2 Ribeye Steaks from Halsted Packing House (1″ thick)
Item Purchased: 2 Ribeye Steaks from Halsted Packing House (1″ thick)
Location Purchased: Halsted Packing House / 445 N Halsted St / Chicago, IL
Price: $14.00 w/tax
Purchased on: 07/07/07
Review: Growing up, I thought butchers were the guys who hid in the back of mega-supermarkets wearing nearly spotless white coats and cutting up already bloodless hunks of meat for storage in tight plastic containers. Until yesterday, I had never set foot in an actual butcher shop. Since I’ve been grilling out a lot this summer, I thought it was high time to pay respects to the bloody creatures and hard working men who have remained behind the curtain of my carnivorous life.
Halsted Packing House is almost out of place, set apart from the majority of Chicago’s other packing houses and butchers down on Lake St. With an Irish pub, a subway entrance and a hot night club just across the street, this is probably the last place anyone would expect to see fresh suckling pigs (HPH’s advertised specialty) or hooked bovine carcasses. A small storefront and modest glass case filled with fragmented cow, lamb and pig parts greets you upon entering. Behind the counter, two stern looking, but friendly men who know knives and flesh better than most attentively await your requests. If you know what you need, they accommodate. If you don’t, just point and explain what you would like to the best of your ability and they will put the professional touch on your meaty desires.
I did a bit of both by first asking for a pound of ground beef, then pointing to the rib rack in front of me and asking for 1″ steaks. The short serious butcher behind the counter set deftly to work, sliding the rack of ribs through a band saw that cut through it like butter and slicing the fat away as if it were excess branches on a yard shrub.
Enough of the romantic wistful descriptions of my first visit to an actual butcher, though… How was the steak?
Glad you asked.
After applying my secret recipe steak rub (secret = throwing a bunch of random spices into an old coffee grinder and letting it rip for a minute) and grilling for about 15 minutes, what followed was one of the juiciest, most flavorful and thoroughly enjoyable steaks I have ever eaten in my life. All that coming from a guy who doesn’t eat too much red meat on a regular basis (please ignore all of the reubens I have reviewed)!
If you are going to indulge in the flesh of animals, you might as well get elbow deep into it and acknowledge where it comes from. Life doesn’t stop and meals don’t start at the freezer case. I’ll definitely be visiting Halsted Packing House again for all of my carnivorous needs.
Rating: 4.5 / 5
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