DeBragga delivers both types to large steakhouses in and around Manhattan, but also to restaurants such as “Daniel” or “Jean-Georges”. The long-established company stores meat worth a total of 2.3 million dollars. In the dry-aged area alone there are 4,000 pieces. Sarrazin knows the current trends in NY well: Porterhouse steaks (the first two cuts from the short loin, near the hip / larger fillet portion) or tomahawks (bone-in-rib steak with an extra long bone) for two people are popular, like that the professional.
“It looks really impressive on the plate.” Thinner pieces of meat such as brisket (part of the beef brisket) or hanger steak (also known as kidney cones or crown meat / belly area) are also ordered. Meat that is not that expensive but still has its quality. Marc shrugs his shoulders: »The menus in restaurants used to be more uniform. You saw more strips, fillets or a rib steak. Today the chefs mix more on the menu because the restaurants also have to be profitable. ”
The butchers start at 2 a.m. every day. Every week they deliver 50,000 kilos of meat across America. Until a few years ago, the company was the largest meat company in the Meatpacking District in southwest Manhattan. But where once 3,000 butchers and sellers toiled and the cattle blood seeped away between the cobblestones, the new Whitney Museum is now enthroned. Tourists stroll. The luxury label Hermes has just opened a boutique. Only a handful of butchers are left.
Rents are cheaper in the Bronx or New Jersey. Meat hooks in front of the luxury shops still bear witness to an entire industry that was located here. The former restaurant insider tips – locked. The big steakhouses and restaurants that are known today for good meat quality – all over the city. But why is New York such a steak Mecca anyway? “It’s historic,” explains George Faison, partner at DeBragga Online. It has to do with British culture. But also with the big money that was always in New York, keyword Wall Street. Many people have always been able to afford to order the best cuts, the best quality. In addition, large areas in the vastness of the USA are less suitable for arable farming. For this reason, cattle were traditionally bred in Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas and brought to New York early on with the invention of cooling technology. DeBragga has been delivering high quality beef to city chefs for more than 90 years. For example to the cult eatery »Gallaghers«. Broadway stars and supposed mafia bosses have been watering their mouths there since 1927.
“Hey, we need to sell strips, guys!” – “Hey, guys, we have to sell strip steaks!” Marc J. Sarrazin, head of DeBragga, is inspecting steaks worth more than in his dry-age chambers one million dollars. Neatly arranged on shelves. Floor by floor.
The strip steak is a roast beef steak (short loin) and thus part of the hind quarter between the prime rib and the hip of the beef. A small sign tells when the Black Angus was slaughtered in Nebraska and how long it has been air-drying. Ten minutes by car outside of Manhattan, the self-proclaimed “New York’s Butcher” meat matures dry for an average of 30 to 45 days, depending on its size. This is a traditional refinement method in which the meat hangs on the bone for a special period of time at controlled temperature and humidity. The liquid can evaporate. With the conventional method, the meat matures in its own juice in a vacuum bag.
“Dry aging is one of the big topics here on the market when it comes to meat,” explains Sarrazin. It’s getting more and more popular. But it’s more complicated to make. For the process, DeBragga keeps the temperature constant at around two degrees Celsius in three special cooling chambers, and the humidity is 95 percent. The 64-year-old learned how to refine meat from his father and is currently passing the technique on to his sons Eric and Peter. DeBragga is one of the top dry aging companies in the United States. During our tour of the butcher shop on 2,300 square meters, the head of the traditional company fell in raptures: “It’s like a ripening room for cheese. It smells good when you go inside. It’s similar here. It doesn’t smell sour, but very pure, mineral and … nutty. A wonderful aroma. ”
Further back in one of the cold rooms, steaks “sit” on a shelf for almost six weeks before they are delivered. “If a restaurant wants it that way, it gets it,” he explains. High-speed fans between the shelves ensure good air circulation. “If something is to taste good, it takes time, the right temperature and the right environment,” explains Marc. “Some people think low humidity is good. But if it is too low, the meat dries too quickly and the liquid cannot evaporate accordingly. ”Over time, the meat becomes more tender, the taste more intense and stronger. The hard outer crust is cut off. The result is an exceptionally tender piece of meat. “It tastes umami,” my connoisseur.
So neither sweet, salty, sour nor bitter. Simply hearty, spicy and meaty. Unique. The disadvantage: air-dried meat ultimately has less weight, which makes it more expensive, among other things.
But New Yorkers are also increasingly demanding meat from cattle that are grass-fed – from start to finish. It cannot be taken for granted. This is because the majority of Americans like meat from cows that put on weight quickly from grain in the three months before slaughter. This gives the meat the coveted marbling: the strands of fat in the lean meat. And that is ultimately the secret of taste.
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