Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS NOVEMBER 2015 www.gourmetnews.com SUPPLIER BUSINESS 1 4 Japanese-Style Gourmet Beef BY LORRIE BAUMANN The judges at this year's sofi Awards were apparently very impressed by the beef products offered for judging by Lone Mountain Wagyu LLC, awarding the com- pany a sofi and two Finalist statues at the 2015 Summer Fancy Food Show. Lone Mountain Wagyu beef products are made from 100 percent fullblood wagyu beef. Wagyu refers the breed of Japanese cattle that are genetically predisposed to intense marbling and to a high percentage of un- saturated fat. The cattle that produce the beef in the Lone Mountain Wagyu products are raised on a New Mexico ranch owned by Robert Estrin and his wife Mary Lloyd Estrin. The ranch has been in Mary's family since her Meat Alternative Appeals to Mainstream Consumers print that's about 90 percent less than beef and 75 percent less than chicken, Panchal said. "In addition to the great health bene- fits and environmental benefits, our food just tastes amazing," he said. "I've got three sons, age 9, 7 and 3, and we, probably once or twice a week, we replace their chicken nuggets with Quorn nuggets, and they Hoover them." Five products in the Quorn line are gluten free: Grounds, a product that substi- tutes for crumbled ground meat; Chik'n Tenders; Chik'n Cutlet, Turk'y Roast and Bacon Style Slices. "It gives folks looking for a gluten-free option another opportu- nity to use a food like ours in their recipes to satisfy their specific dietary restrictions," Panchal said. Quorn appeals to consumers who want to eat less meat but also want both conven- ience and the flexibility to adapt recipes that already work for them. "Our food doesn't just attract vegetarians," he added. "What you'll find is people like our family who are complete carnivores, but if they're looking for a way to reduce the meat in their diet, for whatever reason, this appeals. The appeal of a meat alternative, and Quorn specifically, is very broad and broad- ening.... Our growth rate year to date is 29 percent in sales versus a year ago and grow- ing across all channels. We're really pleased with our performance." The product line includes options like Grounds that will work for the consumer who has the time and the desire to cook meals like spaghetti Bolognese from scratch but also includes heat and eat op- tions like Jalapeno and Three Cheese Stuffed Chik'n Cutlets for the consumer who values speed and convenience. "It's really easy to prepare on weeknights. It's basically straight out of the freezer and into the pan or the oven," Panchal said. "With the nuggets, it's 10 minutes to eat- ing it.... With the Grounds, you mix it with a little water, taco seasoning and cheese and make it into a quesadilla. It's a really simple food to make, and that's why we like it as a family." Quorn products retail for $3.69 to $4.99 every day, depending on the retailer, for a package that serves four people. Quorn is distributed nationally. GN BY LORRIE BAUMANN Meat alternative Quorn, the market leader in the U.S. natural foods channel, is quickly gaining mainstream acceptance for a product line whose protein comes from fungi. "The specific type of fungi al- lows the mimicking of the taste of real meat with much better health benefits," says Sanjay Panchal, General Manager of Quorn Foods USA. The Mycoprotein in Quorn products is a complete protein that's naturally low in saturated fat and high in fiber, according to Panchal. "It has as much protein as an egg, as much fiber as broccoli," he said. The products contain no soy or GMOs, and the protein source is also environmen- tally friendly, with a carbon and water foot- parents bought it in 1965. After they passed away, Robert and Mary took over the ranch, which was running a conventional Angus herd. But after Robert tasted some Wagyu beef at a restaurant, he decided to convert the herd to wagyu operation. "He just fell in love and decided that was the direction to take the ranch," said Nellie Stadtherr, Mar- keting Specialist for Lone Mountain Wagyu. He traveled to Japan to learn more about wagyu cattle and how they are bred and managed in Japan. By 2008, Estrin had con- verted the ranch into a 100 percent wagyu operation. "His passion for authentic wagyu beef has supported the value of the brand, which is around raising the cattle in the most humane and traditional methods to produce the best quality beef possible," Stadtherr said. The cattle are fed a mixture of grasses supplemented with grain feed, which is critical to develop the marbling that wagyu is so famous for. At about 1 year of age, they're transferred to a Certified Humane feedlot where they're fed a blend of grains specifically developed for wagyu beef until they're harvested at 28 to 32 months. The long stay at the feedlot allows the cattle to gain weight in a natural, slow process, ac- cording to Stadtherr. "They're not rushed to gain weight to slaughter, so they develop a more delicate marbling." In 2010 the ranch began offering its products direct to consumers on its website and started a restaurant program as well. A product line sold through specialty meat shops and gourmet retailers was launched in January 2015 at the Winter Fancy Food Show with the Lone Mountain Wagyu 100% Fullblood Wagyu Beef Summer Sausage that won a sofi Award at this sum- mer's Fancy Food Show along with the 100% Fullblood Wagyu Beef Sausage Links and 100% Fullblood Wagyu Beef Jerky that were named sofi Finalists this year. Both sausages are the first and only 100 percent fullblood wagyu sausages on the market, Stadtherr said. The products appeal not just to the very affluent but also to other con- sumers who appreciate the gourmet quality of the product or who prefer to eat all-nat- ural humanely raised beef that they can be sure contains no antibiotics and no hor- mones, she added. GN BY LORRIE BAUMANN UMAi Dry offers consumers the means of dry-aging or dry-curing their meats at home. Originally targeted for foodservice profes- sionals when UMAi Dry was launched in 2009, the product has attracted the attention of culinary consumers who are using it suc- cessfully to dry-age steaks and dry-cure charcuterie and salumi at home. "Fundamentally, UMAi Dry is a mois- ture-permeable membrane for dry-aging meat in the refrigerator. It functions as a combination of the traditional dry-aging method and the modern wet-aging method. It allows meat to be exposed to enzymatic activity, which enhances its rich texture and buttery flavor, just like old-fashioned dry-aging methods, but it does so with modern technology, to provide the food safety protection and ease that people need," said Thea Lopatka, President of Dry- bag Steak LLC, which produces UMAi Dry. The company was founded by Lopatka, who then brought on college classmate Igor Pilko as CEO in 2013. To cure a prosciutto, a pancetta or bre- saola with UMAi Dry, the user rubs the cut of meat with curing salt and spices, refrig- erates it for a couple of weeks to absorb fla- vor and draw out moisture, then rinses off the salt and spices and vacuum-seals it into an UMAi Dry bag. The meat then goes back into the refrigerator for six to eight weeks until it's lost 35 to 40 percent of its weight. The company includes recipes with the kits and demonstration videos online for a wide range of salumi and charcuterie projects, as well as a wealth of information regarding how to dry age steak. "We've noticed an increasing interest in capicola and in creating dishes like pancetta, which is rather simple to make because pork belly is now available every- where," Lopatka said. Dry-aging a steak cut is even simpler: a whole subprimal ribeye will go into a large UMAi Dry bag that's vacuum-sealed and placed in the refrigerator to age for four to six weeks. "At a butcher or a warehouse club store, you can find the full subprimal piece in the processor packaging, so that it has all the fat attached and the muscle is intact. Whenever possible, try to transfer from processor packaging directly into the UMAi Dry. During the aging process, the meat will develop a mahogany brown bark, and when that is trimmed off, it is best to strip the parts that would be cut off anyway. You want to leave on the fat because that will develop the nutty, earthy taste that's characteristic of dry-aged beef," Lopatka said. "After you've dry-aged the meat, trimmed off the bark and cut it into steaks, they can be individually sealed and frozen. They freeze beautifully." The secret to the process is the UMAi Dry bag, which is made of a special mem- brane that's moisture-permeable and oxy- gen-permeable. This allows moisture to flow out of the meat and into the refriger- ated atmosphere around it, and the result is the kind of product that's usually only available from a specialty meat shop. The products designed for the retail mar- ket have been selling well online since the brand launched them through a Kickstarter campaign that began in April. Those com- mitments have now been fulfilled, and the company is ready to expand distribution into retail stores. There are currently three products for the retail shelf: the Artisan Meat Kit, the Charcuterie Pack and the Dry-Aged Steak Pack. The Artisan Meat Kit, which retails for $170, in- cludes a small appropriately designed vac- uum sealer, a c h a r c u t e r i e pack for five items and a dry-aged steak pack that allows the user to dry age three full boneless ribeyes or strip loin subprimals (14-20 pounds). The Charcuterie Pack retails for $30 and includes two large and three smaller UMAi Dry bags, enough curing salt to cure 30 pounds of meat, some juniper berries and VacMouse adapter strips that allow the UMAi Dry membranes to be sealed with the vacuum sealer. (Con- sumers can use basic model vacuum sealers or the one UMAi Dry offers). The Dry-Aged Steak Pack retails for $28 and includes enough supplies to dry-age three 14-20-pound strip loin or ribeye subprimals. The kits are available online now, through Amazon and at shop.umaidry.com. They're already in a few retailers and should be reach- ing many more store shelves by October. Visit www.umaidry.com to learn more. GN Dry-Aged Beef, Charcuterie and Salumi at Home with UMAi Dry

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