After 28 years of promotion, beef is becoming an overnight sensation.
New and improved beef products are
driving up demand among consumers who are hungry for savoury, easy-to-cook meat.
Among the new products available at eastern Canadian grocery stores are precooked barbecued ribs and a quick-cook pot roast.
“You can throw it in the microwave and within 10 minutes you have a pot roast that comes close to Grandma’s Sunday roast,” said Barry Haner, who sits on the Beef Information Centre committee.
The information centre works with retailers and restaurants to launch new products and has developed a detailed meat chart that more clearly defines various cuts of meat. Cutting and cooking techniques are available on the flip side of the chart.
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“This came from listening to the consumer. A little creativity with the knife goes a long way,” said BIC chair Kevin Boon.
During the last decade, the beef industry has produced larger carcasses that cannot be cut the traditional way. The bigger ribeyes were being sliced so thin, no one could cook them properly without making them tough and overdone.
Consumers made it clear they wanted smaller portions and simple cooking instructions to create a goof-proof meal.
By cutting and separating the muscle sections differently, a new range of smaller, more tender portions are available. In the past these may have all been part of a larger roast.
These new cuts include a 500 gram roast that can be cooked in less than an hour, boneless rotisserie roasts that are uniform in shape for the barbecue, individually portioned medallion steaks that are thicker and can be cooked to a range of doneness without jeopardizing juiciness or flavour, and the bottom sirloin tri-tip, which is an economical cut that can be used for roast or steaks.
Consumers told the centre they want a consistent product full of flavour, juiciness and tenderness.
This kind of quality brings people back to beef and helps boost sales at restaurants and supermarkets, said Kathy Keeler, chief executive officer of BIC.
There are more than 70,000 restaurants in Canada, each hoping for return business. For many, it is based on the quality of their beef.
This past year Moxie’s Restaurant chain worked with BIC to add Cargill Foods’ Sterling Silver branded beef to its menu. Steak sales went from $160,000 to $900,000 in a year.
“This kind of quality approach at food service certainly has an impact,” she said.
BIC also leads seminars for retailers and food service representatives that teach them how to buy, store and cook consistent quality beef to satisfy their customers.
To examine the new beef cuts and cooking methods, visit www.beefinfo.org.
