Lobel’s
Prime Cuts
The Best Meat and Poultry
from America’s Master Butchers
By
Stanley, Leon, Evan, Mark and David Lobel
 
Reviewed
by Kevin Schoeler
When
was the last time you bought meat from your local butcher?
Chances are you don’t have a local butcher, or even
one at a decent distance. Lucky folks have Lobel’s.
While glamorous is not an adjective you’ll find next
to the word butcher, this place might be the exception.
Their location is Madison Avenue, their clientele well-heeled,
and their selection and quality of meats is spectacular—with
service and prices to match. Lobel’s is a longstanding
carnivore’s nirvana. Any food establishment that can
survive the rigors of Manhattan for sixty years is doing
something very right, which is why we were interested in
checking out their latest venture—a new cookbook entitled
Lobel’s
Prime Cuts: The Best Meat and Poultry from America’s
Master Butchers.
Like
the fabled butcher store, Lobel’s Prime Cuts
is a family affair, written collectively by two generations
of the Lobel family, fathers Stanley and Leon, and sons
Evan, Mark and David. It’s a straightforward book
about meat—how to buy, prepare and enjoy it, with
an updated approach. Most of the dishes are departures from
that Sunday roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy dinner.
Instead, consider Roasted Breast of Veal with Pancetta and
Sage Stuffing and Fingerling Potatoes, or Grilled Beef Tenderloin
with Yellow Tomato Relish.
The
good news is that there are 130 interesting recipes—the
ones we tested were easy to prepare and delightful to eat.
There is nothing contrived, yet there’s enough going
on for adventure-seekers. Rediscover those ham steaks you
always see but never buy—try Southern Pan-Fried Ham
Steaks with Grits, Wilted Greens and Peach Relish. There
are a few steps involved with this one, but it’s worth
the time.
You
can go as simple as Standing Rib Roast with Savory Sweet
Potato Souffles or Brisket Pot Roast with Heirloom Vegetables,
or as elegant as Slow-Roasted Leg of Lamb with Pistachio
Crust. Go ethnic with Roasted Five-Spice Duck in Rice Wrapper
Rolls with Spicy Hoisin Dipping Sauce, Stewed Chicken Legs
with Chorizo and Black Beans, and Lamb Chops with Minted
Raita and Saffron Rice.
Plenty
of space is devoted to traditional meats, but Lobel’s
Prime Cuts doesn’t skimp on poultry. In fact
they devote two chapters to all things winged—Chicken,
Turkey and Cornish Game Hens, and then Game Birds and Game.
The bonus is that you can flip a few pages and advance from
Braised Pheasant with Honey-Glazed Pearl Onions and Old-Fashioned
Spoon Bread to Venison Osso Buco with Black Olives. On the
simpler side, however, there’s always Chicken and
Dumplings.
It’s
always nice to have a focused book that takes decades of
experience and turns it into great food that you can actually
imagine cooking and eating without jumping through hoops.
What we found a little puzzling, however, was the lack of
a basic cooking guide. Sure, the Lobels tell us everything
we need to know about selecting, handling and freezing meat.
There’s a chart of internal temperatures, so you’ll
end up with a perfect medium-rare or a fully cooked chicken.
And we’re certainly happy with the recipes. But, what
if you just want that basic roast beef. What cut do you
buy? How do you cook it? How many minutes per pound should
you expect before the thermometer tells you it’s ready?
Not a big deal, but these guys are the experts, and this
is good information for most home cooks to have at their
fingertips.
Lobel’s
Prime Cuts is all meat all the time. The authors are
not shy about celebrating the joys of indulging in beef,
veal, lamb, pork and poultry. You won’t find any desserts
here. Side dishes, while successful, are merely a part of
the bigger picture—they are not provided in stand-alone
fashion. The handful of soups, such as Kale and Potato Soup
with Spicy Pork Meatballs, make for complete meals if you
toss together a salad and maybe include some good, crusty
bread. There’s a sandwich or two, and a few wraps,
but we’re happiest when confronted with a decadent
hunk of red meat—how about Stuffed Beef Rolls with
Grainy Mustard Sauce tonight? Tomorrow we’ll shift
gears and try that Maple-Glazed Turkey Breast with Corn
Bread Stuffing.
At
www.lobels.com
you’ll find even more recipes and more about meat.
But, best of all, it’s where you can order and purchase
everything from American Wagyu Beef and Kurobuta Pork, to
Veal Porterhouse Chops—express delivered to your door,
fresh.
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Steakhouses around the country
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(Updated:
08/29/06)
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