World Steak Challenge judges best British steaks
Four British butchers walked off with gold medals at this year's World Steak Challenge, including two supermarkets.
The World Steak Challenge recently took place in London. Nine judges tasted steak from 13 breeds and from 17 countries from Uruguay to Australia, and whittled down the contenders from 83 steaks to nine gold medal winners.
Australian steak crowned the world’s best
Albers GMBH entered a Jack’s Creek F2+ Wagyu beef, which had been grain fed for 450 days, wet aged for 40 days and then dry aged for a further five days. Now that’s a steak I’d like to try!
Four British steaks highly commended
Steaks from four British butchers picked up gold medals.
Scotland had two entries. Morrisons Supermarkets entered a Shorthorn cross breed, which was grass fed with concentrates. The beef was aged for 25 months, 26 days and dry aged for 14 days then vacuum packed for five days.
Scotbeef Ltd, Aldi entered an Aberdeen Angus Pink Himalayan Salt aged sirloin, which was fed on homegrown barley, carrots, turnips, potatoes, wheat, grass silage. The meat was aged 678 days and dry aged for 30 days.
The Northern Ireland gold medal winners were actually from the same company, Hannan Meats.
It entered an Aberdeen Angus beef, which was grass fed, aged for 24 months and dry aged for a minimum of 28 days.
They also entered a Shorthorn breed, which was grass fed, aged for 28 months and dry aged for 42 days in a Himalayan Salt Chamber.
And the final British gold medal winner was Welsh company 2 Sisters Red Meat who entered a South Devon cross breed.
The South Devon cross breed was fed on grass for 12 months, finished on grass and maize silage with forage roots. The meat was aged for 27 months and dry aged, then vacuum packed.
But how did the judges make up their minds?
Steaks were marked on tenderness, succulence, flavour, aroma and appearance.
What makes a good steak?
Keith Boxley, chief judge and a master butcher with 60 years' experience in the apron, offered some top tips for spotting the best meat at the butcher’s.
Colour is imperative in raw steak. Boxley said: “Some will be quite a bright red, and that isn’t what you are looking for. You want a fired earth colour. And good marbling.”
"A good steak is one you like the look of and then you eat the lot. Then you are not far off a great steak.”
Which steaks do you go for? Share your thoughts in the Comments box below.
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