Chefs Explore Butchery, Dry Aging at Culinary Summit

Diana Clark shows, from left, Brenden Walsh (Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y.), Vinnie Cimino (consulting chef, Cleveland, Ohio), John Reilly (Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y.) and David Chin (Flour, Cleveland, Ohio) how to remove the lifter meat from the rib primal.

From left, Carla DiLorenzo (Los Tanitos, Miami, Fla.), Ashley Hutson (Ortanique, Miami, Fla.), Lamar Moore (The Swill Inn, Chicago, Ill.) and Mike Fischetti (Va De Vi, Walnut Creek, Calif.) begin fabricating a beefcetta. Inspired by the traditional pork porchetta, the beefcetta is created by rolling up the “beef wing,” the rib down to the beef navel, after removing the rib bones.

After chefs fabricated the beefcetta during a butchery session in the Meat Lab, they roasted it at 350°F for more than 10 hours to achieve the desired doneness. Inspired by the classic pork porchetta, the beefcetta wraps the spinalis, rib, short ribs and beef navel together.

The Certified Angus Beef ^® brand’s Director of Culinary Arts Tony Biggs shows off the beefcetta after the chef teams cooked and sliced it. The unique beef dish was one of many prepared by the group of chef innovators during hands-on butchery exploration.

In preparation for a session that focused on the science behind dry aging, a rib was aged in The Culinary Center’s dry-aging cooler for 365 days. The rib allowed chefs to feel and sample product aged for an extended period of time in comparison with other cuts aged at different intervals and in different environments.

Outside of breaking down sides of beef, chefs explored the science of dry aging, led by Meat Scientist Diana Clark. Attendees learned that the traditional art of dry aging, surging in popularity once again, makes cuts of beef more tender while adding unique flavors based on where the meat is being aged and the specific microorganisms characteristic of those locations.

Shawn Heine (Prime Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio) brought in rib steaks from his in-restaurant, dry-aging cooler. The ribeyes had been aged for 110 days—longer than is typical of many establishments—and gave chefs the opportunity to taste the difference in product flavor from Heine’s cooler versus product aged 200 miles away at The Culinary Center.

Chef Peter Rosenberg, with the Certified Angus Beef ^® brand, put his spin on beef tartare, preparing beef kibbeh topped with Lebanese yogurt. It was paired with an assortment of candied beef bacons.

To bring the lessons of the Meat Lab to life, the dry-aging sessions concluded with a meal celebrating the tenderness, flavor and funk of dry-aged cuts. Here, Chef Gavin Pinto, with the Certified Angus Beef ^® brand, fires his dish.

Chef Gavin Pinto, with the Certified Angus Beef ^® brand, plated a dry-aged strip filet, paired with skewered lobster and smoked foie gras.

The Certified Angus Beef ^® brand’s Chef Ashley Breneman grilled dry-aged flanken-style short ribs and dry-aged skirt steaks, accompanied with a potato mash.

The Certified Angus Beef ^® brand culinary team prepared an Asian-inspired lunch menu, featuring underutilized beef cuts, like flank steak, Korean-style short ribs and beef shank. Dishes included a bone-in plate short rib consommé en croute, Thai beef curry, beef shank bao buns and spicy rice cakes paired with braised short rib and chuck roll in a hot pepper sauce.

Bone-in plate short rib consommé en croute was presented to each table, along with individual portions. The short rib bones were placed in the dish for added visual appeal.

Good Company (Cleveland, Ohio) played host to attendees during the first night of the summit, delivering delicious bites, like this deep-fried beef navel with a berry compote. Brett Sawyer, chef and owner of Good Company and The Plum, was named the Certified Angus Beef ^® brand’s Culinary Innovator of the Year in 2018 for his use of beef belly: an uncommonly used cut with immense potential for culinary creativity.

Chef Venoy Rogers (American Kitchen + Bar, Orlando, Fla.) takes a selfie with Mike Fischetti (Va De Vi, Walnut Creek, Calif.), Matt Mytro (Flour, Cleveland, Ohio) and Kenny Scott (The Larder, Cleveland, Ohio) during the opening night of the Certified Angus Beef ^® Chef Innovation Summit.

Jeremy Umansky (The Larder, Cleveland, Ohio) showcased his famous, three-day pastrami sandwich. While typical pastrami takes two weeks to cure, Umansky has developed a process using koji that cures briskets in three days, which is quicker than traditional methods.

Chef Matt Mytro (Flour, Cleveland, Ohio) plates his dish using short rib and fried farro during the summit’s opening dinner at Good Company. The farro was mixed with Roman fish sauce, enoki mushrooms and Calabrian chili mae ploy, and topped with the sliced short rib.

Good Company’s “The Good Boi,” featuring a custom blend of ground beef belly, top sirloin and chuck, was prepared by restaurant owner Brett Sawyer and Chef Vince Thomascik, representing the buzzy Cleveland restaurant at the Chef Innovation Summit opening reception.

Guests enjoyed an evening of fellowship on the rooftop of Good Company, overlooking Lake Erie and Cleveland’s downtown. As important as hands-on beef butchery, meat science and culinary exploration are to Chef Innovation Summit, it’s the collaboration, conversation and camaraderie among participants that makes events truly special.

Part of the educational experience of the culinary summit was a trip to a local Angus farm, where guests could learn more about how quality beef gets its start. Upon the guests’ morning arrival, donuts were deep fried in beef tallow and covered in glaze. Here, the brand’s Bryan Schaaf shows off a freshly made donut before the Atterholt family shared about its farm.

Angus farmer Mandy Atterholt explains what goes into the diet of a steer or heifer. While the nutritional balance of cattle’s diets remains fairly consistent from farm to farm, the traditional crops grown in a particular region of the country can impact what specific ingredients go into the animals’ diet. For example, in the Southeast, fruit pulps are commonly incorporated into a steer’s everyday diet, whereas in the Pacific Northwest, it’s not surprising to find potatoes finding their way into the cattle feed mix. It’s all about meeting the cattle’s nutritional needs and minimizing food waste from other sectors—possible because cattle can digest many plants humans cannot.

Angus farmer Aaron Atterholt answers a question about cattle handling and the practices they use to ensure their cattle are safe and healthy. Chefs got to meet Pumpkin and Goldie up close, two heifers that will be shown by Aaron and Mandy’s daughters at their local county fair.

Rounding out the farm experience, attendees had the chance to see barn No. 40 of the Certified Angus Beef ^® brand’s anniversary barn painting tour. In all, 40 barns in rural communities across the country had the brand’s logo painted on them in celebration of the farming families and communities that have been the brand’s foundation since its start.