Posts Tagged ‘Beef’

South Shore Meats hails the proper burger blend

August 12th, 2013
By donm

In selecting the proper burger blend, I like to keep it simple. At South Shore Meats we prefer the robust flavors of certain cuts, such as rib-eye, chuck, and hanger with the sweet tones of brisket blended in. Keep the fat/lean ratio at about 80/20 and cook medium rare.

Perfect.

Or perhaps you prefer the latest burger craze that was grown in a Petri dish by some scientists in the U.K.

The burger-hatched-from-stem-cells debuted in London last week with mixed results. While some are hailing it as a scientific breakthrough that could one day revolutionize the food industry, others are pointing to the real issue.

Taste.

According to Josh Schonwald, a Chicago-based author who served as a tasting volunteer, the concoction lacks the fattiness of regular meat and could be described as an “animal-protein cake.”

Not what I want on my plate for the upcoming Labor Day cookout.

The scientists, funded by Google founder Sergy Brin, are experimenting with ways to grow meat in labs as an alternative to raising livestock, which (according to one study) contributes 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and uses 30 percent of the world’s ice-free land.

A noble effort, for sure, but misguided in my opinion. For one, if we are not raising livestock for beef, what are we doing with the livestock? Are they roaming the Great Plains? Wandering down Main Street? If the value of these animals is reduced by a meat-alternative, how will they be treated then?

The original All-American hamburger was created by grinding up trimmings from cut steaks that contain various pieces of steak and associated fat that when cooked has become an iconic American food staple. In fact, it is as much of a symbol of America as the automobile and a summer afternoon baseball game.

The alterna-burger is made using fetal bovine serum, taken from the blood of calf fetuses. The serum cost $250 a liter so the cost of producing the burger is astronomical. If the fake meat were to become accepted practice it is still at least two decades away from mass production.

Burgers have become a high-end product of late, with white tablecloth establishments opening up to accommodate the demand for the perfect burger. Hard to imagine the American public trading in rib-eye, chuck, and hanger with the sweet tones of brisket for fetal bovine serum…..

South Shore Meats touts portion control to combat rising prices

June 20th, 2013
By donm

South Shore Meats, the Northeast region’s leading center-of-the-plate portion control specialists, develops strategy in the face of rising commodity prices.

With no end in sight to the steady rise of beef commodity pricing, South Shore Meats is developing creative, portion control strategies to help restaurateurs deliver prime cuts with cutting into profits. The strategy is in response to pricing that has risen steadily since 2000.

“Between the cattle ranchers limiting the kills and our ongoing increased exporting, I really do not see any relief coming our way in the food service industry any time soon,” says Carlo Crocetti of South Shore Meats. “With these high prices being the ‘new norm’, it can be extremely daunting to come up with creative, culinary ways to make up profit shortfalls.”

The answer may lie in portion control, a specialty of South Shore Meats, a USDA certified manufacturing facility.

The company specializes in unique solutions for providing the finest center-of-the-plate cuts while streamlining operations and increasing profits. South Shore Meats has created a new paradigm of Quality, Consistency, and Profitability for the wholesale meat industry.

As an example, Crocetti points to the art and science that goes in to creating a 3 oz. medallion.

“We create the 3oz Medallion from the 6oz Tenderloin Tail which is a bi-product from the Filet Mignons that are processed daily,” he said. “As we cut down the Tenderloin we are left with a 6oz tail. The first cut is the 3oz Medallion and the leftover tip is mixed in with my random weight Tenderloin Medallions.”

The cut, quality, and pricing create a high-end product with maximum profitability for the restaurateur.

South Shore Meats is New England’s premier wholesale portion control meat manufacturing facility manufacturing the absolute finest cuts of Beef, Pork, Lamb and Veal for white-tablecloth establishments throughout the Northeast. This fourth generation, family run business combines state-of-the-art portion control concepts with Old World craftsmanship to provide the finest center-of-the-plate cuts in the industry.

South Shore Meats is located at 12 Taylor Avenue in Brockton, Ma and provides portion control cuts to all major food distributors in New England. More information is available online at southshoremeatsonline.com

 

Alternative Steaks For Food Service

May 29th, 2012
By carlo

Over the past few years I have seen beef commodity pricing go through the moon. They have never recovered since 2000. Between the cattle ranchers limiting the kills and our ongoing increased exporting, I really do not see any relief coming our way in the food Service industry any time soon. To give you an example of what I am talking about, currently on my wholesale distributor sell sheet, USDA Choice Center Cut Strip Steaks are consistently circumnavigating the $12 per pound range. In 1995 they were on my list for $5 per pound. USDA Choice Center Cut Tenderloin Steaks are always hovering $22 per pound. Again, back in 1995 they were $13 per pound. Did we have it good back then or what ?

With these high prices being the “New Norm”, it can be extremely daunting to come up up with new creative culinary ways to make up profit shortfalls. Some chefs think that simply cutting their own steaks from primal pieces is the best solution. This cannot be any further than the truth. Between the trim that is not used to the over/under portioning to the expensive bi-products to the shelf life of product wrapped in plastic “Saran Wrap” , this is not the answer.

Portion Control from a USDA certified manufacturing facility the answer.

I am constantly visiting restaurant owners, chefs and food Service professionals up and down the East Coast showing them new and exciting steaks that not only eat great and extremely versatile, but profitable at the same time. We could talk all day about Flat Irons, Culottes, Hangers and Teres Majors which are all great alternatives, but truly a distant second to the 3oz Tenderloin Medallion.

In my facility, we fabricate the 3oz Medallion from the 6oz Tenderloin Tail which is a bi-product from the Filet Mignons that are processed daily. As we cut down the Tenderloin we are left with a 6oz tail. The first cut is the 3oz Medallion and the leftover tip is mixed in with my random weight Tenderloin Medallions.

Our 3oz Tenderloin Medallion has a pound price consistently around $8-$9 per pound resulting in our 3-3oz pack at about $5 per pack or $1.67 per piece. This item fits all three criteria listed above.

1. Great Eating
2. Extremely Versatile
3. Very Profitable

These can be easily grilled with shrimp or lobster tails for a Surf “N’ Turf or simply grilled as Filet Mignon Sliders. The ideas are not only endless but can be creative for all of your customers giving them a higher end item with a lower budget ticket while at the same time maximizing your profits.

What are some of your favorite alternative steaks ?

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