Meat&Poultry - December 2011 - 60

MARKETING

Flat iron steak with lemon pesto. (Photo
courtesy of NCBA)

Those cuts can be found in the chuck and the rib, Zino says, noting that beef’s flavor is more rich and hearty in those areas. “But the flavor mellows in the loins, sirloin and round, [providing] the opportunity to use different flavor profi les for those cuts,” he adds.

Beef’s image continues to improve among consumers. A big reason for that is the continued success of branded beef.
“Other proteins like chicken are more mellow so it’s easier to use different flavor profi les on them,” Zino says. “You don’t want to mask beef’s flavor, but you do want to enhance it.” Beef tenderloin is a good candidate of which to add flavor because of its blandness, Underly adds. “But you wouldn’t want to add a lot of flavor to a juicy, ribeye cap steak,” she notes. Jeff Cofer, the former corporate chef for AdvancePierre Foods and now a national account manager and chef for Blount Fine Foods in Warren, R.I., loves what his peers are doing to enhance beef. Cofer says he’s especially inspired with how some food truck chefs are presenting beef. “Go with what’s hot and put a spin on it,” Cofer urges other culinologists.

Because of beef’s versatility, consumers have become more open to cuts they never would’ve considered eating 10 years ago. “Consumers are more than open to [those cuts],” Cofer says. “They’re demanding them.” Franklin Hall, CEO of Lone Star Foodservice in Austin, Texas, says his company is selling more cuts like beef short ribs and oxtails than ever before. Hall is impressed with how chefs are using the cuts. “Chefs keep pushing the envelope to try and look for something new and different,” he says. “They’re not just taking the same cut and preparing it in the same way.”

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Beef’s image continues to improve among consumers, Hall says. A big reason for that is the continued success of branded beef. Hall says his business was one of the early adopters of Certified Angus Beef. The company also has a partnership with Niman Ranch, a Californiabased producer that raises cattle with no antibiotics and hormones and its own special feed. “Some people think of beef as a commodity,” Hall says. “I don’t think that way. Beef has so many variations to it.” Hall believes consumers are willing to pay more for quality beef, partly

because of branded beef. Angus has had a tremendous impact on branding, which has transcended Certified Angus Beef. A reason for that is that consumers are often confused about beef grading, and they have easily identified with Angus as a quality brand, Underly says. “But just because a product is Angus doesn’t mean that all Angus will be the same,” she adds. Beef’s image will no doubt be affected by continuing trends on national and local levels. For instance, branded beef may flourish in smaller settings. “I’m buying more from ranchers in our area,” Hall says. “I think that’s the way of the future. For those chefs that want local product, we have that available to them.” Chefs can expect steaks to get larger as the primals and subprimals on animals get bigger, Underly says. That said, Olson believes the bigger the beef carcasses, the better. “The consistency of quality in US beef today is because of what our fabricators have been doing with knives,” Olson says. Speaking of fabrication, the grassfed beef movement could gain ground if someone can figure out how to cut it correctly, Olson says. “Beef processors need to cut it differently than traditionally fed beef,” he adds. One thing is certain to Hall, the third-generation owner of Lone Star Foodservice, who has made beef his livelihood for many years. “It’s becoming less about selling and more about trying to understand how we can help our customers,” Hall says. “We have to get in their shoes and walk a little bit with them so we can relate.” ■
Larry Aylward is a freelance editor from Medina, Ohio. We would like to hear from you – to comment on this story or to request reprints, contact us by email at meatpoultry@sosland.com.

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