Deckle gets its due

by Joe DiStefano, Posted Feb 27th 2006 @ 8:19PM

Nation's Restaurant News had a mouthwatering article today

on what it terms a long-overlooked beef cut: the deckle. Maybe it's been overlooked by the chefs of top restaurants quoted in the piece but barbecuers have known about the fatty part, or cap, of the brisket for years.

As a competition barbecuer, I've engendered a healthy obsession with the deckle for years and enjoy a rich fantasy life as my alter ego, Joey Deckle. But I have to say that myself and my fellow meatheads have never really cooked with deckle in the way the chefs from The French Laundry do. The deckle includes not only the fatty part of the brisket, but any part of the strip of muscle and fat that lies right on top of the ribs. So that means that rib-eyes also have a deckle, which is precisely what chefs are starting to use. The French Laundry grills its deckle and serves it with such high-end accoutrements as Perigord truffle macaroons. They're also curing it and making into lardo to shave on to salads. Good lord, lardo!

By the way, if you're interested in cooking some deckle at home one chef recommends searing it and then cooking it at 300 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, to medium rare, and then letting it sit for 4 to 5 minutes. In case anyone's wondering, this cooking tip applies only to the rib-eye cap and like cuts, not the brisket portion, which as all pitmasters know, needs to be smoked for hours on end to achieve superlative succulence.

Filed Under: Magazines, Trends, Ingredients, Methods
Tags: america, beef, deckle, French Laundry, FrenchLaundry, grill

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-28-2006 @10:43AM Mr. Cutlets said... Good job Deckl! You might want to clarify this as the spinalis dorsaii muscle for the physiologically inclined.
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2-28-2006 @12:13PM anubis said... that piece of meat is seriusly undercooked, no matter what anyone say, health regulations state that meat should reach 65 C before serving, otherwise its a health risk.

those are just my two cents, as a chef myself i would never serve that.
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