Beltie Beef – How good is it?

We all know beef comes from cattle but is there a difference between the different breeds of cattle when it comes to taste and health benefits? We have all had that rubbery piece of steak and wondered whether it was the cooking or the animal right? My belief is that good beef can be likened to good wine – there are many variables in production and opinions abound.

Not all beef is created equal. The meat from a Galloway animal is scientifically proven to be high in protein, 25% lower in LDL cholesterol and high in the protective HDL Conjugated Linoleic Acid. The flavor is exceptional, with good quality marbling, juiciness and tenderness. Add to this the Belted Galloway’s amazing conversion of forage grazing and you end up with an exceptional flavorsome piece of meat that is not only tasty but good for you as well.

The table below shows how Belted Galloway Beef surpasses USDA standards in a 2009 study for both grain-fed and grass-fed beef. Beltie Beef is not only lower in saturated fats and higher in beneficial Cholesterol-Lowering Acids but it is higher in protein and calcium than the standard. Beltie Beef truly is proven to be good for your health.

A similar study was conducted in Australia 2015 by Food Standards Australia with the following results.

*Beef often has a ratio above 10. The lower the ratio the better. A low ratio is associated with a host of good health benefits. A ratio below 2-3:1 suppresses arthritis inflammation, less than 5:1 benefits asthma sufferers, less than 4:1 decreases the risk of cardiovascular mortality by 70% (Ref www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12442909). The Galloway Omega 6:3 ratio is extremely good, even exceptional.

**CLA has been found to be a potent anti-cancer agent, it is found in marbling fat i.e. a Galloway characteristic. A level of 11 is very high, the highest level in the literature is 12.5, most levels are around 2.5-3. A significant Galloway health advantage.

In addition, Dr Butson of University of Guelph Ontario concluded in his study of Belted Galloway Meat in 1994 that Belted Galloway Meat is more beneficial than pork loin and almost as good as roasting chicken and salmon fillet.

Artisan Beef – an Alternative View

When choosing a bottle of wine you look at a number of things.

1. Colour – usually the first decision made is whether you want a bottle of red or a bottle of white. This is often based on what you will be consuming with the wine and on previous experience of other wines. Be that as it may – Colour is usually the first consideration when choosing your wine.
2. Variety – Most wine drinkers know enough to choose their favourite variety of grape when choosing their wine. Preference for heavy, light or dry, sweet comes down to palate for most people but also again what it will be served with.
3. Region – Some wine drinkers will know wines from a particular country or region of the country and will head toward those rather than try something different. Mind you I think we should all try something different once in a while.
4. Price – Now we all have our price range. This is not designed to be degrogitory but not all of us can afford to spend $100 on a bottle to serve with dinner. So inevitably price is a consideration.

Now consider if we chose our meat this way.

1. Colour – We are hardly going to purchase the steak that has oxidised becasue it has sat in the display case all day are we? So in fact when purchasing meat we look for bright colour and uniformity. We also think about how we will cook it and what will be served with it. Same as wine really.
2. Variety – Now we do get to choose which animal the meat we buy is from eg pork, chicken, beef, fish. But what if we could chose to buy a variety of beef such as Belted Galloway or Texas Longhorn? In some cases we do have that choice but I would suggest that it is not enough. In Australia there has been an extended campaign to raise the profile of Angus Beef. So successful has this been that even McDonalds sells it. Wouldnt it be interesting if we could ask the butcher for tonights Tbone to be from a particular breed or variety of beef?
3. Region – Again we don’t really get the choice of region for our meat do we? It’s simply marketed as Free Range Chicken or Organic Pork. But what if we developed a relationship with producers in a particular region and supported their production of quality meats. Belted Galloway Meat is becoming more and more recognised by restaurant owners in particular areas for this very reason. They have developed a relationship with the producers.
4. Price – Now I think this one is the kicker. Like with wine we all have our price point and let’s face it meat particularly beef is expensive and that is not the best quality either. It is just your run of the mill packed beef cuts from the supermarket – head over to the butcher and you find it is often more expensive. That is just a volume thing. The supermarket can compete on price due to the large volumes they sell. I believe the only way we as consumers are ever going to compete for a better price to buy in bulk. Instead of buying a kilo or pound of sausages or mince or even steak, we should be negiotating to purchase a range of cuts in package deals to reduce the overall cost of the meat we want to buy. Here at Torfoot Farm we intend to sell beef via our local butcher and we will only do that by preselling a side of beef or a quarter of beef. This is because we believe in the ethics of Permaculture that are on our About Page. Go check it out if you haven’t already.

Here are some Questions to Ask Your Butcher. Any butcher worth his salt will be able to answer these questions because it is required information for traceability.

• Name of the Breed or Cross Breed? (Angus, Belted Galloway, Charolais)
• Name of the Property it was raised on? (have you read my information about property identification codes) Scroll down to What do I need to Know before Buying Cattle.
• Basic Diet? (grain fed or grass fed)
• Any added hormones, antibiotics, beta-antagonists?
• Certified Organic or Naturally Raised, Pastured etc? any verification?
• How was it aged? Wet or Dry
• How long has it been aged? (14 – 28 days is ideal)

Things will only change if we as consumers force that change. So go ask your butcher for some Belted Galloway Beef from a local source. I bet you will have to have a few friends ask as well but if the butcher thinks that is what his customers want then he will respond.

As a last word I wish to encourage you to look deeper. To most people a piece of meat on the plate looks the same no matter what breed it is but just as you would not judge a fine wine this way nor should judge your food. We have a world of exquisite flavour out there – go explore it.