MOOR·E by Evolution (FINAL)

PROVISIONING
THE BEST MEAT FOR A BBQ
As any chef will confirm, a top quality meal can only be prepared with the
finest ingredients. Colin Clark has been working as Head Butcher of the
Provisioning Department of Evolution Yacht Agents for five years. Their daily
challenge of sourcing the items required by a demanding international clientele
can only be met by constantly striving for perfection, and for knowing the food
industry inside out. In this exclusive feature for MOOR·E Magazine, Colin shares
some insights into the latest tendencies in the production of the meat that will
probably end up on your yacht’s barbecue.
As with most other commodities, meat is subject to fashions
and trends. Two of the biggest in the last few years have been
Wagyu and dry-aging, and Colin suggests that both have been
taken to extremes.
The higher grade Japanese breeds that produce Wagyu
beef are prized for their uber-marbling of unsaturated fat.
However, this can often mask their true flavour, resulting in
a lump of fat with some beef marbling. Whilst a small amount
of marbling can be desirable it is by no means the Holy Grail of
beef; you can have an excellent piece with no marbling. Likewise,
the aging process has been taking to ridiculous extremes. Experts
recommend that beef carcasses hang under normal refrigeration for a
good couple of weeks, and under controlled humidity for about 30 days. The
three or four months (or more) that some producers currently use overpowers
the true taste of the beef.
In some ways it seems that part of the problem is that few people have
tasted really good beef. Producing great beef is both simple and extremely
complicated. Bovines are herbivores and thrive best on a variety of grasses
“AS WITH
MOST OTHER
COMMODITIES,
MEAT IS ALSO
SUBJECT TO
TRENDS”
and leafage. Left alone, the cattle know which grass or plant is at its optimum,
and this comes through in the meat’s flavour. Unfortunately in the majority of
cases it’s not the stockmen and conscientious farmers who control production.
Market prices increasingly drive the way livestock are raised and processed, with
a focus on bigger, faster and cheaper methods which result in more profit but
less quality.
Fortunately, there are still people who care enough about their product and
animals to provide top-class beef, lamb, pork and poultry. “You have
to search far and wide, but that´s part of my job,” says Colin, who
has very good relations with small producers, mainly in the UK,
who use heritage breeds such as English Longhorn cattle and
Herdwick sheep to produce excellent meat.
It’s not all doom and gloom though, Colin assures us, as
some of the new tendencies are very positive. Rosé veal is a
good example. Dairy cows must calve once a year to maintain
milk production. Usually they´re mated to a beef bull such
as an Aberdeen Angus, Hereford, or Galloway. The resulting
calves are raised to two or three years and form a large part of
the beef we eat. A small percentage is mated with dairy bulls and
the female calves are raised to produce milk. Male calves were usually
killed at birth, but many British producers are now raising the male dairy calves
for the veal market under some very stringent welfare guidelines, producing an
excellent and very ethical product.
If you’re looking for gourmet burgers and premium sausages for this season’s
barbecues or premium cuts of meat for the dining table, don’t just check the
label – check in with the provisioning experts who know what’s truly behind it.
A TOP QUALITY
MEAL CAN ONLY BE
PREPARED WITH THE
FINEST INGREDIENTS.
20 BY EVOLUTION 21