Tues. 16 Jun '09
Cooking | EVERYWHERE
Seriously Rare
Eat Randall Lineback beef; save a breed 
Forget Kobe, forget wagyu: Randall Lineback is the rarest beef around, and you can get some of it only if Joe Henderson deems you worthy.
Nine years ago, the former Washington, D.C., consultant moved to Virginia to help a cow in danger of extinction. Henderson found that the best way to save the Randall Lineback--a breed that dates to Colonial times--was to raise it to be as delicious as possible. "You have to find jobs for them to make sure the breed will survive," he says.
Henderson's calves yield meat that is lean and bright red (he's dubbed it "Rose-Veal"), with more texture and flavor than usually associated with veal. Chefs have gone crazy for it, but Henderson handpicks the restaurants he supplies and sells whole animals exclusively.
He currently partners with five D.C.-area chefs, who got a bonus gift with their first delivery: A heavy-duty demolition saw to help them break down the animals.
Find Randall Lineback Rose-Veal at these chefs' restaurants:
• Cathal Armstrong: Restaurant Eve, Majestic, Eamon's Dublin Chipper
• Jeff Black: Addie's, Black's Bar and Kitchen, Black Market Bistro, BlackSaltFish
• Matt Hill: Charlie Palmer's Steak House
• Brian McBride: Blue Duck Tavern
• Robert Wiedmaier: Marcel's, Brasserie Beck, Brabo
Randall Linebacks at Chapel Hill Farm