I may save up and try the burger here. Thanks.
Is Bateau as twee as Boat Street Cafe?
Yes, and then some. I got some flack for ordering a glass of rosĂ© while sitting at the bar. âAh, itâs pink wine season again.â
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[Sigh] And they âbutcherâ their steaks on site. As a packing plant operatorâs son, I wonder what that meansâthereâs someone in the back hoisting and breaking hind quarters?
Well, we have a local restaurant who âbreaksâ down whole and half animals on site.
Hi, Cath:
Itâs not impossible, but I kinda doubt it in this case. We should see if thereâs a roller track outside the back doorâŠ
Their website also implies that their beef comes from their own 40-head ranch operation on Whidbey Island. This may be the beef equivalent of Western Washington wineries planting a few vines out front for landscaping.
Give 'em a try and spy for us!
Aloha,
Kaleo
The bartender said that a butcher comes in everyday and breaks down the beef. Each cut that is available is written on their blackboard, and whenever something sells out, it gets erased.
What cutsâbesides steaksâdo they put on the blackboard?
Iâm actually not one to throw down bank for high quality beef (except wagyu occasionally), and I really wasnât interested in what was listed⊠but I gather that list runs the gamut. I also inquired about the tasting menu and apparently they get really creative with the lesser known and used cuts. I would be game for that.
That sounds good to me also. I call them âesotericâ cuts 
Well, itâs admirable if theyâre trying to use everything, Iâll give them that.
My own ranching experience is that theyâre gong to be grinding a lot of burger out of what wonât sell.
What isnât âsellable,â K
That sounds about right.
Cath:
Well, you have to understand the numbers. Assume an animal weighs 1,150 pounds on the hoof, and hangs at 715 pounds. Once broken, it will yield 569 pounds of meat and fat (27 pounds less if you donât count the offal). Trim the removable fat (127 pounds even in a lean beef), and you have about 415 pounds of meat.
Most steaks come from the rib or the short loin. Thatâs about 182 pounds, but that includes almost 40 pounds of bone and fat. So your 1,150-pound animal gives a typical steakhouse 142 pounds of butchered meat that can be cut for steak.
You can break it down by cut if you like. Counting all thatâs in the rib and loin, and adding in the hanging tenderloin and skirt (Rib, Tenderloin, Sirloin, Strip, T-bone, Porterhouse, Hanging Tenderloin and Skirt) you get a grand total of 85 pounds of steak from your 1,150 pounds on the hoof. Thatâs only about SEVEN percent. These numbers exclude the Chuck and Round, which do not sell in restaurants.
So, if this place is a true steakhouse, and is using all 416 pounds of meat, they have around 330 pounds (about 80% of what their butcher handles) to sell as SOTS (Something Other Than Steak). Look at it another way: For every 16 oz steak they sell, they have to plate 4 pounds of SOTS. That may be easier to do elsewhere in the world, but itâs darn hard here.
They say on their website that their herd is 40 animals. They donât say whether this is a cow-calf operation or whether they buy them as feeders. If they buy them as they kill them, fine. But based on the butchery math, 40 animals will yield only about 3,400 pounds of steaks, but a whopping 13,200 pounds of SOTS to sell. If theyâre open 300 days, thatâs only 11 16-oz steaks a day, every day. And that doesnât include any lunches, waste or spoilage.
I wish them well with their steakhouse.
Aloha,
Kaleo
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Kaleo, you seem quite cynical for some reason. The restaurant I mentioned uses all manner of offal and other âpig partsâ every day. As well as parts to make stock. And they seem profitable. ???
I AM cynical of a âsteakhouseâ touting full use of a beef.
It all gets used through the by-product chain anywayâŠ
Ah, I had thought of it as a âsteakhouse.â But snout to tail overall is pretty easy it seems. The place I mention has a real Italian slant to it so maybe that makes it easier. My curiosity is piqued
They must be hoping a lot of people get the tasting menu. And they do have other restaurants to whom they can offload spare parts.
Good point re other restaurants. That could well be the key.
If itâs the franchise butcher shop, it makes a little more sense. But the problem still appliesâwhat are they going to do with all the chuck, rump and round? Iâm back to thinking thereâll be a lot of burger.
Oh, for sure. But people love burgers. Hence this thread
Can pretty much any muscle be turned into hamburger? They have the brisket and belly on the menu. Otherwise it does seem surprising that thereâs not something braised but who knows what is on the tasting menu.
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