Piedmontese Beef Steers the Kitchen (2/13)

Piedmontese beef is a tale the finer things, and a tale of dark, densely textured meat that is even more flavorful than Black Angus although less sweet and less fatty.

 

The one place to truly enjoy it in its purest form these days is on the table at the Star King BBQ. The high-ceiling, woodsy tables each feature individual grills – and there is plenty of willing help to cook and to cut the meat with long sheers.

 

There you see it in all it’s raw glory before it is grilled for you tableside.

The atmosphere is casual but sitting around a wonderful

 

This is a dish for everyone that loves wonderful beef. Let me take you there.

 

The Piedmontese beef is offered in the following cuts: Ribeye Steak, Brisket and Short Ribs.   Accompanying the beef (little plates called banchan) are such Korean favorites and delicacies as: Acorn jelly made in-house, lightly tossed with toasted seaweed and freshly sliced jalapeño in a sesame oil dressing;  Spicy skate sashimi marinated in a vinegar chili paste with winter fruit, Bean Paste Stew, Scorched Rice and, of course, Kimchi.

 

The reason for the regality of Piedmontese beef is meat from cattle having 1 or 2 copies of the inactive myostatin gene, which provides a higher lean-to-fat ratio.  It  as well as a less marbled with less connective tissue cut of red meat. In effect, it no longer prevents muscle development allowing for the “double muscling” condition. This low fat beef is also lower in calories, higher in protein and contains a higher percentage of the good Omega 3 Fatty Acid

 

The cattle originated in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, which for centuries has been famous for its wines and its rich cuisine. The original migration of cattle to this gentle, lush and naturally protected area of Italy took place about 25,000 years ago; the “double muscling” characteristic began showing up in the 1870s: The term describes the breed’s unusual predilection for developing extra muscle mass but very little fat. The result is an efficient source of lean meat that, in spite of the absence of the fatty marbling typical of standard breeds, remains tender and juicy.

A handful of few progressive ranchers in North America first attempted to import Piedmontese breeding stock in the mid-1970s from reluctant Italians. A five-year export process resulted in five animals (one bull and four cows), at a cost approaching $100,000 per animal in today’s dollars coming into the U.S. through Canada.

Even today, there are only an estimated 2,000 or so registered, pure-blood Piedmontese breeding stock in the United States.  And every animal – surprisingly docile, according to Piedmontese Brand Manager, Billy Swain.  Each animal is genetically tested at birth, and almost as lovingly raised as when ancient Italian farmers walked the fields with the huge animals.  The Italians at a 2012 conference were so impressed with the current animals that they gave the American new genetics, beams Billy.

Piedmontese cattle spend the majority of their lives on grass and are finished on grains grown on equally sustainable land.   Why? Finishing cattle on grass, say Swain, takes a very long time, so that the cattle are much older, and have lots of connective tissue and tougher meat. “It is also very difficult to develop consistency in grass-finished cattle,” says Swain.

Billy, who has been “cutting” meat from the time he was 14, “fell in love and never went back” from the first time he laid a knife into a piece of Piedmontese.  He also let us Angelenos in on the secret of what comes naturally to our town- youth.  Here at Star King BBQ in particular, the beef is served in as beautifully raw a way as possible, cooked at table. Billy laughs that in New York and Chicago butchers are “all about aging, and it is (unnecessary aging) “both wet or dry” depending on the city. 

 

 3807 Wilshire Blvd/corner Western, Los Angeles, Koreatown,  (213) 384-5464