Meat Feature

Making Meat Better

Despite the growing number of plant-based alternatives and the popularity of flexitarian diets, red meat is still very popular among Kiwis, and luckily, here in Aotearoa, we have a farming system that is working towards a sustainable future.

There’s growing and justified international concern about issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss and water use. The impact of food production on the environment is front of mind for many when it comes to food choices and while Kiwi farmers recognise there’s still more work to be done, there are some good environmental stories to tell about New Zealand’s red meat production.

New Zealand red meat stacks up very well in four key criteria: BETTER FOR ANIMALS

In New Zealand, sheep and beef cattle are overwhelmingly free range and pasture fed. New Zealand is among the lowest global users of antibiotics in cattle and sheep production – due to our extensive outdoor farming that reduces the chance of infections spreading and New Zealand farmers do not use global recommendation of the World Cancer Research fund.

antibiotics to enhance production or yields. Animal welfare is a high priority for the sector and New Zealand has an excellent reputation for this globally with some of the strictest animal welfare standards in the world.

Better for Consumers

Grass-fed meat is generally leaner than grain-fed. Lean red meat can be described as nature’s power pack – delivering a lot, in a little. Naturally low in sodium, it provides high quality protein with all essential amino acids along with bioavailable iron, zinc and B vitamins. Eaten in moderation, red meat is an important part of a healthy diet. The New Zealand Ministry of Health Eating and Activity Guidelines recommends up to 350-500 grams of cooked red meat per week (equal to up to 750 grams raw), which aligns with the Greenhouse gas emissions from sheep and beef farming have decreased by 30 percent in absolute terms since 1990, while production levels have remained stable. New Zealand is also very efficient compared to other countries. The carbon footprint of sheep and beef production (on-farm Life Cycle Analysis) is estimated to be around half the average figure globally. Globally, there’s a lot of attention on water use. With plenty of natural rainfall in New Zealand, the vast majority of water used in livestock production comes from the sky. As a result, our pasture-fed free-range sheep and beef farming uses significantly less extracted water such as irrigation than other forms of farming, such as plant-based production that often requires high levels of irrigation.

Better for the Planet

The New Zealand sheep and beef sector has a goal of net carbon neutrality by 2050 and is already a long way towards achieving this.

Better for Communities

New Zealand sheep and beef farms are overwhelmingly family owned (over 90 percent) with an average of five people living on each farm and many other operations are Māori Trusts. Farming supports wider rural communities including schools, local businesses, and community facilities, and creates a sense of identity in many regions of New Zealand.

Knowing how food is produced, and the implications for our health and the health of the planet, is more important now than ever before. If you’re serving New Zealand red meat on your menu your customers can be assured that Kiwis make meat better.

Kiwi Chefs Embrace Nose-to-Tail Dining

Nose-to-tail dining is not a new concept, it’s been around for a couple of decades and popularised by chefs such as Fergus Henderson and the late Anthony Bourdain.

It’s about eating all edible parts of the animal, in an effort to minimise waste, eat thoughtfully, celebrate food, and ensure that the animal is given the respect that it deserves.

Kiwi chefs have been proudly embracing this philosophy for decades. Apart from the reasons above, it’s also a great way to add an exciting element to the plate and introduce customers to something they may have never tried or wouldn’t be able to create at home.

Cuts such as shanks, shins, oxtails, and cheeks were once thrown to the dogs. However, these cuts have now become the he gets a more consistent product to work with and can control the fat to meat ratio a lot better than if he was using a mince product.

Offal can be a little more confronting to diners, but Hannah Miller Childs (aka A Lady Butcher), and owner of Churly’s Brew Pub & Eatery, knows just how to make a tasty meal to entice her customers to step into the world of offal. With dishes such as devilled kidneys, salted and chargrilled ox heart and pan seared ox liver topped with crispy bacon, it’s no wonder her customers keep coming back for more – and bringing their mates with them!

hero on many restaurant menus, thanks to our talented chefs. Chefs shouldn’t shy away from using more adventurous offal on their menus though.

If consumers are struggling a bit with getting their palate around eating things like heart, sweetbreads, tongue, or livers then being able to order them off a restaurant menu where it has been cooked by a chef, is a great place for them to begin to enjoy the benefits of eating nose-to-tail.

One of the most popular noseto-tail cuts at restaurants is beef cheeks. Auckland-based Beef + Lamb Ambassador Chef, Phil Clark not only uses them on his fine dining menu at Phil’s Kitchen, but has them as a staple on his casual dining menu at Kingsland Social.

Phil creates a slow cooked beef cheek base which he can then turn into one of three menu items; nachos, beef on toast or beef burgers. He says that apart from adding a deep rich flavour to his dishes, using whole cheek means

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Raising the Baa

New Zealand Lamb ticks all the boxes for what diners are looking for. Rich in taste and texture, and flavourfully lean and tender, you – and your guests – will love it. With little-to-no bone, and well-trimmed of fat and waste, there are economic advantages as well.

New Zealand lamb has gained a worldwide reputation for being the best and you will often find it on menus in top restaurants across the globe.

Kiwi chefs acknowledge that New Zealand’s sustainable farming, clean pastures and climate makes a big difference to the quality of the meat. This is what locals and visitors alike expect when dining and it’s important for chefs to feel confident in serving up an authentic taste of New Zealand on a plate. Not only does New Zealand lamb taste delicious but with a huge range of versatile cuts available, it’s easy for chefs to get creative in the kitchen and showcase the different flavours of Aotearoa.

Knowing that our lamb is reared to the highest standards, right on your doorstep, is vital for chefs to confidently tell that paddock to plate story to their customers.

In May, National Lamb Day was celebrated to commemorate the day in 1882, when the first shipment of frozen sheep meat arrived in the UK aboard the Dunedin. The shipment was organised by two entrepreneurs, William Davidson and Thomas Brydone and left New Zealand on February 15th from Port Chalmers, Otago. That historic journey of around 5,000 carcasses was the beginning of what is now a multibillion-dollar industry.

The Evolution of Lamb on the Menu

New Zealand lamb has come a very long way since that first shipment. New Zealand lamb is now widely used in restaurants around the globe. Beef + Lamb Platinum Ambassador Chef, Michael Coughlin has been serving New Zealand lamb in restaurants for more than thirty years and in his current role as chef advisor for Provenance Lamb, he is at the forefront of the paddock to plate story which today’s chefs and their customers are eager to hear.

When Coughlin started his cooking career, he said the only Spring Lamb that was available to chefs was frozen, pre-cut export grade lamb destined for the European Market. It was mainly racks from the middle of the saddle which were not Frenched or whole legs. This meant that chefs needed to sharpen up their butchery skills or have a good relationship with their local butcher to trim down the cuts for their menus.

Some years later the likes of Gourmet Direct started up which gave chefs more of a variety with vacuum packed individual cuts. This opened up creativity for chefs and by the early eighties the Lamb Cuisine Awards were introduced by Beef + Lamb New Zealand to entice and reward chefs for having creative lamb dishes on their menu.

A new generation of chefs are embracing and learning about the farming practices that are being used to create the exceptional flavour and texture that New Zealand lamb is renowned for. Nose to tail dining has also become very popular over the years with chefs opting to use the whole carcass.

For chefs it’s not just about meat and three veg anymore but a very fine-tuned approach to honouring the protein on the plate and the story of where it comes from.

A Clucking Good Time

Fried chicken has moved up the pecking order. Once a side or starter, this traditionally American food is now a Kiwi favourite, so much so that restaurants are popping up completely dedicated to the comfort food. In 2019, Kiwis spent $336 million on fried chicken. Since it has become so popular, we have found three restaurants we think serve the best fried chicken.

PEACH’S HOT CHICKEN

Specialising in authentic Nashville hot chicken, Peach’s Hot Chicken got so popular the former food truck has now transitioned into a restaurant. With a spicy range from mild to Holy Cluck, the chicken is prepared using a generations-old method belonging to owner Alex George’s grandmother. Customers can enjoy Peach’s special chicken on a piece of soft bread, inside a brioche bun, or piled atop waffles.

THE CHAMBERLAIN

Bar and eatery The Chamberlain is offering a new fried chicken menu, and it’s tasty as cluck. Each dish is tailored, with options of white or brown meat, tender fillets or classic wings, and the customers’ level of spices. Served with bread and pickles, the only thing that could make it better is one of The Chamberlain’s tap beers.

SIMON & LEE

Kiwis can get their KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) fix at Simon & Lee, the eatery that is a bad influence for those wanting chicken for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. Featuring a KFC lunchbox filled with chicken, slaw, pickles, shoestring fries and aioli, and spicy chicken nibbles that can go off the spice chart.