I just ate my first Flannery steak, ordered on Berserker day.
HOLY GOD THIS IS THE BEST STEAK I HAVE HAD IN 20 YEARS. EVERYTHING THEY SAY IS TRUE. IT IS NOT EVEN THE BUTTERY SOFT TEXTURE - THOUGH IT IS BUTTERY fckING SOFT, DONT GET ME WRONG. IT IS THE INTENSE BEEFY FLAVOR, SO INTENSE THE NEIGHBORS LITERALLY KNOCKED ON MY DOOR AND SAID THAT IT SMELLED fckING DELICIOUS AND SAID WHERE DID I BUY THOSE STEAKS. NOT EVEN fckING JOKING. SERIOUSLY, I GREW UP EATING LOBELS AND PETER LUGARS - LITERALLY I HAVE BEEN TO PETER LUGARS DOZENS OF TIMES - AND I HAVE EATEN AT GREAT STEAKHOUSES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. HELL, I’VE HAD A MILLION DRY AGED STEAK SPECIALS FROM SOME LOCAL FARM THAT GIVES ITS COWS DAILY MASSAGES COMPLETE WITH HAPPY FINISHES. THIS IS SERIOUSLY THE BEST STEAK I HAVE HAD IN 20 fckING YEARS. IF YOU LIKE FOOD AND YOU DO NOT BUY THIS STEAK, YOU ARE FAILING YOURSELF AND SHOULD PROBABLY CONTEMPLATE THE ORIGIN OF YOUR SELF-LOATHING WITH PSYCHOTHERAPY. SERIOUSLY, THE f*ckING NEIGHBORS BASICALLY ASKED FOR A TASTE.
FWIW, I only had a few sips of the wine I opened with the steak (1996 Veritas Barossa Valley Hansich Vineyard) because it was meh and the steak was worthy of undivided attention.
Details: California Reserve boneless ribeye, 20oz, reverse sear method (salted ~1hr in advance, roasted at 225 in oven until internal temp hit 100, rested for 10 min, finished with 1m15s sear on each side on a skillet as hot as I could get it).
California Reserve is the one to go with, whichever cut you get. Brian (Flannery) has contracts directly with ranchers and has much more input/control on how the beef is raised/etc…and this has a big impact on the quality. The midwest is very good, but he buys this through a company and doesn’t have the input into raising the beef.
In my experience, its almost impossible to give an exact timeline b/c it depends so much on steak thickness and how well your oven holds the low temp. I start checking at around 35 minutes, and it’s generally ready to go b/w 45-55 min, but that is with a thick (2") steak. The internal temp rises very fast once it hits around 80 or so.
Based on your level of excitement with this steak, I’d suggest that you have EMTs on the scene if you ever try the Jorge cut. A 24 oz California Reserve ribeye was my gateway drug, but the Jorge set the bar for steaks at an entirely different level. The combination of a huge portion of spinalis, the primal joy of gnawing the fatty crispy meat off a rib bone, and the contrasting texture and slightly leaner meatiness of the eye portion, is the ticket to bovine Nirvana.
I had an excellent prime NY strip from Costco tonight, and I’m glad I didn’t see this thread until after dinner or it would have been a little disappointing.
Ask for a longer aged jorge steak. 45 days is the sweet spot for me. Best steak out there. Gonna have the guys over in a couple of weeks and let them experience the wonders of flannery