The USA: Land of opportunity, land of the free… and may we add; heaven for meat-lovers!
With its wide-open spaces, real cowboys and a very efficient distribution network, it is of no surprise that the US is home to some of the best meat on the planet; especially beef. And we can vouch for that! With 34 states under our belts, we’ve eaten our way through brisket in Texas, juicy prime ribeyes in Wyoming, smoked baby back ribs in South Carolina, maple-flavored bacon most mornings, and for the road; some of that spicy beef jerky.
No matter where you go in this vast country, you will always find an amazing steak to throw on your grill when the day is done. Whether you’re in the mood for a Ribeye or a Tomahawk, a New-York Strip, or Skirt Steak; a T-bone or a Tenderloin; Tri-Tip or a Flat Iron; you’ll get most of these cuts and more, any day of the week. Be it at the butcher’s, at a meat market, or even a Walmart…unless there is a crisis of course, such as a pandemic, that’s when not only the toilet paper aisles are empty, but also the meat shelves (the latter makes sense at least!). We were lucky to find some ground beef to make ourselves some burgers during those weeks of global panic buying… nothing wrong with a good burger though!
Talking of which, burger joints are very popular in America. In fact, they were invented here. It’s still not clear who exactly made the first hamburger (they’re still arguing about that), but it was around 1900.
‘IN-N-OUT Burger’ was one of our favorite burger chain restaurants. Did you know that they have a secret menu? Try ordering a ‘4×4’, an ‘Animal Style’ or a ‘Double Meat’ burger, but don’t tell anyone! Of course, there are many more to choose from; ‘McDonald’s’, ‘Whataburger’, ‘Wendy’s’ or ‘Carl’s Junior’, just to name a few. They are conveniently located along main streets through every town in America, one after another.
Now back to those steaks. The USDA puts the quality of beef into three categories: Select, Choice and Prime. The difference between the three being the amount of fat marbling found in the steak. ‘Prime’, clearly having a decent amount which is evenly spread throughout the piece of meat.
The beef you will find throughout the country most likely comes from the black Angus breed; a good choice, wouldn’t you say?… no pun intended!
Choice is what you’ll usually find in the stores, but if you’re lucky, you’ll get your hands on some juicy prime meat too, and our advice: buy it…always! Of course, it’s more expensive, but beef is pretty affordable here anyway.
Prime labeled cuts will often find their way to upscale restaurants and these days to expensive online delivery services and is therefore not as readily available as Choice.
A few words about Steakhouses: Although there are some very high-end, top-notch restaurants out there serving their own dry-aged steaks, most chain steakhouses, in our opinion, are not worth the hefty bill. Buy yourself a prime ribeye at Walmart and cook it yourself on the bbq. It will beat ‘Outback Steakhouse’ or ‘Sizzler’ any time and for a fraction of the price too. Don’t get us wrong, if you have the money, by all means, do go and splurge but make sure it’s a good one!
Now let’s talk about the not-so-tender cuts. Back in the day when the enslaved Africans couldn’t afford those prime cuts, they came up with a genius technique to turn those tougher cuts from the animal into something juicy and tender: The pit method. By digging up a hole, lighting a fire, placing their leaf-wrapped piece of meat over it, covering the hole again and slow-cooking for several hours, they managed to create a succulent piece of heaven.
And this heaven dear friends is the origin of BBQ!
Today the meat is cooked above ground, in the ‘pit’ of the so-called smokers, and is very popular in America, in particular, the South. Go eat in:
- Texas- for brisket and short ribs with a bark;
- The Carolinas- where they smoke up all things pork and;
- Missouri & Kansas- famous for their ribs.
The guys that take it a little more seriously though are called the Pitmasters. They take part in competitions all over the States, some of which are televised. And we were fortunate enough to go eat our way through one of these events in Florida. Live music, huge cook-offs, a variety of meat booths and tents tucked away in the corner, for that all-important judging. And boy do these judges know what they’re doing; our good friend Stu from Arizona confirms that. When invited to his garage for some finger-licking ribs, you’re in for a treat. Check out the YouTube video about it here.
The very best we’ve ever tasted! No wonder he’s a judge himself, and not only for BBQ, but also for steak competitions, yes they do that here too.
When we have a pit-stop, Abigail usually goes for the pulled pork sandwich, Zoe chews on a rib, and Richie orders a pound of brisket- “no sides, thank you!”.
So what’s lacking?
There is always going to be that something that you miss from home, and for us, it’s the sausages. Europe spoils you for choice in the sausage department and in America, a good sausage that doesn’t contain MSG is more difficult to come by. There are the German delis of course, and that is where you need to go. if you happen across one, then seize the moment and stock up on your bratwursts, leberkäse, and smoked ham. It won’t be cheap, but when you’re homesick, you just need that remedy.
A good thick-cut pork chop, bone-in from the rib-eye section is also harder to come by in the States. Most butchers here cut them differently to the Swiss pork Koteletts we love so much. Their “country style” and boneless center-cuts are usually cut a little thinner… and just not as juicy.
And while we’re on the subject of meats that are lacking, what about lamb we hear you cry? Well, you’ll not be eating shepherd’s pie or lamb shanks here. Lamb just doesn’t seem to be a thing in most parts of the United States.
America we love you for your meat, but if you could do away with the growth hormones too, that would be even better! Nobody wants to be consuming any unpleasant chemicals, right?
Where to buy the good stuff when on the road?
Our preferred way of traveling through the USA is by Overlanding in a camper. Having a fully equipped outdoor and indoor kitchen on your set of wheels is ideal. There’s nothing better for us than slapping a tomahawk on our volcano grill after a long drive. If you do happen to visit this beautiful country via hotels, bungalows or Airbnb’s you’ll be sure to find a way to cook your own meat though. America prioritizes that! Whether it be the gas grill by the hotel pool, the stove in that cabin or a kitchen in your rented apartment! And you certainly won’t be stuck when going for a picnic. National parks and state parks will most definitely have fireplaces to grill your purchased goodies.
Where should you buy this meat? Well if you live in the States you will most likely have that butcher whom you can trust. Travelling, however, can be a bit more challenging. Although the quality of meat is of good standard across the country, driving back to that reliable source as travellers is virtually impossible. The meat markets would often be a little too expensive for our budget, so we would mostly hit the supermarkets. Large stores such as Kroger’s, Walmart and Frys, and big-box stores such as Costco and Sam’s club never let us down, and with around $10 a pound or $20 a kilo for excellent choice ribeyes; well you really can’t complain.
Chicken is everywhere and gigantic turkeys will take presidency in the freezers during the holidays, but meat-lovers; this is America. It is cattle country, even the Wyoming signs remind us of that!
They tell us to eat beef, and we’re echoing that message to you too. It is no wonder you can get your hands on delectable cuts and find high-quality breeds such as Wagu and red Angus. Huge cattle ranches can be found in even the unexpected corners of the USA. Sunshine State Florida, for example, produces a significant amount of beef and believe it or not, the big island in Hawaii has the biggest cattle ranch in the whole of the United States! This definitely explains why the US is up there with Argentina and Brazil on the beef consumption charts!
In our opinion (and please do take it with a pinch of salt…and pepper), when it comes to beef and BBQ, the US is the place to go. We are travelling in Mexico now and we cannot stress enough how much we miss those steaks! I guess we’ll just have to get our fix with a taco Asada or a Suedero taco. We’ll be sure to let you know how they taste here in this blog, all about meat around the world.
Thanks for reading and we’ll ’Meat you Around the World’.
