District Hogs take on Randall Lineback Cows

Whenever they can tear themselves away from the stove, some of the Washington D.C. area’s most notable chefs strap on their helmets, get on their hogs (the motorized kind) and head out to the country, visiting local farms and purveyors to source ingredients for their restaurants. One of their favorite stops is Chapel Hill Farm, in Berryville, Virginia where they visited with—and ate—the rare breed of cattle known as the Randall Lineback.

A holdover from Colonial times, the Randall Lineback was at its lowest point down to just 15 heads, but thanks to the efforts of farmers like Chapel Hill’s Joe Henderson, the Linebacks are making a comeback. Joe found that the way to save the breed was to make it as delicious as possible, so that their meat would be in demand. His theory is that in order to save this most historic breed, we have to eat it. This isn’t a problem for local chefs, who go crazy for the bright red, clean, flavorful meat,  dubbed “Rose-Veal” by Joe Henderson. But sourcing isn’t so easy: stock is limited, so Henderson can only supply a small number of D.C.-area restaurants and sells whole animals exclusively. 

Robert Wiedmaier (Marcel’s, Brasserie Beck, Brabo), one of the lucky meat receivers, gets 30 calves a year from Chapel Hill, to use in everything from ravioli to meatballs to burgers in his restaurants. He and his biker-chef friends R.J. Cooper (Rogue 24),  Cliff Wharton (TenPenh), and David Guas (damgoodsweet) cooked up a farm-to-table feast at Chapel Hill Farm, using Rose-Veal and produce sourced from Henderson’s and surrounding Virginia farms.

Click the top of each photo to learn more about the dishes made at this Virginia-inspired feast

VIDEO: click here to learn more about the Randall Linebacks, and to meet the District Hog chefs: