RIB EYE STEAK PRIMAL

The Great White Hunter marches to the beat of his own drum. He is also a free thinker and sometimes has flashes of brilliance. He informed me he had bought the whole 'rib eye steak primal' and was having the butcher (Mama Cho's) dry age it for 30 days. After 30 days this would be broke down into two inch steaks with the bone-in. The Great White Hunter was gracious enough to allow me to purchase one of these beauties.

I have to admit, I was excited to try this beautiful corn-fed USDA Choice rib-eye steak. The act of dry aging intensifies and concentrates beef flavors. Dry aged steaks are usually served in high end restaurants at a premium price. We seasoned our steak with salt & pepper only. A very hot charcoal fire was lit. I let the grates heat until smoking. When I placed the steak on the piping hot grill a beautiful sizzling sound told me we were on the way to a fantastic meal. The steak was seared on all sides and then moved  to the indirect heat side and finished until the internal temperature was 120 degrees. A 10 minute rest and it was time to eat. Dry-aged beef is such a treat. Flavors are intense and dare I use the term Umami? One does crave the next bite. This was one tender cut.  WOW!!!!! Thankyou Great White Hunter.

TOOTLE’S CUSTOM CUTTING BUTCHER SHOP

 It was a rainy gray Saturday morning and we decided to venture on a journey to visit Tootle’s Custom Cutting Butcher Shop located in Marysville California This would be an hour and one half rocket ride at break neck speeds in the Racing Honda piloted by Ms. Goofy. We arrived safely albeit my white knuckles and eyeballs that was sunken from the ‘G’ forces. All was right with the world once we walked through the inviting doors of Tootles.

Tootle’s Custom Cutting Butcher Shop must be a poplar place for the local populace. The first thing the attending butcher proclaimed was; it usually looks a lot better than this. He was referring to the meat cases being fairly empty. There was still a good sampling of products to purchase. While we were surveying the sparse meat displays we got to briefly meet the owners; Ron & Valerie Tootle. They told us they were originally from Bakersfield and ran a butcher shop there. I asked what their signature/popular meat was. Ron said Chileverde which they had just sold 600 pounds last week and were out of now. They make several varieties of sausage, Brats, meatloaf, country style sausage and smoked bacon out back. Since we could not buy Chileverde we filled our cart with plenty of other meat offerings.

The stuffed pork chops looked fantastic. They were stuffed with a bread mixture studded with dried cranberries.. A USDA thick cut T-bone also made it in our basket. Some sliced house smoked bacon and breakfast sausage was included too. Ms. Goofy picked out a very meaty smoked ham hock to make her mother’s simmered white bean recipe.

Tootle’s Custom Cutting Butcher Shop is a nice local butcher shop. They fill a need supplying the local Marysville carnivores with quality meat products. We were a little disappointed that Chileverde was sold out but that gives a good excuse to return. Maybe Ms. Goofy will let me drive. "Tootle-Loo"

Tootle’s Custom Cutting Butcher Shop
317 3 Street
Marysville Ca 95901
530 741-9174

BACON FOUGASSE

Firebrand Artisan Breads in Oakland California sells a bacon fougasse bread. The fougasse bread is a simple flat bread that is typically leaf shaped and embellished with cheese, herbs , nuts or anchovies.  This version is rich and decadent with a very special ingredient of Berkshire bacon from Belcampo Meat . I heard of this bread and immediately commandeered the Racing Honda to procure this bacony treat.

Parking Karma once again was on my side by the parking spot right in front with time on the meter. (Eat your heart out Great White Hunter). Firebrand is located on the outskirts of the revitalized downtown Oakland. Firebrand is also one of two bakeries located on the same block. I believe Hipster's need multiple bakery choices. This bakery specializes in artisan breads naturally leavened with sourdough yeast, baked in wood fire ovens. The entrance is very plain and I actually wondered if this was the right place. Once in the doors my apprehension was transformed into wonderment.

The inside was huge and cavernous. An open kitchen was a feast for inquisitive eyes. This was a busy hub of bread making activities. The display of breads was very impressive. I was on a mision to buy bacon fougasse today. I made my purchase and left with time to spare on the meter. The smell of fresh bread in the car was intoxicating. It took a lot of will power to not sneak a little piece of bacon off of this creation. Once home it was time to taste. This bread has so many levels of flavor. The sourdough is an earthy, tangy contribution to the profile. The bacon is on top and throughout that adds a savory richness. Belcampos berkshire bacon is a treat with its almost beefy like bacon flavor. The bread has a chew that has one noshing in bread appreciation. I had to use restraint to not eat the whole loaf in one sitting. Oh my, did we love this bread! I even love the name; fougasse. I am already planning a return trip to Firbrand Artisan Breads.

Firebrand Artisan Breads

AMERICAN STYLE KOBE BEEF

Our local Wally World held a sale selling pound packages of ‘American Style’ ‘Kobe Beef’ for five dollars. We could not resist. This sounded too good to be true and raised some red flags. True certified Kobe Wagyu steaks from Japan sells at Alexanders Steak House for around 120 dollars per entrée. We will start with the conclusion of how they tasted. They were fantastic. These burgers were rich and deep with beef flavor. There was a luscious mouth feel from the rich fat in our burger patties. They were excellent. This spiked my curiosity of what we were actually eating. Was this the prized beef from Japan? We were on a mission to find the origin of American Style Kobe Beef.

The logical first step was to ask the butcher at Wally World. As W. C. Fields would say; “If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.” This was our Wally Worlds butchers response; “It is a brand name”. Yeah right. It was not worth the air to argue with the Wally World hired help. I called the 800 number listed on the back of the package. I was directed to an answering machine with no reply.  American BBQ Company the company listed on the package also had an 800 number which also directed me to a non-replying answering machine. I contacted corporate Wally World by e-mail. Four days later I received a reply. I asked the wrong question;” What does Kobe Beef mean?”  Wally World corporate went to Wikipedia and cut and pasted the definition of Kobe Beef. I should have asked what does ‘AMERICAN STYLE Kobe Beef mean.  I was frustrated. Finally a manager from Wally World called and provided some partial clarification of this product.  “American Style” refers to the cattle that is actually from the states and is a cross of Japanese and American breeds. This meat has lots of luscious rich fat as the prized Kobe Wagyu from Japan. This explanation makes sense and will have to do for now. This was a lesson in frustration. Am I the only one who wants to know what I am buying? It did taste fantastic and if it ever goes on sale again we will surely buy it, for research of course.

SAN FRANCISCO BBQ FESTIVAL

It was our last KCBS bbq contest of the year. We looked forward to it but on the other hand we were a little sad that the San Francisco BBQ Festival would end this year’s competitive bbq season. This was an event that will go down in the history books. Today we were situated in the City by the bay.  We were in the shadows and parking facilities  of the San Francisco Giants stadium The San Francisco BBQ Festival ended the season with an explosion of activity that included a protest, cornhole competition, music, beer, mustard and most important of all; a four meat bbq competition. Of course, we would like to share a few images with you. Fasten your seat-belt  because this will be a wild exciting ride.

What is cornhole? I do not recommend a Google search because you may be a little shocked or not at the results. Cornhole /Corntoss is a game that consists of tossing a bean bag (bag of dried corn) an exact distance towards a target hole in an elevated wooden ramp. I would compare this toss and game to horseshoes. There is an actual organization that governs and promotes this game; American Cornhole Association. At today’s festival a cornhole tournament was held. Several dozen cornhole lanes were set up on the grounds for this contest. It seemed to be very popular among the participants.

The festive crowd had plenty of activities to be amused. A large selection of craft beers was available to wash down all the tasty bbq. A live band entertained this hungry crowd. My favorite ‘Brown Dog Mustard’ vendor was in the house. Local business had booths promoting their causes. We were in San Francisco and there is just an electrical vibration about. We were joined by a contingent of passionate people that had an agenda they wanted to share.

The protest has to be mentioned. I am not sure what group they represented(or care). I will say they were entertaining. I did notice a few protesters wearing Vegan shirts. They stormed the gates and paraded the grounds. They chanted. “It’s not food, it’s Violence”. They milled around and entertained us carnivores with their chants until they were escorted off the premise by security. Outside they were greeted by S.F. police who allowed them to continue their nonsense. Are you ready for this? They staged a mock animal slaying. A protestor dressed in white was put on a table and slaughtered by a plastic cleaver. The protestor screamed in agony while fake blood squirted everywhere. This was exciting. Only in San Francisco can you expect entertainment like this.

This was a barbeque contest. Ms. Goofy and I got to sample and judge some spectacular meat entries. Thirty eight teams were on the playing field today. Our friends Scott & Pam from the team “Too Ashamed to Name” won Reserve Grand Champion. Congratulations to ‘Ridge Route Boys’ bbq team for winning the Grand Championship. What a day. This was the icing on the cake for the 2016 KCBS competitive season. 

JUDY’S PLACE COCINA LATINA

As you may know we are on a journey to find the “Gold Standard” of my favorite Mexican dish; Chileverde. We have traveled near and far to find the best dish of cubed pork bathed in gravy of green chile and spices.  What a pleasant surprise when we found Judy’s place located in Crockett California. Crockett is our adjoining town situated on the scenic Carquinez Straits. You might even say Judy’s is “Right under Our Nose”.

Downtown Crockett is all of three blocks long. Judy’s is located at the end of downtown across from the High School. It is a tiny little establishment that at one time was a Foster Freeze. It is family run and owned. We were greeted by Judy and her husband like we were old friends. Inside there is a counter with a menu board. You place your order and choose one of three tables inside or a couple that are outside. The menu is predominately Mexican food but also has El Salvador and Guatemalan influences. We ordered our standard items of Chileverde and Ms. Goofy a pork burrito.

I took high school Spanish and am frequently exposed to the language. I can understand basic sentences but do not even try to speak the language. I mention this because Judy spoke Spanish to her helper explaining the ingredients that went into Chileverede. She instructed her cook to take jalapenos, onions and cilantro and put them in the blender. I was a little concerned at this point. Not to worry I was pleasantly surprised.

The plate of Chileverde looked pretty as a picture. It was served with black beans and white rice a Central American influence. The pork was shredded and tender. It was seasoned nicely. The freshly made chileverde sauce was flavorful with a playful kick from the jalapenos.. Ms. Goofy really loved her burrito. It was huge with the same meat filling that I was served.  We plan to return to explore more of Judy’s menu items. Papusa’s, different mole dishes and for the high school kids; burgers are part of this Latin fusion menu. Did I mention the prices? Judy’s place is more than reasonable that delivers home-style Latin dishes that are prepared to order. Was this the “Gold Standard” for Chileverde? No but Judy’s Place is a local gem that we definitely will return to soon.

Judy’s Place

1207 Pomona Street, Crockett  

  (510) 787-7768

SPIDER STEAK

The beanie wearing bonafide hipster butcher said they are well known in the meat cutters world. We are talking about the 'Spider' steak. They also may be known as the "Oyster' or the 'Pope's Eye' steak. We are at the Clove & Hoof Butchery/Restaurant to explore a cut of meat that usually ends up ground up into hamburger. The Spider steak is located inside the hip on the Aitch bone, It is a little semi-circle of meat that is weaved with a web of intramuscular fat. I asked the butcher for cooking suggestions. He replied, this cut should be cooked similar to a flank steak. I paid dearly for this Mad Meat Genius experiment with a sticker shock of 25 dollars/pound.

This steak is on the small size weighing approximately 7 ounces. Our butcher verified the smallness and said they are usually bigger. We were on a mission and really only wanted to taste this Spider steak. The seasoning will be simple with a dusting of salt & pepper. The fire will be smoking hot for a quick sear on both sides. A five minute rest and we are ready to sample.

We slice the Spider steak against the grain into strips. Oh my! This was a flavor bomb in beefiness. The texture is similar to a flank steak but our specimen was oh so tender. Ms. Goofy exclaimed how much flavor this richly marbled cut has. I pined for more. This little Spider steak was small but huge on luscious beef flavor. What a shame this cut usually ends up ground into hamburger. If it were not for the twenty five dollar/pound sticker this would be a go-to cut of beef. Yummy!!!!!!