7 minute read
Beef & Lamb
Red Meat is Still a Winner
New Zealand is home to some of the world’s best, most natural tasting beef and lamb. Grass-fed year-round, New Zealand Beef + Lamb’s animals are allowed to roam and graze freely over lush green hills and pastures. The result is a lean, flavourful meat that tastes just as nature intended.
New Zealand’s ideal conditions, grass-fed diets and open pastures greatly contribute to improved animal welfare: these cattle and sheep are happier and healthier.
Reducing Carbon Emissions
Since 1990, New Zealand sheep and beef farming has reduced its carbon emissions by 30 percent and is on track to be carbon neutral by 2050. While livestock production does impact carbon emissions, New Zealand has one of the lowest impacts worldwide, about half of global averages – before carbon offsets.
In fact, New Zealand has the smallest environmental footprint of any red meat production system in the world.
Red Meat’s Nutritional Advantage Over Alternatives
Results from ground-breaking New Zealand research have shown red meat is a better source of protein than a processed plantbased alternative.
Findings from a human clinical trial undertaken for the Pasture Raised Advantage research programme found that meat delivers more of the essential protein building blocks compared to a plant-based alternative.
In this first of two clinical trials, thirty participants aged 20-34 years were fed breakfast on four different days and their blood, digestive symptoms and mood were monitored for four hours immediately following the meal. Breakfast was a burrito that contained a single serving of a different protein each day; pasture-raised beef, grain-finished beef, lamb, and a plant-based alternative - served in random order to each participant across the four days.
“We measured the nutrients in the blood of the participants and saw a significant difference in the type and amounts of amino acids that come from the digestion of the protein of red meat compared to the protein of the processed meat alternative,” explained Dr Andrea Braakhuis from the University of Auckland who heads up the team of nutrition scientists responsible for the study.
“Our project is showing that red meat is probably a better source of protein for the body than highly processed plant-based products promoted as meat alternatives.”
Most Popular Beef Cuts
While there is a move towards the utilisation of all parts of an animal, there are still cuts of steak that consumers gravitate towards:
Grass-Fed Ribeye Steak
An excellent candidate for pan frying or grilling, Ribeye steak is perhaps the most popular steak out there, and deservedly so. It’s highly marbled, beefy tasting, and thick cut: a perfect combination for serious steak lovers. Ribeyes are cut from the same part of the cow as prime rib, except they are usually removed from the bone, leaving an oval hole, which is where the ribeye gets its name.
Grass-Fed Beef Brisket
Popular among the Texas Barbeque and Jewish traditions, beef brisket is tough like a chuck roast, but if cooked correctly, produces meltingly tender and moist meat. Low and slow is the name of the game here whether it’s braised, smoked, or cooked sous vide. Brisket can also be made into corned beef and then smoked and spiced to become Pastrami.
Grass-Fed Beef Short Ribs
Beef short ribs are becoming increasingly popular among home cooks. Since they are a tougher cut, short ribs are well suited for slow cooking methods such as braising or sous vide. However, they also can be cut very thinly (also called a Flanken cut), marinated, then grilled hot and fast, a technique made popular by Korean barbeque.
Sustainability in the Kitchen–Using Everything from Nose to Tail
One of the best ways Kiwi chefs can be more sustainable in the kitchen is to make sure they are utilising as much of the produce they work with, including using all parts of the animal – offal included. It can improve their bottom line, add flare to a menu and bring in customers.
Beef + Lamb Ambassador Chef, MacLean Fraser, has a passion for sustainability and being a keen hunter has led him to have great respect for the meat that ends up in his kitchen. He works hard not to waste anything and loves that some of the “nasty bits” can be used to create delicious dishes.
MacLean explained that when cooking with offal it is imperative to get it spot on. Generally, people have preconceived ideas about offal based upon their childhood memories – think boiled tripe and onions or over cooked lamb’s fry. However, as a chef, MacLean said it’s great to get creative in the kitchen using offal to make some really interesting menu items that can offer customers a tasty and exciting eating experience.
New Zealand beef and lamb offal are great to work with and having a good supplier is important. Cuts like beef cheek are popular now and readily available but being able to get your hands on some of the more niche cuts is important too.
One of MacLean’s most popular dishes at Artisan at Bolton Hotel in Wellington, is his smoked beef tongue with eggplant and black garlic, sweetbreads, baby veg, foraged weeds and a mustard jus.
The inspiration behind the dish came from his desire to offer a real nose-to-tail experience to his guests by using beef cuts with different tastes, textures, and cooking techniques. It aligns with his philosophy of reducing waste and using as much of the animal as possible. He said that as a chef it is important to feel that he is honouring his passion which also allows him to tap into his creative side to ensure the dishes he creates are interesting and enjoyable enough to keep customers coming back for more.
Secondary cuts and offal might need a bit of extra work in the kitchen, but MacLean said it is well worth the effort to master the skills and techniques necessary to turn them into something special. Tongue is a particularly tough cut of meat and needs to be treated with care. For his beef tongue dish, he slowly braises the tongues in stock with aromatics before pressing them and cold smoking with Manuka.
For service the tongue is then grilled and sliced and finished off by brushing it with an aromatic beef fat and seasoning. The beef fat is another way MacLean practices sustainability in his kitchen. He keeps all the beef fat trimmings and vac-packs them. At the end of the week, he puts them all together and renders them out – a bit like you would with duck fat - but adds aromatics such as garlic, peppercorns and thyme. It is then used in other dish components, bringing in extra layers of flavour.
Texture is added to the dish with crumbed veal sweetbreads. MacLean said using veal is a natural choice as it keeps the flavour pathway beefy and being a natural by-product of the dairy industry, he feels that it should be utilised more. Veal is a seasonal product so he stocks up when he can as he also uses veal bones to create a light flavoursome jus which he uses across a lot of his dishes.
To make the jus he uses the simple reduction method and because no flour is used for thickening, he will sometimes use pig trotters because of their natural gelatine with lighter based products such as the veal or chicken bones to get the perfect consistency. The lighter flavour of the jus then allows the flavours of the main hero of the dish to shine through.
MacLean balances out the dish by adding a starch and a vegetable component which are finished to order by roasting in a little of the rendered beef fat and the mustard jus to give a kick of flavour. Locally foraged weeds provide additional freshness and colour, and being locally foraged, are sustainable with no food miles. The dish is further elevated for presentation as it is served at the table under a smoke-filled cloche which adds an element of theatre to the dining experience.
For MacLean the reward comes from seeing his guests leave happy and knowing that he has offered customers an unforgettable dining experience while keeping true to his kitchen philosophy and reducing waste in the kitchen – which is better for the planet and his restaurant’s bottom line.
For more inspiration from the Beef + Lamb Ambassador Chefs visit www.thechefskitchen.co.nz