My first exposure to the flavour profile that comes from The Galician style of beef we have now introduced to New Zealand was …….MINCE!
Fair to say, a life changing experience. Nearly twenty years later, the dream of introducing Kiwi foodies to meat from impeccably farmed older animals, that chefs across the globe consider to be truly exceptional, has become a reality, and our premium steak cuts can now be found in some of New Zealand’s very best restaurants and luxury lodges, and in the arsenal of some of our very best private chefs.
Except for….. MINCE!!
La Carne Molida, or Carne Macinata is the cornerstone of so many of the dishes that have made Spanish and Italian food renowned globally. In Europe, mince is celebrated, not as a by product, not as the ‘leftovers’, but as a special and spectacular meat product, deserving of the same level of love and respect as any other ‘cut’, and as a truly versatile chef and cook’s friend.
Steak Tartare is literally a minced or diced product, produced from the very best of cuts. Never would that be dismissed as just mince. Yet other presentations of mince do not fare so well here in New Zealand.
Recently, the ‘World’s 101 Best Steakhouses’ list was released (two Kiwi steakhouses feature). One of the notable features is how many feature gourmet burgers as part of the menu of many of these elite eateries. Gordon Ramsay has capitalised on the demand for an exceptional burger with a self branded gourmet burger chain in The United States, and even Salt Bae, love him or loath him, he of the $1700 gold encrusted steak fame, has multiple burger venues globally.
And yet here, the very best purveyors of a Takeaway Gourmet Burger struggle to sell beyond a price point around $20, which seriously limits the quality of ingredients available, and in the Restaurant world $30 is perceived as a barrier. Almost always, the Burger will be the cheapest main on a menu. If it is found on a menu, almost exclusively it is in the ‘pub grub’ space, and some quite excellent offerings there are to be found.
Outside of the capital city’s recently concluded ‘Wellington on a Plate’ celebration, where many of the city’s finest eateries temporarily added a burger to their offering (including a spectacular $130 offering at WOLF), a burger is basically an absentee from the menus of any of our ‘fine dining’ eateries, and whilst I haven’t searched exhaustively, I’ve yet to find one amongst the recently released Cuisine ‘Hats’ awarded across the country.
So why this anomaly? Michelin starred eateries overseas celebrating the Burger, and New Zealand basically demoting it to fast food.
Quality must play a significant role. Our processing system over time has demoted mince in both perception and often reality to a product created from off cuts, trim from the general carcass. Literally the bits left when all the good bits have been removed as whole cuts.
Perception in the ‘Fast Food Space’ that a burger bar sits alongside establishments that may have ‘Golden Arches’ over the door is perhaps at play, not only in the minds of the dining public, but also in the minds of chefs and menu creators who feel that the inclusion of a burger somehow lowers the overall standard of their offering.
So, it’s campaign time. The Feel Good Meat Company calls upon the people of New Zealand to rejoice in Mince, and to Celebrate the Burger in all of its limitless presentations.
For our part, we will guarantee the quality of our mince. A premium product, with the whole chuck, navel end brisket, and hind quarter primals blended into a sensational eating product, highlighted by the incredible ‘beefy’ taste that is achieved from the older animal Galiciana style beef we produce.
We have partnered with a few burger legends, and look forward to seeing our beef featuring on gourmet burger menus in the near future.
And most importantly, our mince is most definitely available to the burger eating public, as daylight savings arrives, as the barbecue season looms, and the ‘smash burger’ home cook aficionados fill their gas bottles, stock up on charcoal and dust off their tools!
