Ottawa Foodies

1

He finally got in some leaf lard [pork kidney fat] for me. 2 pounds for 2 dollars. That's a good deal. I then spent a couple of hours tending the cut up pieces as they rendered over the stove. I ended up with 2 generous cups of lovely, creamy lard. This will make some delicious pies in the future or maybe I'll try my hand at making shallow-fried chicken.

He also brought in some Kessler chops [smoked centre-cut pork chops] for me (and had to try some for himself). MMMMMmmmmMMMM! Them's some mighty fine chops! Quite salty, though. I'll make some applesauce to go with them next time. Baked was fine, but I really want to BBQ them.

It took a few visits before he found a supplier for the lard, but now I know I can get it whenever I want with a bit of notice. YAY BRIAN!

The guys there all know me, which is nice. Okay, I made fun of their girly moustaches during the Movember charity drive last year and they never FORGOT me. I suppose there is a difference. ;)

The bacon is fantastic, as well. Just cooked some up. Not much shrinkage, and a really good salty/smoky/sweet balance. Maybe I should have frozen them in aliquots of larger than two pieces per person...

2

Wow. Simply wow.

I picked up the ribeye that I ordered a couple of weeks ago. A 2.375-pound monster that had been dry-aged thirty-five days.

Unbelievably tender, and pleasantly beefy.

The most important thing, however, is that the people working the counter clearly love what they do. It made me smile all night.

The guy who cut off my portion was very proud of the quality of the meat, and pointed out all of the fun bits ("Look at how tender it is! Check out the blackness along the ribs!")

In conclusion, even though this place is a bit out of the way, I'll definitely try to buy steak from them more often. It's definitely worth the trip to get the aged stuff. Just make sure you phone a couple weeks ahead!

Correct zym. I stand corrected. Only the dry aged stuff comes from O Brien's

Careful Ken V - not all their beef comes from O'Brien. Just the special-order dry aged stuff. Everything in their cases that you see when you walk in is Alberta. I was told this by the lady who works there.

EDIT: I know you know that. It is just that the wording you chose may not be clear to the casual reader.

The beef comes from O'Brien's. Iirc Brien's ages it himself in his walk in. Usually every three to four weeks he has some.

zymurgist...

chef Obi's question was re: dry aged beef. every steak photo posted by me is of dry aged beef. as stated, iirc (if i recall correctly), it comes from O'Brien's. perhaps username Ken V can comment - he is also a regular.

the dry aged beef is by request/order only. they used to have supply on hand all the time but since Ron Eade has blogged about it, and i've ranted about it, they now have a waiting list.

After reading monty's report that they use local beef from O'Brien's, I was pretty excited to come in here, especially where it is so close to my workplace. Unfortunately I was equally disappointed when I got there, to discover that most of their beef is not from O'Brien.

All the beef in the case is (proudly) Alberta beef. They've been doing it that way for 27 years and see no reason to change. They do get some O'Brien beef in every 2 weeks but you have to special order it. They'll have some in this friday.

I bought a couple of T-bones anyway and will grill them up for supper. Will see how they taste.

Dang! One of these months I remember that they are not open on Mondays. Still have not been inside the place!

You are lucky Ratty. Most of the dry aged beef is usually spoken for. I can't get any flank steak as there is a standing order to another customer. Luckily he rotates his other cuts so everyone can get some. I was there today for skirt which he says is getting popular. I asked for a hanger and he said they are cut out before he gets his side. Sad that in Ottawa it's so hard to find different cuts of meat. I asked for a try tip or flat iron but couldn't get those either. Have to go to Montreal I guess.

See my other post on just Brian's for more context - I was disappointed to discover that very little of the beef comes from O'Brien's. Only by special order. They are very proud to say they have been doing Alberta beef for some 27 years.

But I bought a couple of T bones anyway since I was already there, and cooked them up on the grill after work. They were tasty enough, though man it was something else getting used to grilling feedlot beef - flames everywhere from all the extra fat! Definitely not used to that with grass fed!

As far as the flavour goes I'd buy it again. But I won't likely be back for the beef anyway, simply because it is from Alberta. And expensive ($12/lb!) for a guy used to buying sides of beef from local farmers, at far less than that.

Thanks for the update monty - Brian's is right near where I work, and I'll be far more inclined to go there now that I know where their meat comes from. In fact, i'm craving a steak right now looking at that picture of yours ... :-)

cold smoked/BBQ'd bone-in ribeye

chef Obi - just realized i never followed up on your question. a lot of their beef comes from O'Brien Farms, iirc.

www.obrienfarms.ca/

All I can say is wow. Best steak I have had. Can never eat supermarket steak ever again. And that was the small one. It may be pricey but it is well worth it.

That is sweet monty!

I have to give Monty props for not carbonizing this one =)

monty as an apartment dweller with no access to a bbq I am suitably jealous! I am now off to wipe the drool off my keyboard-;)

i proclaim this...the summer of monty!

Much nicer looking Monty! Looks appetizing now =)

As an apartment dweller - I am jealous. We can't have any grills on the balconies since there's a risk I might poison someone with carbon monoxide or burn the place down or something, apparently.

Soon though, I'll be grilling just like you Monty! Another few months to go!

As far as char is concerned - I don't mind it on the fatty parts, but you definitely had some flare-up there ;) I'll have to keep Brian's in mind when we move, plus, I'll buy a rib roast & dry age it myself & break it down... will sell or barter if anyone is interested?

Wow, now that is the type of innovation I like to see in small butcher shops! Who would have thought to put apple in sausage? My only complaint really is that I had a lot of trouble deciding what sort of condiment to serve on it. In hindsight I think some sort of relish might have been better than what I tried.

The apple chicken sausage is absolutely fantastic! Though I guess some people will balk because they told me they only sell their sausage frozen - the freeze it immediately after making it because they do not use any nitrates or other preservatives.

love the chicken here and frequently buy whole birds and boneless skinless breasts.

i can't remember the name of the supplier but the butcher has remarked it's the best he can get, for the scale/# he needs, next to going to a local farm. i believe it's the same supplier The Piggy Market and a few other local shops use.

the chicken is incredibly moist and seems almost impossible to dry out when BBQing (a good thing!)

Brian's now has a steady stock of Bekings eggs on hand. White or brown at ~$3.99/dozen.

they do a mean tourtiere here, in addition to steak pies and chicken pies. all 3 have a nice crust and are chock full of meaty goodness. very simple "like mom used to make" stuff.

at about $7 a pop there's always one in our freezer.