Farewell to Meat - Rare Cuts

Henry Albert and John Lalla
Partners, Rare Cuts

The Meat: A Mixed Grill - Rib Eyes, Lamb Chops, Spinalis, and Filet

Thirty years or so ago, the wine world was revolutionized by the growth of consumer friendly wine stores. Free wine tastings, knowledgeable but unfussy staff, and educational classes gave novice wine drinkers an incredible outlet for a growing fascination. Rare Cuts mission is to emulate the success of places like Martin's Wine Cellar but by selling meat, not wine.

John Lalla is a 3rd generation butcher (his grandfather began NATCO in 1925). Henry Albert is a self-described "steak nut" who takes a yearly trip with college roommates to visit steakhouses around the country. Together these two have collaborated to produce Rare Cuts. For years NATCO has sold to restaurants, hotels, and other institutions, but Rare Cuts is a return to the butcher shop that Lalla's grandfather started in the French Quarter.

Henry and John buy beef only from what they consider the best ranchers in the country (i.e., Harris Ranch and Brandt Beef), select cuts only to their specifications from Black Angus steers, age the beef in house, and hand-cut it to exact portions. As Lalla explains: "People spend $50,000 on a kitchen and they never use it. Or they do, and they wonder why the recipe for Emeril's Porterhouse they got off the internet didn't taste like the one they ate at Delmonico's. And I tell them, 'It is because you aren't starting with the same ingredients.'"

The meat at Rare Cuts is aged specifically by cut. What is aging? Well there are two types. The first is wet aging, in which the meat is wrapped in cellophane, vacuum sealed, and allowed to rest in its own juices. The second method and more common is dry aging, whereby a whole cut of meat, say a slab of rib eye, ages uncovered in a temperature and humidity controlled room for a period of days (for a rib eye it is 20 days). With dry aging, the outside of the meat gets a dark bark (shown below) which is trimmed off to reveal a tender, rose-colored interior. During the aging process the meat's own enzymes begin to break down and tenderize the beef while moisture evaporates. The result is a denser, firmer piece of beef.

The difference in taste is discernible. Dry aged beef has an oaky, spicy flavor, but the tenderness is the same as wet aging. After aging the beef is then cut into portions. "We sell our meat by the cut, not by the pound. We do this because we know that a 6 oz filet is 6 oz, not 7 or 5. That way when you cook it at home, you will learn that 3 minutes on each side is sufficient for medium rare," says Albert.

Another hallmark of the quality of meat at Rare Cuts is the amount of fat running through it. "My dad called fat 'the other white meat.' And it is true, that is where the flavor comes from," says Lalla.

Rare Cuts is located at 1600 West Causeway Approach in Mandeville, and they are opening in River Ridge in approximately two weeks, with more locations planned in the coming year. If you like meat and love cooking at home, you need to visit Rare Cuts the next time you get a hankering for a steak. It is not only their knowledge and enthusiasm for prime meat that makes Rare Cuts a better option, but also their respect for the ranchers, animals, and butchers who produce the meat. "If someone tells me they are going to marinate these steaks in Italian dressing, Tabasco, and Dale's, I cringe and suggest they use a different cut then the wet aged, prime filet. All a good piece of meat needs is salt, pepper, and heat," Albert instructs.

Frenched lamb chops. The fat on this lamb was incredibly soft and sweet. If pork, duck, and lamb fat were in a dance off, pork would be Ronnie from Jersey Shore, duck would be a break dancer, and lamb a ballerina.

Three different cuts from the dry aged rib eye. The two on the left are excellent examples of a rib eye with "star fat"- the white anchor of fat in the middle of the cut. The one on the right is a rib eye cut from the end with less fat.

Before cooking the meat is sprinkled generously with salt and pepper and then left to sit for a few minutes.

Then the meat is placed on a smoking hot grill. While Rare Cuts has a kitchen inside, they can't help but love to fire up their outdoor grill. The smell of grilled meat wafts throughout the parking lot and remainder of the strip mall, making them everyone's favorite neighbor.

An up close shot of the grilled spinalis. What's a spinalis? Why it's a cut that goes to 11. The spinalis, often called the "end cap," is the cap on the rib eye (the crescent shape of meat encircling the Star Fat). It has tenderness and a sturdy shape, but more importantly loads of flavor.

Red wine is a natural choice for marbled steaks, but on this Saturday morning we drank Bloody Marys and talked about the Saints. During our chat, John told me he had his butchers send over some specially cut Rib Eyes to Drew Brees's house in the shape of a Fleur de Lis, "My butchers weren't happy with me. They'd been cutting meat for 23 years, and this was a pain in the ass. But don't tell anyone about that, or everyone will be asking for them."

Ooops.