Australian beef: meat features

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

When ordering a juicy beef steak in a cafe or restaurant, we often think about why beef never turns out so tasty and juicy at home. The fact is that every self-respecting restaurant chooses the best varieties of meat. In order for the finished steak to melt in your mouth, you need to take animal fibers with uniform thin layers of fat, in other words, marble.

Australian beef has become one of the most famous varieties of meat that has proven itself in the deli meat market since 1788.

Australia is the perfect place to raise livestock

Today Australia is the third country in terms of meat production, one of the largest exporters of marbled beef. The Australian mild climate, vast territories overgrown with grass full of nutritional properties, crystal clear air are ideal conditions for the growth of elite thoroughbred calves. Marbling of meat is achieved by alternating feeding livestock with fresh grass and dry hay with selected grain, as well as changing modes:motor activity and resting state. The readiness of the heads for slaughter is checked daily by feeling the barrels of the animals.

Preparing meat for sale

In order to obtain high quality and elite rank Australian beef, paired carcasses undergo a process of meat ripening. First, the pieces are checked for sufficient marbling. Ideally, they should be a bright burgundy color with small patches of fat, creating a characteristic mesh pattern. Selected marble pieces are dry-aged in refrigerators for three to four weeks. If the meat is devoid of a specific marble pattern, it is aged in vacuum packaging, which is called "wet fermentation". The process of ripening meat is necessary to improve the taste characteristics, thanks to which it acquires an additional nutty taste.

Quality check

Quality control authorities subject Australian beef to checks at all stages of meat preparation. After aging, it passes a number of checks for compliance with the requirements of the variety: prime (the highest category), choice (selected beef), select (the category of the least marbling). In accordance with the degree of marbling, the age of the cattle, and the taste, beef receives a class and is marked with Australian and world standards. If everything is more or less clear with the degree of marbling, then the age of the cattle is determined as follows:

• up to a year - veal;
• up to 2 years - young beef;
• over 2 years old - beef.

The palatability is determined by the consumer who tests the cooked meat according to juiciness, tenderness, taste and overall impression.

Australian beef steak history

Meat has been preferred for centuries in our country. Poultry and fish have always faded into the background after beef and pork. Absolutely everyone loves meat, regardless of gender, age, social status, with the exception of a small number of people who choose a vegetarian lifestyle. To date, an incredible variety of meat dishes has accumulated, but beef steak is the most popular, as evidenced by the number of orders in Russian restaurants.

The steak originated in England in the Middle Ages and quickly became popular throughout Europe. Since that time, the name beefsteaks (steak) has come down to us, which literally translates as “beef steak”. A photo of an Australian beef steak can be seen in the article.

Steak translated from English means "tenderloin", that is, it is a fairly thick piece of meat (from 3 to 5 cm), cut from the immobile parts of the animal's muscles in the transverse direction. There are quite a few such areas in the body of the animal, so the steak is considered a delicacy. In addition, the steak is made from the meat of young individuals of the Agnus and Herford breeds. The best raw material for steak is marbled Australian beef, called CAB (Certified Angus Beef). Cross cutting allowsopen the pores, which in turn helps the heat to penetrate deep and heat the piece much faster.

Cooking steak

In addition to choosing a steak, it is important to observe a certain temperature regime when cooking it. To begin with, the piece is quickly fried in a hot frying pan at a temperature of about 250 ° C, which allows the formation of a crust that prevents the juice from flowing out. After that, the steak is brought to the desired degree of readiness at a temperature of 150 ° C. Next, the meat is sent to the oven for a couple of minutes, so that the juice is evenly distributed throughout the piece. It would seem that cooking a steak is a completely simple task, but it is very difficult to achieve a certain degree of roasting without letting the juice run out.

Steaks come in different degrees of doneness at the request of the chef or restaurant guest:

• very rare - very raw (cooking costs only crust formation);
• rare - raw (meat is fried for a minute on each side);
• medium rare - half-raw with blood (two minutes on each side until pink-red blood discharge);
• medium - medium (meat is cooked for about 10-12 minutes until pinkish discharge);
• medium well - almost done (cook 15 minutes until clear juice comes out);
• well done - fried (fried for 18 minutes until fully cooked).

The degree of roasting depends on the selected temperature regime, which differs by about 3-4°C. However, experienced cooks can tell the difference by eye.

Australian Beef Steak Recipe

In cookbooks you can find a huge number of recipes: rib eye, strip, cowboy, filet mignon. They also include Australian beef BBQ steak. It is prepared in a variety of ways. You can do this in a frying pan, frying surface, but the dish is not intended for barbecue.

Professional chefs prepare Australian marble meat in special charcoal ovens - jospers. But in the absence of such, we can use a conventional oven.

So, we need:

• ribeye steak 3-4cm;
• s alt and black pepper to taste;
• butter - 25g;
• garlic - 1 clove;
• thyme - 1 sprig.

Let the steak rest at room temperature for about two hours. Dry the meat with a towel, then moisten it with a small amount of refined vegetable oil on both sides and roll in a s alt and pepper mixture.

Heat a heavy-bottomed pan (ideally cast iron).

Cook the steak over high heat for a minute and a half on each side, evenly pressing on the surface.

Reduce heat, add garlic, butter, thyme to the pan, stir and pour the mixture over the steak for about six minutes until medium done.

Remove the meat from the pan, transfer it to a slightly preheated oven for 5-10 minutes.