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As I mentioned in this thread , Zier's Prime Meats in Wilmette offers Prime, dry-aged beef at a fraction of Lobel's price.

Here are a few images of some of the meat I've bought there over the past year:


Prime, dry-aged rib roast


A closer look at the prime, dry-aged rib roast



Wagyu brisket


A closer look at the wagyu brisket


I'd recommend Zier's to anyone -- even someone who doesn't live nearby -- because their quality is so consistently excellent. I live in Lake County but make it down to Wilmette once a week just to shop at Zier's. Dave Zier and his crew are incredibly cordial and do all sorts of nice things for their customers. For example, they cryovack stuff for me so that I can get by with shopping for meat only once a week. The stuff I pickup on Thursday is still perfect on the following Tuesday. But that's just one nice thing. Zier's is all about service and their meat is fantastic; the best I've found north of the city.

=R=

Zier's Prime Meat and Poultry
813 Ridge Avenue
Wilmette, IL
847 251-4000

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

Zier's sounds great and I'll give it a try soon -- they're only slightly off my usual commuting route.

Just curious; how does Zier's compare to Al's Meat Market also in Wilmette? I've had some good roasts from Al's.

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Where there’s smoke, there may be salmon.

It's been too long since I've been to Al's to provide a relevant comparison. I do find Zier's preferable to other area butchers like Reagan's and Norshore, even though I really like those places.

But Zier's cuts just about everything to order, which is very nice and neither of those other places do. Zier's also makes their own sausage, bacon and other products (charcuterie and other) which tend to be very good, too.

Current hours of operation:

Tue - Fri, 9-6
Sat, 9-5
Closed Sunday and Monday

=R=

_________________
I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

Tried Zier's last week based on ronnie_suburban's praise and all I can say is .........WOW! They cut an inch and a half thick almost 2 pound porterhouse ( $22 a pound ) which was grilled rare over direct heat on the WSM. Very possibly the best porterhouse I've ever had at home and this is no faint praise from a confirmed carnivore. I've tried many of the other butcher shops recommended on this board and many have been very good but this could be the best. I'm still a big fan of the boneless sirloin at Devon Avenue meats and the loin lamb chops at Paulina but Zier's is definetly now part of the rotation. Thanks ronnie_suburban.

Most of the remarks above about Zier's can be applied to Casey's Meat Market in Western Springs, just in case that's handier than Wilmette.

Casey's is just opposite the Burlington station. They'll cryovac, too.

They also have a much more elaborate market in Naperville, in a small center on Washington Street, just north of 75th Street. As a bonus, there's a Trader Joe's, too and a good, small fishmonger around the corner at the back of the center.

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Suburban gourmand

Another STRONG recommendation for Zier's here. We have gotten meat there for years, and it has always been outstanding.

We got their dry-aged standing prime rib roast over the holidays. As I recall, it was somewhere around $10-11 per pound. I have no idea how that compares with anyplace else. It's a place you go when you're looking for the very best quality around. The prime rib we had at home was better than just about any restaurant prime rib.

And yes, their service is excellent too; they can custom bone, slice, whatever you need done.

One other nice thing they have is meats smoked in-house, like chicken breasts, etc.

If you've never been there, you will probably be surprised by how small the storefront is. Don't worry. You go there for the meat, and it's great.

At $10-11/lb dry-aged, I keep thinking that must be choice. Does anyone know for sure either way?

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Ed Fisher
my chicago food photos

RIP LTH.

It definitely runs a bit higher for certain cuts but prime flatiron steaks are $12/#, and prime top sirloin roast is about $11/#. Ribeyes, strips and filet definitely run higher, mid-teens per pound, iirc. FWIW, Dave tells me that the aging causes about a 3% loss per day.

=R=

_________________
I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

Ya, I'm asking specifically about the standing rib roasts nsxtasy gets around the holidays. That price seems low for dry aged prime, but who knows. Maybe it's a christmastime loss leader, or something.

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Ed Fisher
my chicago food photos

RIP LTH.

I don't remember the precise weigh-out but I bought a whole, bone-in rib roast for our Christmas dinner last year and it cost $220. The year before, the same cut was about $250. IIRC, they were each around 15 pounds, give or take. So, the cost for that item is probably closer to $15/pound.

=R=

_________________
I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

We have been getting our USDA Prime, Rib Roasts from Zier's for many years. They are true Prime and true dry aged. I have not found a better source anywhere in the US for such beef.-Dick

That brisket looked fasntastic - do you happen to know how much they charge pre pound for one of those beauties?

That was a special-order item and iirc, it was about $8/# for whole, untrimmed.

=R=

_________________
I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

I too, have been buying meat from Zier's for many years. Dave and Denise are terrific people (as is John), and I have never had a bad steak or roast from them. I'm partiuclarly fond of the NY steaks, and the wife likes the rib-eye. Have also had the aged prime rib roast which was outstanding. Their in-house smoked bacon is also noteworthy--very meaty and full of flavor. Wagyu NY strips are also excellent.

Stopped by Zier's today for my weekly shop and picked up a few nice-looking steaks for the weekend . . .



Prime, dry-aged ribeye



Prime, dry-aged ny strip

Pricing for these closely trimmed cuts was as follows: ribeyes were $21.45/# and strips were $26.99/#.

For anyone who's interested, Dave Zier will be appearing on tv a couple of times over the upcoming holiday weekend. He's scheduled to be on WMAQ tv's (Channel 5) Sunday morning news show at around 8 am and he'll be on WLS tv (Channel 7) at 11 am on Monday, as long as the Indy 500 goes off as scheduled on Sunday. If the race gets bumped to Monday, Dave's appearance will be 86'd.

=R=

_________________
I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

Having been to Zier's and Casey's in Naperville, I have to disagree that Casey's can be compared to Zier's. Frankly, Casey's doesn't even come close to having the same quality. Zier's is definitely worth the trip to fill up your freezer.

Jean Blanchard

Jean,

What are you buying at Casey's that leads you to this conclusion? I'll agree that the quality isn't quite up to par when you are buying the boneless ribeye's, but those are the only steaks they don't cut in house. I've inquired, and procured almost anything my heart desires from the helpful crew at the counter.

Flip

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"Beer is proof God loves us, and wants us to be Happy"
-Ben Franklin-

If Casey's is selling prime, dry aged beef, I'm not aware of it. They are definitely very helpful and a nice addition to that mall (walking distance from my house). I wish they'd do something about their produce section also. Vegetables that are shrink wrapped?

Jean

Ok, this isn't from Zier's but I figured this was as good a place to post it as any. Pictured below is some Kobe beef from Japan that recently came my way. It's a ribeye without the cap. I'm told the cap is removed because it's sold as a separate cut. Apparently, this stuff runs about $78/pound, wholesale. I was lucky enough to get it for free, from a friend; a very good friend.




I'm not exactly sure what I'll do with it, but I don't foresee throwing it on the Weber, as is. I'm thinking about slicing it thin and searing it briefly. I'll report back after I actually taste it.

=R=

_________________
I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

HOLY MARBLING BATMAN!

Those cows must float in water (or is it beer)

Pure unadulterated food porn. You're lucky there are no food photography censors.

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Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

when you see the real deal, it's hard to believe what we've grown accustomed to and accept in its place.

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"In pursuit of joys untasted"
from Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata

Holy cow, ronnie_suburban! With marbling like that, I'm thinking more along the lines of spreading it on toast!

Seriously, though - gorgeous stuff. I'm interested in hearing how it compares to the other high-end beef you obviously are familiar with.

If you haven't yet cooked it up, for the love of god, Ronnie, do NOT throw that on the Weber. That'll destroy it. Go with a pan and think thin, hot and fast. Or raw

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-Dom
www.skilletdoux.com

Well, apparently great minds think alike.

I decided to slice it into thin planks and sear them briefly in a very hot pan. I only added a bit of kosher salt to the meat and used no oil at all in the pan. Some super thin pieces, I cooked only about 10 seconds per side. The one pictured below got about 40 seconds on each side before I sliced it in half (for the camera) and ate it with some Thai-style green papaya salad . . .



With apologies to Dave Zier, this was the best beef I've ever eaten. It was not only intensely flavorful but also remarkably tender. Even the aroma it left behind in my kitchen is a top 10. It's milder in flavor than prime, aged beef but a bit more intense. I assume this is because of marbling in the meat.

The last bite was very sad. If I ever were going to become a vegetarian, this would probably be good time to do so. Fortunately, I will do nothing quite so rash. After we ate it, I called my friend to thank him again for hooking us up. It seems there may be a bit more of this product in the pipeline. Naturally, he gave me this initial taste for free and now I am helplessly hooked on kobe. He'll be able to name his price.

=R=

_________________
I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

Beautiful ronnie!

Thanks for reporting back.

This weekend, the weather being perfect for grilling, I got some of Zier's prime steaks -- a rib-eye and a NY strip which my son and I shared + a small filet mignon for my wife (who is not big on steaks).

Preparation was simple: grilled over lump charcoal with salt and pepper added as the meat was turned.

The results were excellent, the best I've managed at home. I'm not good at drawing comparisons with meals I've had some time ago, but the satisfied feeling from these steaks was comparable to a good meal at a fine steakhouse.

Even my wife commented more than once how tender and flavorful her steak was.

While the meat is far from cheap it's a great way to have a fine steak dinner at a third the cost of going out to a steakhouse. Of course you give up the restaurant ambiance and have to do the work yourself. But when you're in the mood, it's well worthwhile. I'll definitely buy steaks from Zier's again.

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Where there’s smoke, there may be salmon.

Last week, I called Zier's on Tuesday and asked Dave if he could get me some beef ribs. I'd been wanting to try them out on my new cooker for some time. Of course, Dave came through and when I arrived at Zier's on Thursday to make my pickup, the ribs were prepped, trimmed and ready to go.

Yesterday, I seasoned them up with a bit of kosher salt, some freshly-ground black pepper and a hearty sprinkling of G Wiv's excellent Chicago BBQ Rub (which is now available through The Spice House), then cooked them low and slow, over lump charcoal and some apple wood, at 275 F, for about 4 hours. The results were terrific . . .


Beef ribs from Zier's



Beef ribs, up close



Beef ribs; rare, smokey and tender

=R=

_________________
I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

Great looking shot there Ronnie!

How much per pound for the Zier's aged prime NY strips?
We had some age primes from Bryan Flannery in CA
this weekend at $35.99 pp and while they were really good
I'd love to try some local meat...
Here's a shot of one of the steaks from this weekend