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Shop: Flannery Beef

FOUND GIFT GUIDE • FOUND Larder

Time and again, I’ve splurged on steaks that boast 40, 50, and more days of dry-aging, from top butchers and restaurants alike. Yet too often, that unmistakable, savory umami punch of truly dry-aged beef just isn’t there.

Marin County butcher Flannery Beef, a retailer to top restaurants across the country like Tennessee’s Blackberry Farm and LA’s Meteora, has solved that problem now that all of its offerings are available online.

A family business in San Francisco since 1963 now based in San Rafael, it’s run by its second and third generations. USDA Prime beef (alongside lamb and pork) from both California and the Midwest is available for overnight or two-day day shipping, all with a strong emphasis on dry-aging. The signature line, California Reserve, comes from male Holstein cattle raised in California — a rarity, since this breed is synonymous with dairy production. Here, though, the Holstein’s fine marbling and smaller muscle diameter allow for thicker cuts and a richer, more meaty flavor.

Flannery’s lineup ranges from unaged steaks to those rested upward of 90 days. The most iconic is The Jorge, a bespoke cut named after the team’s favorite Spanish wine importer, Jorge Ordoñez. It’s essentially a bone-in rib steak with the thick, marbled strip of rib cap left attached so that it runs along the top edge of the steak. Dry aged beef neophytes should check out Flanner’s new Dry Aged Beef Intro Box ($194 per), which contains a wet aged rib eye and New York steak, plus the same cuts dry aged for 30-35 days. This pack is a great way to taste the impact that time has on rested beef. –Kat Odell

→ Shop: Flannery Beef.