Ruffino's : Dry Aged Steaks : April Promotion

I know we have discussed Ruffino's 45 Day Dry Aged Ribeye on here in the past, and I have knighted it because I really enjoy it. It was not always on the menu due to supplier inconsistancies.

A little while back they began the process of searching for a solid supplier and building the ability to dry age their own meat. I had one and it was incredible. Having this product available locally, for a steak snob, makes me very happy. They have up'd the "steakhouse" game in BR, IMO.

When chatting with some of the folks about it, they gave me some intel:

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On Friday, April 1, 2016 Ruffino’s restaurant in BR and Ruffino’s on the River in Lafayette will roll out a new beef promotion. Chef Gino Sclafani and the team of chef’s at Ruffino’s have developed their own dry aging program and have started to dry-age some steaks in house.

For the month of April, both restaurants will have a steakhouse menu in addition to their regular menu. Ruffino’s Prime is the name of the program. Guests can order from either menu and even mix and match if they choose. It will be like a restaurant within a restaurant. Steaks, filet mignon in particular, have always been the best selling item at each restaurant. And best selling by a lot. We know our guests love great steaks and Gino, Ruffin, Howard, and I discussed how we could make our steaks even better. Our answer is dry aging. We turned to some of our friends who run one of the best steakhouses in Florida, the Lewis family with Okeechobee Steakhouse in West Palm Beach, Florida. They provided us with a great deal of science and the processes to get started with dry-aging. Gino also built a Himalayan Salt wall in the aging room using the same kind of Himalayan salt blocks we use to serve our seared Tuna appetizer. The salt wall not only reduced the humidity in the cooler but work to kill unwanted bacteria in the air.

Beef Facts: Cows do one of three things: 1. make milk 2. make beef 3. make other cows

Beef Cows:
1. Varieties – Angus (Black & Red); Hereford; Piedmontese; Wagyu; Charolais: Murray Grey; Bramham
2. Grades – Prime – less than 2%; Choice – 55%; Select; standard; commercial; Utility; cutter; canner
3. Most beef is cross bred to enhance certain useful characteristics
4. Aging – to improve tenderness, endogenous proteolytic emzymes to weaken structural and myofibrillar proteins
a. Wet aged – vacuumed packed to reduce spoilage and yield loss. We wet age ALL steaks at Ruffino’s a minimum of 30 days.
b. Dry aging – humidity and temperature controlled, outer surfaces dry out, dehydration causes a concentration of flavor, added tenderness, structural change in fat, and a nutty flavor. Our dry aged steaks will range from 30 to 50 days. 5. Himalayan Salt – control humidity, reduce bacterial growth
6. Brands – Creekstone Prime; Creekstone Natural; Certified Angus Beef; 1855
7. Humane Animal handling practices, Dr. Temple Grandin designed facilities
8. Source verified – traceability back for generations
9. Specially selected corn based feed
10. State of the art processing facilities that Gino and I personally visit.

Although the Ruffino’s Prime promotion runs through April, you can expect to see Himalayan dry-aged beef permanently on the menu at both Ruffino’s. Our culinary team is always pushing ourselves to “Make It Better Everyday” as we were taught by TJ Moran. We think TJ would be proud of our Himalayan dry-aging room and that we are continuing the things he taught us in selecting the highest quality beef.

We can’t wait for you to come try it for yourself.

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