steakhouse restaurant (Prime 44 West).
The in-house butchers know I like to use
beef necks, so they save them for me.”
Executive chef Todd Mitgang of South
Edison in Montauk, N. Y., says beef neck is
considered a non-stock item, so he places
a special order. “Although I work with many
purveyors, I have a short list of those that
supply products not often requested by
other chefs. Dairyland USA [New York]
supplies my beef necks, and my sales
representative used to work as a chef, so we
speak the same language. They source beef
necks from Vintage Natural Beef [Kansas
City, Mo.], which focuses on beef raised on a
100% vegetarian diet. They’re antibiotic-free
and are feed-tested for pesticides.”
Jimmy Tran
For this foie gras, beef neck and chicken pavé, Steven Halliday braises the beef, which
slowly extracts the gelatin and flavor from the bones, connective tissue and meat.
have good muscle development, superior
tenderness and redder meat.”
Mitgang says neck prices vary, but
normally fall between $2 and $3 per
pound. He orders by the case, either 40 or
60 pounds. “The amount I order per week
depends on how many dishes I have on my
menu requiring neck meat, but I normally
use between one and three cases per
week,” he says.
Beef neck is common in Northern Italy’s
Piedmont region, where Carro was born
and raised. “We braise the meat for stew
or use it as a filling for pasta,” he says.
“It’s wonderful for us in the restaurant
business, because the purchase price is
very low. But, we can be creative in how
we make it, and sell it at a higher price
point.” He prepares agnolotti piemontesi
allo stufato (braised beef ravioli with sauce
piedmontese) for $18, with 22% food cost.
Nicola Carro, co-executive chef at Quattro
in Miami Beach, Fla., pays $4.50 per
pound, and uses approximately 40 pounds
of beef necks per week. “Being in Miami,
it’s not difficult to find beef neck, as there’s
a demand because of the heavy Caribbean
and Latin American influence,” Carro
says. “However, the source and quality are
important. I like to use Buckhead Beef
[Atlanta], and place a special order with my
butcher, who delivers twice weekly. I like
to use meat from the scottona—a female
cow that’s never mated—because they
SLOW AND LOW
It’s always a challenge to keep costs within
margins when creating an elaborate dish.
“Beef neck is a protein that yields great
flavor and is less expensive to purchase, but
at what cost in labor?” says Mitgang. “Since
this is a protein that begs for slow and low
cooking, how will you do so and keep up
with demand? Is there enough time in the
day, enough oven space, enough space on
your burners? I find these questions ask
more of a chef’s perspective in crafting
a menu rather than just one dish. I don’t
know that beef necks can replace a ‘to-
temperature’ slicing beefsteak, but it does
provide a hearty braising-beef option.”
At The Greenbrier, Halliday periodically menus
three dishes calling for beef necks, and all
three call for a braise. “Since there is a ton of
connective tissue, braising is always my first
step,” he says. “Once braised, the meat can be
seared, fried or any other cooking technique
you can think of. But without the braise, you
would be chewing, chewing, chewing.”
He explains that care must be taken when
prepping and cooking the meat. “We first
marinate the meat in a bath of red wine
for 24 hours, then sear the external part
of the meat in olive oil, and, finally, let the
meat simmer slowly in a braising liquid
of red wine and stock for three to four
hours. The timing involved with braising
is very important, and can be difficult. It’s
important to cook over very low heat until
fork-tender. It’s not for the impatient.”
Kyle Rourke, chef de cuisine at Red Star
Tavern & Roast House in Portland, Ore.,
menus tagliatelle with braised veal, oyster
mushrooms, confit quail egg and dry Jack
www.acfchefs.org
