BEYOND BEEF : THE EXOTICS : Cover Story : Your Buffalo Headquarters

Brian Reff is in the deep freeze.

“See the sternum?” he says, pointing to a wild turkey, frozen solid as old cement. “That’s good. The bird is nice and plump. If the sternum sticks out too far, it means there’s no meat on the bird.”

It’s a clear, sunny morning here in Southern California but Reff is dressed in Arctic wear--a full-length black coat, quilted and lined with Gortex. Stacked near the wild turkeys in the giant walk-in freezer are boxes of buffalo patties, buffalo tongues, buffalo shanks, buffalo New York strips, buffalo tenderloins, even prepared buffalo pot pies and chili.

Reff picks up a rack of buffalo and smiles. “Buffalo sales are unreal ,” he says. “We are getting into all the supermarkets. People aren’t so squeamish about it anymore. They are asking for it because it’s so low-fat.”

Reff runs Reff Brothers Food Co., which specializes in exotic poultry and game. Solidly built, with unruly red hair and a long, frizzy beard, Reff, 36, looks as if he belongs behind a dog sled instead of a desk. His customers include the restaurants Valentino in Santa Monica, Le Chardonnay on Melrose and the Bel Air Hotel.

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Not all of his accounts are white-tablecloth restaurants, however. He also fills orders for Bristol Farms, Pasadena’s Wild Oats, Atlas Sausage Co. in North Hollywood, Puritan Poultry at the Farmers Market in Los Angeles, Gelsinger’s in Montrose, some Hughes locations and other local butchers and supermarkets.

Since his North Hollywood plant was totaled in last year’s earthquake, Reff has been operating out of a two-story brick office building in an industrialized area in Sun Valley--not bad for somebody who started 14 years ago selling game and poultry out of the back seat of a car.

“I thought I wanted to be a vet,” Reff says. “Then I realized there was more to life than study, study study. I also realized that animals were worth more for their meat. So I started selling them.”

That was 1980. The economy was booming. Interest rates were high. Real estate prices were spiraling. And it was the Nouvelle Cuisine era, when quality and esoterica mattered. With only a customer list provided by the squab ranch he had been working at while attending college, Reff started knocking on kitchen doors.

“Price wasn’t important,” says Reff. “It just had to be new and different. L’Ermitage, L’Orangerie, La Serre all wanted fresh product.”

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Interest in game has become more mainstream, mostly because the majority of game meats are leaner than their domestic counterparts. The USDA, for instance, says that three ounces of roast venison contain 25.7 grams of protein, 134 calories and 2.7 grams of fat. The equivalent weight and cut of roast beef contains 24.4 grams of protein, 157 calories and 5.9 grams of fat. In fact, venison is lower in fat and calories than skinless chicken breast.

Even though game sold in butcher shops today is farmed (it’s illegal in California to sell anything that has been shot for sport), Reff is always on the lookout for top suppliers. “The biggest problem over the years has been people coming into the business, growing miserable product, dumping it on the market and then going bankrupt,” he says. “You have to go to the farms, see how they are raised, see them processed. And then cook with the product.”

To maintain quality, Reff looks all over the world for suppliers. He buys kangaroo (Australia), venison (New Zealand), caribou/reindeer (Alaska and Canada), buffalo (Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas and California), snapping turtle and alligator (Louisiana), rattlesnake (Texas), quail (North Carolina) and geese (the Dakotas, Canada and California). Wild turkeys come from all over North America. Rabbit, chukar partridge, squab, Muscovy duck and Willie Bird turkeys, bred for big bosoms, are all raised in California.

“Brian is one of the big game kings,” says Piero Selvaggio, who owns Valentino in Santa Monica, Primi in West Los Angeles and Posto in Sherman Oaks. “When we need anything unusual like elk or wild boar, I know I can count on him.”

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Game isn’t always an easy sell. When Selvaggio opened Valentino in the ‘70s, customers were jumpy about ordering rabbit. Today, he says, it’s a popular item on the menu, especially at Primi, where it’s served in a stew with mashed potatoes.

“Twenty years ago, calamari was a very squeamish word,” says Selvaggio. “And customers would say, ‘Yuck,’ when they heard brains . Little by little, they’ve become accustomed to a lot of things.”

Even rattlesnake. For some reason, Reff just can’t seem to keep enough of it on hand. When snake does comes in, the reptiles arrive beheaded, detailed, skinned and gutted.

The last order he received sold the same day. “A place out in Victorville bought 25 pounds of it,” says Reff. “Lots of people serve it for special parties. It tastes a lot like chicken, but it has those itty-bitty bones like fish. They get stuck in your throat.” Rattlesnake gall bladders also fly out the door. The Chinese buy them for medicinal purposes.

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One item Reff doesn’t deal in is eyeballs. Not that he wouldn’t if he could. “You have to have a special permit,” he says.

* Reff Brothers Food Co.’s exotic poultry and game is available through local butcher shops and by mail order. To place an order, or for the location of a market nearest you, call Broadleaf, the distributor that works with the Reff Co., at (800) 336-3844, ext. 101.

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KITCHEN TIPS

COOKING GAME

There is one key to cooking game: Don’t overcook it. “Many cooks have somehow absorbed the mistaken notion that most game has to be cooked forever--somewhat like the famous spaghetti sauce that cooks on the back of the stove for days,” write John Ash and Sid Goldstein in “American Game Cooking” (Aris Books: 1993). They also warn against over-marinating--four to six hours at room temperature or refrigerated overnight is plenty. And, they point out, marinating isn’t always necessary. Their book contains several other good tips:

* Venison, antelope, elk, moose and caribou: Ash and Goldstein call venison the most misunderstood of game meats. “Since there is so little fat in venison, there is no grease in the meat to ‘baste’ it while it cooks.” Their best suggestion for all of these meats: “Cook it dry over high heat for a short time or slowly in moisture for a long time.” For tougher cuts--hind legs, shoulder, roasts, stew meat and round steaks--they suggest that you quickly sear the meat, then slowly roast (at 225 to 250 degrees) or braise in liquid such as wine or stock. Tender cuts--loin, tenderloin, sirloin and choice leg cuts--are best broiled, sauteed or quickly grilled rare to medium-rare.

* Buffalo: Trim all visible fat. “Since buffalo meat is not marbled with fat like beef, it doesn’t need to be cooked at as high a temperature for as long,” write Ash and Goldstein. Cook buffalo rare to medium-rare, never well done. Grill buffalo steaks or chops quickly at least six inches away from the heat and baste the meat to keep it moist.