1st Podcast: The Godfather of Dry-Aged Beef

Meet Bryan Flannery and hear about all things beef, cattle & dry-aging.

Thrilled to share with you the first Cooking with Octopod podcast.

Truth be told I hadn’t really thought much about doing podcasts on my own but I was recently in the Bay Area having a dinner with Bryan Flannery. We’ve been friends for many years and we always end up talking shop; food, cooking, beef, etc.

The thing about Bryan is that every time we talk or catch up I learn something stemming from his 50+ years of experience in the prime-beef and dry aging game.

I asked him at the conclusion of a wonderful dinner if he’d be down to a do a podcast recording. He jumped at the chance, as he says, he’ll talk beef all day if he can.

Below is the first podcast. I’m not a pro, I made some basic edits and tried to make sure quality is ok so hopefully everything turns out when uploaded to Substack platform 🤞

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Flannery Beef Magic 🥩 🪄

I’ve you’ve been around for long you’ve probably seen Bryan’s name come up anytime I’m talking steak, dry aging or holiday gift ideas.

The family is now a 3rd run generation butcher. Bryan has 50+ years experience in sourcing, aging and butchering. His daughter Katie is now running operations and working with meat scientists across the country as dial in what makes theur dry-aged beef so unique vs other programs, on a molecular level.

Below is the story of Flannery Beef and tons of knowledge on cattle breeds and dry aging.

At the conclusion Bryan gives info on how you can get Flannery Beef to your home and his favorite roast alternative to Prime Rib for the upcoming Holiday. 🎄

That’s right… you can get the same beef that top michelin * restaurants are using across the country delivered to your door as well.

There are no affiliate links here or any previous Substack for Flannery Beef. I’m just a huge believer and supporter of this precious family 🙏

Podcast Order

The podcast spans almost 90 mins and is very conversational with Bryan doing the majority of speaking. (I’ve had to turn off podcasts because the host talks more than the guest 🤦‍♂️ that is not the case here 😂 )

Major Topics Covered in Chronological Order:

-The Evolution of Flannery Beef

-Cattle Breeds

-The Rise of Angus post-WWII, an example of economics

-How Bryan found his favorite domestic cattle breed for marbling

-Know Your Wagyu: Purebloods vs “Cheats”

-Beef and the American Marketing Machine

-Understanding Cattle & Marbling

-Bryan’s view of Argentinian, Italian and Highland Cattle breeds

-Grass-fed Beef

-Is Fat Really Flavor?

-Dry-Aging: Art & Science

-The Stages of Dry-Aging

-Why Flannery Dry-Aged Beef is different than other programs

-The unique Flannery dry-aging mold

-Can you dry-age at home?

-Bryan’s favorite cuts to dry age

-Beef Price Forecast in US going forward

-Is Big-Ag Cattle Farming Problematic in the US? A lesson in nuance.

-The Rise & Fall of Veal, and how this was a gamechanger for Flannery

-Bryan’s favorite, more economical, alternative to Prime Rib Roast and how he cooks it (perfect for the holidays)

-Getting Flannery Beef to your home and some tips to score some bargains + alfa on the best lamb in the USA!

PS: This was recorded 2 days before Thanksgiving hence the sign off by Bryan of “Happy Thanksgiving”

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I hope you all enjoy the podcast below; look forward to your feedback and if you’d like to see more of these going forward!