Beef

In this chapter, we will be working with a beautiful grass-fed steer that has been aged for ten days. All mammals have the same basic skeletal structure—from pigs to rabbits to cows—so we break them down in a similar way. But, this is a very large animal. So, the first step with a steer is to break it down into four quarters.

To me, the neck is the trophy cut of the whole animal! It’s full of flavor but rarely found in a butcher’s case. It’s a small muscle with a good amount of fat all the way through. It gets a lot of exercise, and that’s why it’s so flavorful. This is a delicate piece of meat, but it’s still tough enough to require braising.