On the big butcher block behind the deli case at Wayside Market (55575 Main Road, Southold, 631-765-3575), Pasquale “P.T.” Rutigliano is cutting up a steer, quarter by quarter. A long rack of knives, hacksaws and a huge pair of steel shears hangs on the wall behind him as he puts his body weight into the effort, neatly trimming the fat as he goes.
“I don’t like a sloppy butcher,” he deadpans.
This particular animal, a red angus steer from a small grower in Connecticut, is being broken down to order for a customer, who has purchased half of it on the recommendation of Isabella Rutigliano, P.T.’s daughter and a partner in the family butcher shop and gourmet store.
As of late, buying meat this way — investing in the purchase of a whole, half or even quarter of an animal — has become popular as more and more people want to know where their food is coming from and how it was raised.
Once again, what’s old is new. Buying in bulk from smaller farms, where humane methods of meat production result in higher-quality protein and more environmentally friendly practices, is attracting an increasing number of carnivore customers.
Isabella, who recently took over as head butcher and works with her father at Wayside, remarks that the buyer of the half-steer, Dr. Shah Ahmed, will probably not have to buy meat for two years. Ahmed, an anesthesiologist and a new resident of Riverhead who lives with his wife and two young children, will receive about 300 pounds of meat, along with organ meats like kidneys and liver, and about five gallons of beef tallow when all is said and done. The other half of the steer will be processed and sold in the shop as aged steaks, roasts and chop meat.
“There’s a human connection here,” notes Ahmed. “I want to support local agriculture and regenerative practices. I trust Isabella to source me a [steer] personally…where I have a better quality of food at a good price, and I can support a local farmer.”
The slaughter and processing of animals for food must be done in a USDA-approved and inspected facility; most East End farmers who raise animals must transport them all the way to the Berkshires or far upstate New York to be processed.
As for the Connecticut farmer who raised the steer, Isabella says “my Dad and I wanted to find a high-quality rancher—we didn’t want the lean meat, we wanted the prime meat that is more marbled; we want to keep the integrity of the product that we have in house. It’s the feed that makes them more flavorful and how they’re raised and treated. We know the conditions they are raised in, we know they are pastured and have minimal vaccinations.”
The animals are fed the farmer’s own proprietary blend of feed that is grown on his 80-acre farm, and the processing facility is right down the road, resulting in less stress to the animal and thus better-quality meat.
The Rutiglianos note that there are still some old-school farmers on the North Fork who raise their own animals. As long as those animals are slaughtered at an approved facility, Wayside will butcher them to the farmers’ specifications, much as they have been doing since the 1960s (in 1999, P.T. became a partner in Wayside Market, and in 2001 he bought the business. His father had a pig farm in Center Moriches, where he learned how to butcher animals).
How long does it take to break down a steer? The steer is delivered from the USDA-approved processor in four quarters, which take approximately five hours of physical effort each to break down. More time is spent rendering the fat into shortening or beef tallow, packaging the tallow and the organ meat, tail and tongue.
Ahmed pays about $10.99 per pound for the meat—about a $4,500 total outlay, noting that he is able to save quite a bit on the prime meat price by buying in bulk (prime meat often goes for $30 and up per pound).
“The average family can’t afford it,” he says. “But if four families split a steer and freeze the meat, that works. There’s no plastic…there’s less cost and waste involved, and the quality is way better.”
Is a side of beef in your future? If you have a large freezer and perhaps another family to split it with, it may be worth your while to buy in bulk. North Fork residents are lucky to have several small producers nearby where they can find quality meat to sample, like Eight Hands Farm, North Fork Grass Fed, and Russell McCall’s cattle operation (with meat available at the McCall Wines tasting room).
And Wayside Market, of course, which has aged steaks and chopped meat available for your Memorial Day grilling plans (call ahead to reserve your cuts of choice). And perhaps take advantage of this old-school butcher, who provides a personal, non-industrial service our forebearers were well acquainted with.
