By Oliver Peterson
Dan’s GrillHampton, the ultimate grill-off between chefs from Manhattan to Montauk, with a panel of celebrity judges, returns on August 20 with a brand-new presenting sponsor and meat purveyor, Piccinini Bros artisan butchery. And we couldn’t have made a better match to supply all our chefs for this meat-centric party.
A family-run, Michelin Star restaurant supplier established in 1921, Piccinini Bros has spent most of the last century providing quality meats to some of the finest restaurants in the New York metropolitan area, including Altera, Blanca, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Daniel, Batard, Blue Hill, Gramercy Tavern, Le Coucou, Perse and Tavern on the Green. Piccinini Bros’ level of expertise, and USDA Prime Certification, has given them a reputation for delivering superior hand-cut meats, poultry, and game every time for both wholesale and retail customers.
But in late 2020, as the pandemic raged and hurt or destroyed too many businesses in their industry, Piccinini Bros owners Paul and Sylvie Vaccari shifted their wholesale operation toward retail clients. The Vaccaris launched Piccinini Market in Hell’s Kitchen, just around the corner from the family’s first butcher shop, to provide their selection of exclusive, top quality meats—and a curated array of spices and marinades, Italian products, charcuterie, pasta, sauces, fresh breads and other specialty products—directly to individual customers cooking at home in NYC and the Hamptons.
All of their meat is butchered, weighed, packaged and delivered daily from Piccinini’s third-generation butcher shop in New York City, with everything from ribeye, skirt, porterhouse, flank and filet to whole chickens, duck, turkey, lamb racks, shanks and chops to pork loin, cutlets, chops and sausage, and veal chops, cutlets and breast. Exotic meats are also available for specials order such as goose, capon, bison, Wagyu, venison, squab, quail, rabbits and more.
Sylvie Vaccari spoke with us about Piccinini’s business and their inclusion in this year’s GrillHampton.
You’re providing all our NYC and East End chefs with their meat for GrillHampton. How’s it going as we get closer to August 20?
We’re ready to go. We’ve never done this before so we plan on being on-site if anybody needs anything. And, of course, eating as much as we possibly can! I’m so excited, (especially) since I’m on the in, knowing what people are serving.
Piccinini is known for quality and customer service. What makes your meat special?
We buy from the best regions. For example, most of our beef comes from the Northwest, because it’s colder there, developing more fat on the cows, et cetera. We also get our lamb from Colorado because it’s by far the best, as well as New Zealand and Australia. And we get chickens and pork and duck, and as much as we can, from close to us.
How did you end up delivering to customers in the Hamptons?
We did serve individuals as sort of private customers, but then as the pandemic hit, we opened it up. … A lot of very loyal customers followed us from New York to the Hamptons. Our clients tend to be with us for years. The Hamptons became part of the pandemic. Our customers in New York moved out to the Hamptons and asked if we would deliver, and we said yes.
What do people have to do to get your meat this far east?
We deliver to the Hamptons every Thursday, so as long as we get their order by Wednesday, they’ll get it that Thursday.
Do you recommend anything in particular this summer?
It’s barbecue season, so we highly recommend our ribs—they’re fantastic Berkshire pork, baby back, which are heritage, and they’re really incredible. We have the beef blend of the Gramercy Tavern burger … which is a short rib-brisket blend. We have great sausages we make in-house with both chicken and pork. If you want to have a barbecue, we’re the people to talk to.
We also have incredible aged steak, which is really flying off the shelves. We age it ourselves … at least 30 to 40 days. … We have every kind of steak you can imagine. And we butcher it that day and deliver everything by truck that morning.
Along with supplying GrillHampton and East End customers with fine cuts of meat, Piccinini Bros also has special packages available this summer, such as Summer BBQ Family Pack, City Kitchen Pack, Classic NY Steak Butcher Box and Winter Comfort Food Box. Learn more, including details on each of these packages, at piccininibros.com, or call them at 212-246-8277.
Visit DansTaste.com for GrillHampton tickets and info.
This story first appeared on DansPapers.com.
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