Increased access to Canadian beef is providing restaurant chefs with new menu options.
Lyndon O’Hearn, corporate chef for Kelsey’s restaurants, cited the flat iron steak as one example.
It is a more labour intensive cut, requiring a butcher to peel back the sinewy coating and butterfly the thick piece to make it suitable for selections like steak sandwiches.
“It’s worth the effort,” said O’Hearn.
He called it the second most tender cut on the animal, usually weighing 1.35 kilograms and located behind the shoulder.
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“When you find a product that hits with our guests and we can give them the right price point and it’s a great meal experience, it’s a win-win,” said O’Hearn, who is poised to introduce other beef selections in the coming months.
He was familiar with the flat iron steak but said such cuts previously were sold into Mexican markets. He said limited slaughter and processing of cattle in Canada made it difficult for chain outlets to access sufficient and consistent Canadian supplies for their restaurants.
The closed border and availability of Canadian-raised beef have allowed chefs to explore other parts of the carcass besides the popular middle section. That has led to more Canadian beef generally on the menu, he said.
“Today, there’s much more value to Kelsey’s to have (Canadian beef) on the menu than two years ago,” said O’Hearn.
Kelsey’s New York striploin and top sirloin, which once came from the United States and New Zealand, now come from Canada.
Marty Carpenter, food service manager with the Beef Information Centre in Calgary, finds working with chefs useful in increasing the profile and use of Canadian beef.
The centre actively promotes Canadian beef, working with retailers and the food service industry to provide information about the cuts and how to slice and prepare them conveniently and economically.
“We need to spread the value over the carcass more equally and move away from the middle (cuts),” he said.
The chef in turn creates his or her own unique recipes.
“That’s when you’ve got it on their menus,” said Carpenter.
A meat cut from the bottom sirloin is widely used as a steak sandwich or roast in California, but is less known in Canada.
Beef back ribs offered one Quebec restaurant an alternative to pork ribs and it became the first in its marketplace to do that. Petite tenders and short ribs are other beef choices.
“If they’re innovators and leaders and it’s done right, then they’ve secured themselves some market share,” Carpenter said.
He said the Keg chain added a new product of short ribs to its menu in recent years, and was successful in increasing volume and demand.
“The whole chuck isn’t necessarily going to be beautifully tender but there are certain spots of that quarter that can really perform,” Carpenter said.
“We’re taking the best parts and utilizing them in the best way.”
