Unfamiliar with the name “Criollo?’’ You probably know it better as the Spanish name for Florida “Cracker’’ cattle – the same Iberian breed whose genetics include the more famous and muscular Texas Longhorn cattle.
On 100 acres of Payne’s Prairie Preserve State Park in Micanopy, FL., Nick Scalisi and Chris Muneio are raising Florida Cracker cattle to possibly change the eating habits of people 260 miles away in West Palm Beach. Or at least change their beef-eating habits.
It’s on Payne’s Prairie Preserve State Park where restaurateurs Scalisi and Muneio want to bring back Criollo cattle – a Spanish breed brought to the New World by Christopher Columbus.
“The (Criollo) breed was discarded because it was small and didn’t have as much weight and muscle,’’ Scalisi said from a table inside Fern, the outstanding farm-to-table restaurant he and Muneio founded five years ago in downtown West Palm Beach. “We just bought 50 of them and we’re going to be crossbreeding this old Florida heritage breed with our wagyu (cattle) to try and bring back the breed.
“It’s awesome. The beef is amazing. So, we’re trying to be sort of the ‘new’ pioneers, because this breed was completely disregarded to the point where it was endangered for a while.’’
The Steak Shop (Rancher’s Reserve)
Florida Cracker Cattle (Florida Cracker Cattle Association)
At the same time Scalisi and Muneio, who four years ago founded Rancher’s Reserve, a 600-acre cattle ranch in Okeechobee, FL. are looking to bring back Criollo cattle – and operate a thriving business at Fern – they have their sights set on bringing back the neighborhood butcher shop, with the soon-to-open Steak Shop by Rancher’s Reserve in the Flamingo Park neighborhood of West Palm Beach. Rueshaw, an upscale steakhouse, is in the planning stages, but is at least one year from opening.
“We’re trying to have that balance between an old school butcher shop and new school,’’ Scalisi said. “We’ll have cuts from our own ranch and cuts from other local ranches. Anything that we can find that is unique (such as Italian Piedmontese beef) and good and approachable in price. We don’t want Japanese Wagyu at $120 per pound. We want it to be a neighborhood butcher shop.’’
The growing Flamingo Park neighborhood, Scalisi said, is an ideal location for such an endeavor.
“Everyone is trying to eat healthy, but food ‘transparency’ is big right now. You go to the store and the prime ribeye could be from anywhere. It could be from an overstocked feedlot. As a consumer, I wouldn’t want beef from an overstocked feedlot.
“Everything we buy comes directly from the farms. We are big on personal relationships. I guess that wil be the difference. Maybe we can raise the standard of meat – buy local and buy from the source.’’
Feature Photo Credit: Florida Cracker Cattle Association
https://www.ranchersreservefl.com/steak-shop
https://spikeongolfandtravel.com/the-steak-shop-coming-to-west-palm-beach/