That organic butcher shop in Portland had me scratching my head

I stopped by this high-end place called The Meat Epicure last month and watched their guy trim a whole ribeye. He cut off almost all the fat cap and the deckle like it was trash, leaving maybe a quarter inch on top. Am I crazy for thinking you need more fat than that for flavor or is this some new style I missed?

2 comments

2 Comments

mary61420d ago

That bit about "left maybe a quarter inch on top" got me. My buddy runs a small BBQ joint down in Austin, and he told me about this exact thing happening at a supplier meeting. Some new wave butcher came in all proud showing off their "lean cuts" and my friend just stared at him. He said they were practically shaving the fat down to nothing, calling it "clean trimming." That guy ended up taking his business elsewhere because his brisket came out dry as a bone without that fat layer. So no, you're not crazy. Some folks are just scared of fat these days and it ruins the meat.

beth_butler7520d ago

Clean trimming" sounds like a fancy way to say "ruining brisket." I'd probably be the guy at the meeting nodding along until I realized my dry brisket was my own fault.