Northern Irish Beef backed by top UK Chef
UK Celebrity chef Mark Hix has given Northern Irish beef another massive endorsement for taste and premium quality.
Hix is to serve salt-aged beef from the Glenarm Estate in county Antrim in his latest restaurant in London. The steak will be 'Mighty Marbled Sirloin' from the Glenarm Shorthorn beef producer group provided by Hannan Meats, the award winning Northern Irish beef and bacon processor, which ages the meat using a unique Himalayan salt chamber at its plant at Moira in county Down.
The new London restaurant, which will be located at Bishopsgate, will focus on Hannan's Glenarm salt-aged steak and also chicken. The decision by Hix to focus on Glenarm steak follows on the outstanding success achieved with Hannan's salt-aged beef at the multi award winning Tramshed, another restaurant, which is located at Shoreditch.
Commenting on the new restaurant, Hix says: "Our chicken and steak offering at Tramshed in Shoreditch, which is perfect for sharing, has been enormously well received.
"Partly, of course, because Britain has always been famous for its beef, but also because we like to think that we push the boundaries in our restaurants, offering cuts that other restaurants might have ignored along with rare breeds of poultry that are more than often unknown to foodies and even chefs.
"And so we think it's a good idea to take this straight-forward concept of dining further afield. At the new restaurant, as at the Tramshed, you will be able to choose between a whole roast Indian rock chicken or an extensive range of Glenarm Mighty Marbled sirloin and rib steaks aged in Himalayan salt chambers.
"We hope the new restaurant (as yet unnamed) will be a great city outpost serving excellent meat from suppliers we trust, in an environment that is both interesting and inspiring."
The new Hix restaurant at Bishopsgate will open next month.
Hannan Meats gained a host of gold stars for its Glenarm shorthorn steaks in the recent UK Great Taste Awards. A Glenarm Shorthorn Rack of Beef was listed in the Top 50 Foods and gained the Northern Ireland Regional Gold Fork Award from the panel of expert judges.
The cattle on Glenarm Estate are reared to best practice, on a high clover, grass based system and the winter housing is of the highest welfare standard.
Peter Hannan, managing director of Hannan Meats, says: "What makes the Glenarm Shorthorn beef so special is the harmony of expertise. Our Glenarm Shorthorn farmers produce wonderful cattle and finish them to their optimum level. They arrive with us in peak condition and this allows us to mature them in a chosen fashion. The net result is beef that eats as good as it gets."
The County Antrim estate, according to farm manager Brian Wilson, is continually adapting to the challenges of modern farming and decided to convert to organic in 2008.
"Over the past five years Glenarm Castle Estate, in partnership with Hannan Meats and along with a small group of farmers, has been working to produce quality Shorthorn beef. At that time a decision was taken to change from continental to beef shorthorn bulls, while retaining quality heifers, with the intention of creating a predominantly beef shorthorn herd. Beef Shorthorn was chosen for its renowned marbling and great flavour."