The Meat House- Goat Cheese Sausage and Kalbi Steak

Was able to finally try out the Meat House in Mission Viejo thanks largely to a Groupon offer. They provided excellent service and I was looking forward to comparing to my favorite butcher shop in OC and maybe on planet earth in the Beef Palace in Huntington Beach.

Anyhow to report, we picked up some kalbi steak tips, some goat cheese sausage, a preseasoned steak which I never cooked, and some basic beef hot dogs for the kids.

As I was perusing the line of sausages the guy behind the counter at the Meat House highly recommended the Goat Cheese Sausage so I took him up on it and glad I did.  The creamyness and slightly tart elements of flavor were a very nice contrasts to the savory spices of the meat. Everyone in attendance raved about it. Would be a wonderful pairing served with a dab of creme cheese on a craker or a toast point. Even by itself though was easily worth the price of admission.

As for the Kalbi, the quality of the meat was easily top notch. The texture and consistency was amazing and once again no doubting the quality and grade of the meat was that of an uber-grade. As for the seasoning, it was not too bad but not the best either. I could see in other parts of the country some would consider it a home run but considering our proximity to Garden Grove and Westminster and some of our local Korean BBQs it lacked that distinct Kalbi flavor that I am used to. Did not detect much garlic nor any sesame oil. A great cut of meat for sure though.  You take this cut of meat but use the marinade at Takamiya Market in Maui and youve got yourself Korean BBQ heaven.

Some other items....found some huge russets that I cut into large steak style fries rolled in olive oil and grilled. This is a great BBQ item as they taste just like french fries, which the kids love, and sprinkled with some garlic salt and some Parmesan make a fantastic side and nice alternative to traditional baked potatoes.

Also finished up with more chicken from the Beef Palace. Its a cant miss BBQ item and I asked whether we wanted to do some BBQ sauce but everyone said no as the quality of the chicken holds up on it's own. I also used some mesquite/apple wood smoke chips that gave a nice coloring.

We had a couple of wines as well in 2 Aussie Shiraz offerings, Red Knot Shiraz and Metricup Road Margaret River Valley from Total Wine. I know people always like to pair Shiraz with BBQ offerings and these two bottles were alright. The Red Knot was better from initial pour but once the Metricup opened up had some nuances and interesting elements that made it worthy. Nice picks....not home runs but once again both had enough going to make the worthy for your next BBQ.

TJs Wine Home Run and another Beef Palace plug....

Was in Huntington Beach the other day to visit my parents and stopped by Trader Joes. I picked up a bottle of BearBoat Syrah for 3.99 based on a workers recommendation. Did some homework and found this is wine is going for $20 bucks on some wine sites.  Opened and aerated it and it without question is a homerun of a wine bargain at $3.99 a bottle. At $20 you would think it was a good bottle for the price point; at $10 you would think it a best value....at $3.99 get it, get it now, get it in vast quantities.

Black Pepper Sausage.....el yum yum

Also stopped by Beef Palace to pick up a chicken to bbq....best chicken in town and the butcher comped me one of their black pepper sausage. Check out the pic....I will be buying more sausages in the future. $5.99 a pound is well worth it for this quality of meat but thats not surprising since the Beef Palace rocks.  Click the pic to see the details...

OCs Best Butcher Shop Strikes again!

So I was in the Huntington Beach area today and thought Id swing by to get a chicken. Costs about 10 bucks but there is no finer, plumper and juicier chicken then the Beef Palace. All of their stuff is amazing so no surprise the chicken is tops as well. Anyhow......

So I happen to ask one of the clerks about the Kobe Beef. The Manager overhears and comes over and tells us that the best Kobe actually comes from Australia and New Zealand as they use a better type of cattle then those used in Japan. I asked if he had ever heard of Hayama Beef since its the wifes home town and in Japan its as well known as the Kobe. He says no so I tell him the story and what not. So the guy wraps the chicken and says anything else as to which I reply "trust me if I had the money Id buy the store."

So Im getting ready to leave and the manager points to one of the aged Kobe steaks and says "take this one...it looks to be about the best." And I say "yeah Im sure it is but Im here just for the chicken" to which the manager says "this ones on the house."

So he proceeds to take the $26 buck a pound kobe rib eye steak and wrap it for me on the house. Normally this steak would cost over $38 bucks for 1 steak. Couldnt believe it. 

Thought I would share yet another amazing Beef Palace experience....your results may vary as I dont think they make a habit out of comping Kobe Rib Eye Steaks. 


Click the pics for detail on the marbling. Ill try and take some more pics tomorrow and post an update. Should probably pic up a semi good bottle of wine as well...would seem a shame to be drinking TJs Boxed Shiraz with it.....