MONTELLO MEATS

Standing rib roast from Montello Meats

Many meat lovers bemoan the loss of the family butcher shop these days, and with good reason. Really great beef requires excellence at several stages of production and this level is infrequently achieved. On the farm it is  essential to raise animals in a healthy environment which suits their natural habits: access to clean air and water, room to move about, and fresh green grass. At the slaughterhouse, care must be taken to keep stress levels as low as possible. And with beef in particular, the butcher plays a vital role.

All meats benefit greatly from a skilled butcher's expertise, but beef requires it most. Beef must be aged to become tender and pleasant to the modern palate. This takes place over the course of a minimum of two weeks and there are two ways to do it: wet aged and dry aged. In modern, industrial meat packing, wet aging is the preferred method. The carcass is cut to to large primals and vacuum sealed in plastic bags, boxed, and left to age for several days to weeks. During this time, lactic acid builds in the muscle tissue and tenderizes it. With dry aging, the carcass is split in two, sometimes four, pieces and left to hang in the open air.

Modern meat packers prefer wet aging because it is cheaper. It requires less cooler space, less labor, and produces higher yields. Dry aged beef requires room for air to circulate around it and the outside dries and gets trimmed off. Also, there is moisture loss, which means less money per pound per carcass (open a plastic bag of wet aged meat and the liquid pooling in the bottom of it would have evaporated during dry aging -- good for the packer, but not your plate).

The building of lactic acid takes place whether beef is dry or wet aged, so tenderizing takes place in both methods. Dry aging concentrates flavor, improves texture, and creates complexity and depth. Wet aging degrades texture and can sometimes contribute unpleasant metallic and sulfurous aromas and flavors. If you want a really great steak, you want it dry aged, but the expense involved has all but driven it out of the marketplace. Those who know, however, will happily pay the premium.

Enter Montello Meat Market. Tony and Tina Larson own this small butcher shop on the south side of Holland, Michigan and are of a dying breed. The family butcher shop has all but vanished from our culinary landscape and we are truly blessed to still have one in our neck of the woods. The Larson's buy grass fed, hormone and antibiotic free beef and age it in house for a minimum of 21 days. Then Tony and his oldest son Sam set to work on it, producing various cuts with artistry and obvious patience, practice, and skill.

Visit often enough, and you will eventually meet all of the Larson clan. They all pitch in to make a go of this truly family run small business. Tony obviously taught Sam, and like many butchers, guards that knowledge carefully. Brandon and I once asked if we could come follow him around for a few days to learn from the master, and with his trademark ear to ear smile and genuine good will, he politely declined. I don't think he actually said no, but it was clear that mentoring was for his heirs only. I will have to content myself with the fruits of his labors.

The Larson's are a perfect example of why buying from the little guy is so much more rewarding than giving your money to a big box store. The big guys can never give you the sense of confidence and community that comes effortlessly from Tony and Tina, not to mention the artisanship, the preservation of economically challenging techniques, and the simple damn deliciousness of a food treated thoughtfully, carefully, and with the health and happiness of the client being priority one.

Long live the corner butcher shop.