On Nov 17, 1:33*pm, cwdjrxyz > wrote:
> On Nov 17, 8:57*am, "Bill S." > wrote:
>
> > Notes from a meat tasting dinner. *We were having both New York strip
> > and ribeye steaks, one pair local with 36 days aging and one from
> > Flannery’s in the US aged 52 days. *A beef tasting! *FWIW, the
> > American beef was smoother in texture an more homogeneous, showing fat
> > marbling throughout, while the Canadian beef had a few more voids in
> > the stakes, more localization of the fat, and was generally tastier.
>
> American beef is graded into several levels with USDA Prime being the
> top level. It is well marbled with fat throughout. Next there is the
> trim. The best steaks are completely trimmed of external fat as the
> marbled interior fat in top prime grade is enough to internally baste
> the steak and make it tender. Then there is the type of aging used.
> Modern wet aging completely wraps the meat in plastic for aging. This
> keeps water loss to a minimum and results in a milder taste. Nealy all
> beef, except sometimes the top grades, is wet aged today. A few
> companies still make the traditional dry aged beef, which is not
> wrapped during aging. There is considerable loss in weight because of
> water loss and because the outer part of the beef must be trimmed
> more. However the beef has much more flavor and is very tender when
> properly dry aged. Aging time for the best is usually about 4 to 6
> weeks depending on the cut of meat. A few companies also sell Wagyu
> beef from this Japanese breed now being bred in the US as well as some
> other countries. It often sells for about 2 to 3 times the price of
> the more usual types of beef.
>
> For traditional dry aged beef, the top company that will ship all over
> the US is likely Lobels' of NYC. Seewww.lobels.com. They sell only
> high end USDA prime beef, sell only dry aged beef, and can provide
> Wagyu beef. They are one of the most expensive butchers around, since
> they will deal only with the very top qualities of beef and other
> meats. Allen Brothers atwww.allenbrothers.com*is another good
> source, especially for wet aged beef. They have very high quality wet
> aged steaks if you select the fully trimmed *and USDA Prime grade.
> Unfortunately, unlike Lobels, they sell some lower grade USDA Choice
> and meat that is not completely trimmed. They also have Wagu.
>
> Of course there are other local good butchers scattered around the
> company, most of which do not ship to all of the states. I don't know
> if laws allow Lobels' or Allen Brothers to ship to Canada. Such laws
> tend to be very strict, vary from country to country, and often can
> change.

I generally love the Flannery steaks (http://
www.bryansfinefoods.com/) , although I've never had the "Private
Reserve" (not on website, you have to talk to Bryan). A variety of
people have done head to head tests among Lobels, Bryan Flannery,
Peter Lugers mail order branch, Allens, Niman Ranch, a couple others,
Pretty much every one I've seen has had the Lobels, Bryans, and Peter
Lugers as top 3, though order varies. That said, Allen Brothers makes
fine steaks.

The last time I picked up at Lobels (not mailorder), the strips were
$46/lb. And that was before recent beef price increases. I can save a
fair amount of money at Byrans even including the overnight. Sat we
were discussing ordering a sampling - 1,5 inch and 2 inch (so we can
do one blue/rare and one med rare) of his NY Strip, KC Strip, bone in
Rib, and filets for 10 of us.