First off, I will rule out the rib cap as a steak so it will not skew my opinion here.
The best steak so far…35 day dry aged Midwest USDA Prime Rib-Eye, 2 inches thick and 22 ounces. Simple seasoning of Bolivian Rose salt and a quick spray of regular Pam and a sear in a skillet indoors. Very pronounced and concentrated beef flavor without any of the gaminess (which I like BTW) that is often associated with the older products. Supremely tender. This was a cow that would have made Brandt Family Farms proud.
Sweet, dude. Thanks for this. I’m due for another Flannery order in the next 3-5 days … so I’ll be sure to add on some of this. Makes me want to bust out my last Private Reserve ribeye for dinner tonight …
Bill, I just had that steak as well at the suggestion of Bryan! Saw his dry aging area for the first time too, very educational. Excellent price on the ribeye, but still prefered their top of the line New York Strip best. The Ribeye was more tender and a lot more fat content, but as you say, not as gamey (which trumps tender IMO given it is a close horserace between the two steaks).
Nick, I am not adverse to gamey at all as I like that in my rib caps at 52 days. This particular steak had it all…flavor, tenderness, beefiness, blah, blah, blah…and the price doesn’t hurt either.
You must try a CA Reserve rib cap…most hedonistic beef on the planet.
As for aging the Midwest Rib-Eye a bit more, I probably would have liked it even more. I think (honestly) that this particular critter was a 1 in 100 cow from the Midwest herd. It was the same level of quality as the CA Reserve by any measure, except price. I have another in the freezer that I assume is from the same primal, so I can report back on it.
It’s not that big of a deal. I like it because it is medium grain and is highly fractured so that it adheres much better to the meat’s surface vs. kosher or regular sea salt.