're all ass... LYING ******* ASSHOLE!


Still trying, eh shelliebabie? My, that outburst of yours sounds
exactly like a beer fart I make every once in awhile.


jim

ensenadajim wrote:
>"Sheldon" wrote:
> >ensenadajim wrote:
> >>
> >> Were you speaking for me again, shelliebabie? Evidently, were I
> >> talking through my ass.
> >
> >You're all ass... LYING ******* ASSHOLE!
>
> My, that outburst of yours sounds
> exactly like a beer fart I make every once in awhile.

Actually that's the stench of your beaner momma entering the room... P
U!

You need a premium market or a butcher's shop.

Her in AZ the only "supermarket" in which to get it semi-consistently
is AJ's, the premium branch of Bashas' (sic).

N.B.: USDA Prime is not cheap, typically 2-3x the price of choice, and
it's not guaranteed to be better than choice. The entire carcass is
graded, and the grader can't see into the particular cut of meat you're
buying, just the exposed edge of the slit cut into the side of beef
that he's grading. So, fairly often, you'll find cuts from
Choice-graded carcasses that have all the marbling of nominal Prime
beef. And, sometimes, it goes the other way, and the Prime looks
almost like Select. The grades are based entirely on eyeballed fat
percentage have correlation with the quality of the lean meat or the
aging.

Your eye on the cut you're asking them to wrap up is the guide.

That said, one of the best steaks I ever ate was a 16-oz Prime strip
that I got at AJ's ($18/lb, iirc) and seared on my home grill to leave
a cool center with the marbling still visible. I still close my eyes
thinking about that one.

--Blair

"Sheldon" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> sf wrote:
> > tuppy puppy prevaricated:
> > <snip>
> > > I ordered Waygu from Lobels for shipment to my then home
> > > in Nashville. It did not arrive fresh but rather..."flash frozen."
> > >
> > Flash frozen is still frozen although it's state of the art freezing
> > and supposed to capture as many qualities of fresh as possible.... are
> > you absolutely sure it was flash frozen and not "cooled"
>
> Flash freezing does little to retain the quality of beef... one should
> never freeze tender cuts... those who stock up their freezers with beef
> from the rib, loin, and sirloin are morons.
>
> I say "tuppy" puppy is a friggin' pinocchio snouted liar, has never had
> any Lobels products, has never even been to their web site (obviously).
> Best beef tuppy puppy has ever had is from a can of Campbell's.
>
> http://www.lobels.com/custService/se...q_shipping.asp
>
> I knew immediately that this tuppy puppy had to be lying... Lobels
> would never sell frozen... besides, no one would pay those prices for
> frozen. I wouldn't buy a frozen chuck steak... in fact chuck is the
> best steak to grill, only people freeze them and then they are ruined
> for anything but stew.. frozen chuck even makes a lousy burger.
>
> Sheldon
>

Well Sheldon, it seems you should call Evan Lobel (I have) yourself
1-877-783-4512 and ask him how Lobels ships outside of Nieuw Yawk, you
know...that land west of the Hudson River, also north and south. Then you
might learn something new yet once again. And as you know (I hope), fresh or
frozen, nobody stocks up on Waygu or it's against the law to import into the
U.S. brethren, Kobe beef.

I enjoy the authority at which you speak, especially when it's without
foundation and merit.

Rand

>The grades are based entirely on eyeballed fat
>percentage have correlation with the quality of the lean meat or the
>aging.

"and have no correlation"

--Blair
"hth"

In article .net>,
"tuppy" > wrote:



> frozen, nobody stocks up on Waygu or it's against the law to import into the
> U.S. brethren, Kobe beef.


Interesting how things change. Our very own Tanith Tyrr, who I haven't
seen posting here in years, wrote the following way back in 1998:

http://members.tripod.com/~BayGourmet/wagyu.html

Her basic claim was you couldn't buy wagyu beef in the US, because the
Japanese had a lock on the market. They wanted you to buy true Kobe
beef, even though it was grown and raised here in the US. There isn't
enough land in Japan for growing beef. So the cattle were raised here,
shipped to Japan, given their finishing feeding, butchered and then
shipped back to the US to sell.

Now, of course, wagyu beef is available here in the US, without passing
through Japan on the way.

--
Dan Abel

Petaluma, California, USA

"Sheldon" > wrote
>
<snips>
>
> Flash freezing does little to retain the quality of beef... one should
> never freeze tender cuts... those who stock up their freezers with beef
> from the rib, loin, and sirloin are morons.

While close, I am not an actual moron. I recently was the recipient of a
package of 6 porterhouse dry aged prime steaks from Allen Brothers. They
arrived frozen. Nevertheless they are the best steaks I have ever eaten. I
can't imagine how much better they could be if they were never frozen! Along
with the Porterhouse steaks I got 8 Allen Brothers Steak Frankfurters. They
are superb but a little underspiced. Very snappy skins on them. I would like
to be able to eat like this all the time! I certainly can recommend Allen
Brothers as a online source. Bless all friends bearing gifts!

Charlie

On 28 Dec 2005 14:13:32 -0800, "Sheldon" > wrote:

>
>ensenadajim wrote:
>>"Sheldon" wrote:
>> >ensenadajim wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Were you speaking for me again, shelliebabie? Evidently, were I
>> >> talking through my ass.
>> >
>> >You're all ass... LYING ******* ASSHOLE!
>>
>> My, that outburst of yours sounds
>> exactly like a beer fart I make every once in awhile.
>
>Actually that's the stench of your beaner momma entering the room... P
>U!


We thought we taught your mother better manners than to insult people
when she worked in our bathrooms and cleaning ****pots, shelliebabie.
It looks like she didn't pass that information on to you.


jim

I have to mention, I've had Kobe Beef three times now (actually
advertised as Kobe, not Wagyu), and I'm totally not impressed.

The first time was at Nobu in the Hard Rock Cafe in Vegas. A cube of
Kobe was sliced thin and (almost) seared with a blowtorch. Tasted not
unlike any other carpaccio.

The second was at Fix in the Bellagio, also in Vegas. I fell for the
"Kobe beef sliders" routine. But when you grind beef, it doesn't
matter that it was well-marbled; you can always add a little fat to the
grind. So it tasted *exactly* like the 80/20 burgers I make at home.

The third was a strip steak at Tomaso's in Chandler, AZ. I'd just had
a fantastic Prime strip at Fleming's up in DC Ranch a week before, and
wanted to see if the Kobe could top it. Not even close. Tough and
chewy. Select grade at best. I almost sent it back to have it cooked
more (I order good steaks done Pittsburgh style these days), just to
soften it up. I had a long talk with the manager about this history,
and I think he agreed that the base cost of it isn't worth the lack of
wow-factor. They'd make more money and get more repeat orders from
USDA Prime beef.

My conclusion: Kobe Beef is a hyped-up ripoff (and Wagyu probably
isn't all that magical either). Try it if you never have had it, but
if you've ever had good Prime beef, don't expect much.

--Blair

On 29 Dec 2005 10:37:58 -0800, "Blair P. Houghton"
> wrote:

>I order good steaks done Pittsburgh style these days

What is that? Pittsburgh, once being known for its steel mills and
the smoke produced by them, and having worked a couple of summers in a
Cleveland steel mill in the 1950's, I am imagining a steak charred
instantly black by a slab of red- hot steel but with a blood-red
interior.

RK

"Richard M. Kennedy" in :
> . . . Pittsburgh, once being known for its steel mills and the smoke
> produced by them


I can remember that too; but few old industrial regions of the US seem to
have changed as much in look and feel as Pittsburgh did in the last few
decades. (If only more of the old smokestack towns could do so.) The food
scene there has been very much alive too. (They even got rid of the old
airport several years ago, with its drab corridors and drip pans to catch
the endless leaks from the roof. Replaced by blandness and Pizza-Hut (tm),
but at least it's dry.)

Charles Gifford wrote:
> "Sheldon" > wrote
> >
> <snips>
> >
> > Flash freezing does little to retain the quality of beef... one should
> > never freeze tender cuts... those who stock up their freezers with beef
> > from the rib, loin, and sirloin are morons.
>
> While close, I am not an actual moron. I recently was the recipient of a
> package of 6 porterhouse dry aged prime steaks from Allen Brothers. They
> arrived frozen. Nevertheless they are the best steaks I have ever eaten. I
> can't imagine how much better they could be if they were never frozen! Along
> with the Porterhouse steaks I got 8 Allen Brothers Steak Frankfurters. They
> are superb but a little underspiced. Very snappy skins on them. I would like
> to be able to eat like this all the time! I certainly can recommend Allen
> Brothers as a online source. Bless all friends bearing gifts!

That must've been awhile back, Allen Brothers doesn't list any
porterhouse by six-packs (they list 2s, 4s, and 8s), and they seem to
only sell those dogs by the five pound package, Regulars (40 dogs) and
Jumbos (20 dogs)... $49/either size... that's like $10/lb for dogs.

I guess when it's not you paying... you're not going to look a gift
horse in the mouth.

With shipping your friend paid more than $60/lb for frozen beef, that's
sad. I'm sure it tasted fine but unfrozen would have been much
better.... USDA Choice porterhouse from the stupidmarket ($8/lb) would
be better than frozen Prime. From reading the Allen Brothers web site
it's obvious to me that they increase sales volume by taking advantage
of the lower shipping rate for frozen (2 day) as compared with the much
higher rate to ship never frozen (over night shipping)... they've
learned a common marketing fact, more people will buy when total cost
is lower... even wealthy folks purchase by total price. Allen
Brothers has hidden away on their web site that they also ship the same
products unfrozen (they'd not if they truly thought unfrozen were
equal), but they tout frozen by pandering to those who for whatever
reason will not cook their meat within a reasonable time (2 days) upon
receipt... again to increase sales volume.

I would never purchase any tender beef for my freezer, and I'm
certainly not going to pay the price of USDA Prime and accept frozen.
In teh US of A fresh meat is available every day, I see no real savings
in stocking up on expensive cuts just to initially save a dollar if
when I go to use those steaks/roasts they've lost half their value I
don't care what anyone claims, there is no way I can be convinced that
freezing any fresh food doesn't cause massive deterioration. I'll buy
frozen corn on the cob when fresh is not in season, it's texture (and
flavor) is nowhere as good as fresh picked, but with corn we're talking
a few pennies per serving, not $50/serving. To me freezing beef is no
different than freezing fish... I suppose those used to Mr's Pauls
wouldn't notice. Even less tender cuts like chuck and round are
noticeably better when never frozen, even when ground for burgers,
especially burgers... anyone who hasn't eaten a fresh ground burger
they've ground themself from never frozen beef has never tasted a real
burger.... pre-ground mystery meat is bad enough, but then when it's
been frozen, that's heaping harm on injury. Didja know that never
frozen burgers can contain far less fat and still be juicy, in fact
they'll be juicy rather than greazy.

Richard M. Kennedy wrote:
> Blair P. Houghton wrote:
>
> >I order good steaks done Pittsburgh style these days
>
> What is that? Pittsburgh, once being known for its steel mills and
> the smoke produced by them, and having worked a couple of summers in a
> Cleveland steel mill in the 1950's, I am imagining a steak charred
> instantly black by a slab of red- hot steel but with a blood-red
> interior.

That's the theory. It's also called "Chicago" in some places. Best to
get agreement with the waiter on what it means before letting him take
your meat in his hands.

--Blair
"See the irony?"