A NEW steak tasting competition has a double aim of highlighting to consumers what goes into the making of a good steak and to producers about how their eventual clients evaluate what they see as a top-notch eating experience.

That’s the target of a tasting ‘steak menu’ served up to a selection panel of eight judges organised by Marks and Spencer. It was hosted and prepared recently from 24 different carcases supplied to an ABP’s meat plant to M&S spec’ and aged for 28 days. It was judged on three criteria: raw appearance; cooked appearance; and a tasting panel test of flavour, succulence and tenderness

The results were announced at last weekend’s Scottish Premier Meat Exhibition, organised by the Scottish National Fatstock Club and ABP, sponsored by M&S. It was based on sirloins and ribeyes of beef from two of M&S beef lines, premium Aberdeen Angus and its core product ranges.

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Steve McLean, M&S Food’s head of agriculture and fisheries sourcing, said it had been a constructive exercise for all elements of the food chain and highlighted the effect that marbling had on looks and taste.

While marbling had shown up very well on the blind tasting panel, it fared less well on the ‘appearance’ criteria, especially when raw, he pointed out. “This all fits in with our mantra of producing a better product, with a great story,” he added.

“Beef and lamb are really important to us – a lot more so than to some of our competitors – and so this competition is all about making important connections between the farmer and the consumer.”

He pointed out that a lot of M&S customers really cared about the provenance of their meat products and that maybe the industry as a whole needed to get its story across better about how meat production is changing to meet not just the taste test challenges it faces, but also environmental concerns.

“Our integrated Angus programme is well on track to reducing the carbon footprint of our meat production by 30% by 2030,” said McLean. “But we are working hard to ensure that this does not come at the expense of eating quality.”

Genetics and the use of new feed additives were all part of the mix going forward, he said, highlighting three key areas where farmers could achieve that goal – reducing slaughter age at similar carcase weights; using feed additives to reduce emissions, even on extensive grazing systems; and increasing farm efficiency by benchmarking things like calving index and removing non-productive cows.

The top AA ribeye steaks came from an animal consigned by TR Bennie, Oxhill, Buchlyvie, which won ahead of an entry from Jim and Geordie Orr, Rumbletonlaw Farms, Duns. The sirloins from the core entries saw one from John Graham, Raecruick, Auchtermuchty, win through ahead of one from JD Jack, Wester Newburn, Leven, Fife.

M&S has three main lines for its beef products: A niche offering of Wagyu meat; plus its premium AA range for which it kills between 400 and 500 cattle per week; and the core product from around 3000 carcases from different crosses.

ABP’s CEO, Bob Carnell, told the Scottish Premier Meat Exhibition audience that meat demand was remarkably robust as a result of farmers ‘making world class products, to very high standards.’

It also demonstrated the quality focus of beef and lamb producers in Scotland, he said. “For us, we feel encouraged by the quality of locally produced beef and lamb that we are providing the food industry from our state-of-the-art processing facilities in Scotland and elsewhere,” he added.

Mr Carnell said it vindicated ABP’s £24.5m investment in its Perth plant, pointing out that it now employed 836 people in Scotland and took beef and lamb from 2200 farms.