#rarecuts

Time to get #theperfectsteak adventure started. Before starting to visit steakhouses, I wanted to start with the basics, so I went to visit the experts at Rare Cuts. 

Rare Cuts is right off Magazine Street in New Orleans and specializes in farm-to-table beef. All of their meat is hand selected, cut, aged for at least 20 days, and vacuum sealed (never frozen). These guys know their beef. I called ahead of time to schedule a visit with the owners, Mickey and Andrew Reid. 

Upon entering Rare Cuts, I was greeted by Mickey who immediately brought me to their steak section and started sharing her passion for good beef. I let her know about my experiment, and she gave me a few great pointers to look out for when ordering my steak. 

- Where was it raised? Any restaurant worth its salt should be knowledgable about where their beef comes from and the conditions in which it was raised. General rule of thumb: a happy cow makes for a happy steak.

- Is it aged? All the meat offered at Rare Cuts is either dry aged or wet aged for at least 20 days. You can get some more knowledge on why steaks are aged here. In a nutshell, the aging process helps to break down the enzymes in the meat making it more tender. 

- How is it prepared? Broiled, grilled, and oven cooked steaks will all have a different taste and consistency. The reason steaks need care in the cooking process is to preserve the moisture of the meat. Most of the beef offered by rare cuts is such high quality, that just a little salt and pepper is plenty to enjoy the depth of flavors a steak has to offer. The only time one will typically see other things on a steak is with the more mild flavored filet-mignon. 

Next up, I was in for a real treat. Mickey and Andrew had already put aside an aged Ribeye, New York Strip, Filet Mignon, and the decadent Wagyu Strip for me to try. Mickey told me trying them side by side would be the best way to learn the unique properties of each cut. They'd already reached the perfect temperature (120 degrees pre grill) in a Sous Vide machine, and just needed to be finished on the grill. No butter needed for these steaks, just a bit of salt and pepper so we could taste the quality of the meat. 

I followed Mickey into the kitchen where we continued to swap notes on steakhouses to try, favorite cuts of meat, and the best sides with a steak. Sounds like Dickie Brennan's in New Orleans and Prime 112 in Miami need to be added to my hit list. 

We were joined by Rare Cut's Chef Billy Lacrosse. Andrew was in the back finishing the steaks on the grill, while Chef Billy told me about their private dinner parties. Turns out, you can reserve a table in a private room at Rare Cuts and enjoy an amazing dinner with up to 20 of your closest friends (adds experience to the list).

Once the steaks were finished on the grill, we continued to discuss the differences between cuts, and everyone seemed to be in agreement that the "perfect cut" is pretty subjective. New York Strips have that hearty steak flavor, but are a little tougher than the tender and mild Filet Mignon (a RareCuts best seller I'm told). Rare Cuts actually has a great buying guide to help  select the right cut here. 

No fancy dinner for us today. It was 11:40 AM, the steaks were ready, and we were going to sample them in the kitchen. Check out this setup. 

There was something Dinner Lab-esque about standing around a stainless steel table with Mickey, Andrew, and Chef Billy and tasting each cut individually, then going on to the next, and then back to the first to compare.

I enjoyed comparing the different textures and flavors, and couldn't believe that no butter was used on any of the steaks. The Wagyu Strip was definitely in a league of it's own, sort of like a New York Strip with the texture of a Filet Mignon. You won't find Wagyu beef at your corner market, and Mickey said they are often sold out. Here are a few pics of the different steaks. See if you can guess which is which. (I'm no photographer, so some look more red due to the lighting)

We did make a few notes on the differences in each cut, but you're probably better off checking out the comparison chart found on the Rare Cuts Website.

Between the four of us digging in, only happy plates were left.

The quality of these steaks was so good that I couldn't leave without buying a few of the New York Strips to cook up with my pals. This was the perfect place to get an idea of what to look for in each cut of steak as I begin my travels, and also see what a quality piece of meat should look like.  Mickey and Andrew were so knowledgable, and their shop had a wealth of educational materials for the aspiring carnivore. I'd highly recommend stopping in to see them if you are ever in the neighborhood, or checking out www.rarecuts.com to browse their available selection.

Was there something I missed? Have a question for the team at Rare Cuts? Hit them up on Twitter at @rarecuts