20 MARCH 14-20, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | LETTERS | CONTENTS | fast. I’m actually driving to Iowa to look at another room there, which would hold an additional 40,000 pounds.” A more recent beef experiment is a po- tential game-changer on a large scale. “I aged a ten-and-a-half-year-old dairy cow,” Brunson says, “and it might have been one of the best steaks I’ve ever eaten.” That’s big praise from a guy who grew up on a farm in Iowa and has been cooking meat profession- ally for decades — and eating it even longer. After they stop producing milk, dairy cows are typically relegated to a future as fast-food burgers, and those companies aren’t paying farmers top dollar for that meat. By using the mold-aging method to produce a steak that can compete fl avor-wise with much more costly Angus beef, Bruson sees the potential to help the industry as a whole. “I love the sustainability portion of it,” he explains. “To really extend the usage of a dairy cow and get the farmers more money for their hard work — to me, that’s a dream come true. ... Instead of all those animals going to McDonald’s and Burger King and the farmers getting pennies on the dollar, we can do something really amazing with that.” Plus, he adds, “it’s just one of the neatest things I’ve ever eaten. It was one of the most unique steaks I’ve ever had in my life. It’s super rich, super beefy, super tender. I didn’t expect it to be so great — I’ve never eaten an old cow like that. You wouldn’t think it would be so amazing.” The dairy cow is one of the steaks that Brunson sears, then rests on a wooden board in his kitchen before slicing to reveal a lineup of perfectly mid-rare meat. With each bite, it becomes clear that this truly is a top-tier product with more depth of fl avor than other dry-aged beef. There’s pork on the board, too, that’s also been dry-aged with the mold, another experiment that Brunson hopes will fi nd a market. The process “really brings out the natural sweetness of the pork,” he says. Even after working with meat his entire career, Brunson is learning a lot with this new venture. “It’s so exciting. That’s my favorite thing about food: Just when you think you might know it all, you don’t know anything,” he says. “Learning about different styles of beef and creating something new — with the mold- aged beef, there’s nobody else that I know of doing that. It’s just so cool to be learning again.” His next mission is to get the beef on the Brunson Meat Co. website for direct-to- consumer sales, so that he can begin shipping the product to beef lovers nationwide. “It’s exhausting driving around town selling steaks out of my car,” he jokes. “It’d be really nice if people could just get to the website and order their box of steaks and bacon for the house.” While his new business is different from restaurant life, “it feels good,” he concludes. “I love working with food, especially meat. So I still get to play with meat and push and do something different. As with being a chef, you’re always trying to create the best dish or best version of something, and I feel like I’m doing that right now with the beef and with the bacon.” For more information on Brunson Meat Co., visit brunsonmeats.com. Cafe continued from page 19