The Wall Street Journal - 22.02.2020 - 23.02.2020

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. **** Saturday/Sunday, February 22 - 23, 2020 |D9

EATING & DRINKING

ply in 2016.

Today, Ms. Thomason pre-

sides over locations in Brew-

erytown and South Philadel-

phia, with a business model

rooted in a firm commitment

to animal welfare and sup-

porting livestock farmers. She

tackles the issue of small

farms’ inability to book slots

at slaughterhouses due to low

volume by representing a

whole network of farmers.

“That brings me to the

slaughterhouse 52 weeks a

year. They accommodate me

and also cut to order because

with this network, I am a

high-volume customer.”

She also acts as an inter-

mediary between the farmers

and chefs to get the various

cuts of a whole animal sold

to restaurants. To cultivate a

market for the meat that she

commits to buy, she main-

tains and educates a cus-

tomer base through whole-

sale and retail sales, a meat

CSA, butchering classes and

pop-up dinners.

Ms. Thomason’s meat and

mindset won over renowned

chef/restaurateur Marc Vetri,

who became her business

partner in 2018. Mr. Vetri

had just exited a partnership

with Urban Outfitters. “I saw

everything going from small

business to large,” he said.

“Instead of the local hard-

ware store, there’s Lowe’s. In-

stead of the basic grocery

store, there’s Whole Foods. I

wanted to do something that

instead supported small busi-

ness.” One of Ms. Thomason’s

first clients, Mr. Vetri values

the sustainability and low-

waste efficiency of working

with primal and subprimal

parts in his restaurants.

It’s no different for home

cooks: Purchasing subprimal

parts and butchering them

down into select cuts yourself

saves money and reduces

food waste, too. Ms. Thoma-

son’s step-by-step instruc-

tions (above) on how to

butcher a chuck roll will leave

you with steaks, a pot roast,

short ribs, stew meat and

stock scraps—not to mention

a feeling of supreme satisfac-

tion and the admiration of

your dinner guests.

Find Mr. Vetri‘s slow-cooked,

stewy, comforting recipe for

short ribs atwsj.com/news/

life-arts/food-cooking-drink.

Let’s Get

Primal

Going DIY and breaking down a big hunk

of beef into individual cuts is highly

satisfying as well as terrifically thrifty

JOE McKENDRY

CUTTING CLASS

F. MARTIN RAMIN/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

What You’ll Need

1 boneless whole chuck roll, under-

blade attached, 10-12 pounds

Cotton twine

Victorinox boning knife, 6-inches,

semi-flexible

1 Place chuck roll flat-side down. Find

seam that connects eye (the raised,

rounded part on top) and underblade

flap. Pull at a corner of seam and roll

eye off, severing connective tissue with

knife tip to separate eye and flap.

2 Start with the eye. From the more

tapered end, cut two chuck eye

steaks, each about 1 inch thick, slic-

ing in one swift motion.

3 With twine, tie a tight knot around

middle of eye roll. Continue tying off in

1-inch increments from center to ends,

forming a log-shape pot roast. Test for

tightness—you shouldn’t be able to fit

a finger under the string.

4 Now, turn to the underblade flap.

Remove silverskin (the sheer silvery

membrane) from flap on both sides

by inserting knife under skin and

pulling away. Trim fat. Reserve silver-

skin and fat for stock.

5 Cut underblade flap in half. Then,

slice each half into 1^1 / 2 -inch by 3-inch

portions (about^1 / 2 pound each) to

render boneless short ribs. Cube re-

maining trim into 1-inch pieces for

stew.

HOW TO BUTCHER A BEEF CHUCK ROLL INTO MULTIPLE MEALS

oped friendships with some

livestock farmers. They often

confided in her about their

mounting challenges with

processing, marketing and

selling their meat. “I thought,

No one is taking care of these

guys. Maybe if I learned how

to butcher, I could help fix

this broken system.”

Inspired, she embarked on

a new career, starting by

working on a small farm in

central Pennsylvania to fully

understand the farmers’

needs. After a season of rais-

ing livestock, she landed an

apprenticeship at the Local

Butcher Shop in Berkeley, Ca-

lif. Upon completion, however,

she was disap-

pointed to find

there were no staff

positions avail-

able—until a freak

accident occurred:

The shop’s propri-

etor accidentally

stabbed himself in

the bladder while

preparing an order.

Ms. Thomason was

tapped to join the

staff and after a

year there, and

then two years as

head butcher and

manager of Kens-

ington Quarters in

Philadelphia, she

opened Primal Sup-

I

N THE VOCABULARY

of butchery, primal

cuts are the big ones

separated first from

the whole animal.

Some primals can be further

broken down into subprimal

cuts. A cow, for example, has

eight primal cuts: chuck, rib,

loin, round, flank, short plate,

brisket and shank. The chuck

alone yields a variety of sub-

primals, including the chuck

roll—itself a bonanza of sec-

ondary cuts and source of

multiple meals.

Philadelphia butcher shop

Primal Supply Meats purveys

primal, subprimal

and custom cuts

to some of the

city’s best restau-

rants and sustain-

ability-minded

meat eaters. A

knack for prob-

lem-solving drove

founder Heather

Thomason, a for-

mer dancer and

graphic designer,

into the butchery

field.

As a conscien-

tious home cook,

she spent so

much time at the

farmers’ market

that she devel-

BYKATHLEENSQUIRES

Pro Tips

1.When you’re at

the butcher, ask

for a boneless

whole chuck roll,

underblade at-

tached, about

10-12 pounds.

2.Shop for 100%

grass-fed or

grass-finished

beef, which con-

tains more nutri-

ents than grain-

fed beef.

3.Keep a towel

nearby to wipe

the knife handle if

it gets slippery.

Boozy Julius

Serves 2

In a blender, combine

2/3 cup frozen or-

ange-juice concen-

tratewith4 ounces

white rum or blanco

tequila,3/4 cup

cream sodaand 2

ounceslime juice.Add

1 cup ice. Blend on

high until smooth. Di-

vide between 2 tall

glasses. Top each

with asplash of

cream soda, stir and

garnish with anor-

ange slice.

Orange Julius Hits the Bar

This grown-up version takes the edge off winter (and aging)

DRINKEASY

FEBRUARY MAY BEthe shortest month, but

it sure doesn’t feel that way. Call it ennui sea-

son: those weary weeks of midwinter when the

holiday glow has long since receded, but spring

green is still nowhere in sight. The only cure is

distraction—preferably in the form of a flight to

Cabo, but I’ve found that in the absence of such

a windfall, some liquid sunshine will suffice.

Which is why I recently found myself

pawing through my freezer and consid-

ering a long-forgotten tube of frozen

orange-juice concentrate. After an af-

ternoon skating with my son, reliving

the roller-rink glories of my youth,

the cocktail hour had arrived. Looking

at that icy can, a lightbulb switched on.

Why not concoct a boozy Orange Julius,

that slushy, Creamsicle-flavored delight of my

suburban childhood?

A cursory search provided me a recipe blue-

print and filled in the basic history: The drink

was invented in the 1920s by a Southern Cali-

fornia O.J. salesman named Julius Freed, and

his franchise soon spread across the country.

By my roller-skating heyday in the 1980s, Or-

ange Julius was a shopping-mall staple.

Recreating its charms at home didn’t seem

too challenging. I’d just need something creamy,

something boozy and orange juice, of course.

Ordinarily, I’m a fresh-squeezed sort of gal, but

that can of concentrate seemed more in the

spirit of the food court, so I scooped a cupful

into my blender. Now for the strong stuff.

Vodka is always a good blank slate, but after a

little thought, I opted for white rum instead,

reasoning that its subtle vanilla sweetness

might amplify the Creamsicle effect. (I’ve

since tried it with blanco tequila and

can confirm that it, too, gets the job

done nicely.)

Mr. Freed’s recipe and most copy-

cats seem to finish off with a glug of

milk (or powdered creamer) and a

heaping spoonful or two of sugar, but I

worried about the effects of what would

essentially be a supercharged milkshake on my

middle-aged system. I decided to swap in old-

fashioned cream soda plus a cupful of ice, then

blended the mixture to a frothy fizz. When the

first sip proved a little too sweet, I added a cou-

ple ounces of fresh lime juice.

Poured into a tall glass, finished with a

splash more cream soda and garnished with an

orange slice, it wasn’t a beach chair in Baja, but

it was just the bright, cheery balm I’d hoped it

might be.—Sarah Karnasiewicz

THECOVEATLANTISBAHAMAS.COM | 1877.COVEVIP

STAY AT THE COVE • PLAY AT ATLANTIS

PARADISE ISLAND BAHAMAS