Carrie Oliver Rating: Easy Going Beef™

We included this pastured grain-fed beef from the New England Tablelands Region of New South Wales, Australia, as a special surprise at private tastings in San Francisco and Napa. It has a slightly sweet, approachable and warm Personality. At a dinner party this beef would be like a good host, quietly facilitating the discussion and making all feel welcome.

Tasting Notes

The pasture grain-fed steak had a soft Texture and relatively straightforward Personality with general sweet savory notes and subtle hints of graham crackers, butter, nuts, and button mushrooms. It leaves a medium length Impression.

Meet The Ranchers

An intrepid Canadian traveler on business in Australia was led by Providence first to Eaglehawk Farms via Christie Connelly (@figandcherry), the talented voice behind the popular Sydney-based Fig and Cherry food blog, and then to San Francisco where he brought us a beautiful New York Strip Loin roast and two Rib-Eye steaks (called Porterhouse and Scotch Fillets, respectively, in Australia). Eaglehawk Farms, owned and managed by Ian and Sally Vivers, specializes in breeding Black Angus cattle and finishing calves to market weight using an open choice grain and forage finished diet. They can trace their beef back to the progeny of Black Angus bull calves that they’ve sold to other ranches. The Vivers also have their own processing and value-added facility where they wet-age, cut, process, and package the beef for retail sale.

Where To Buy

This range fed, grain-finished beef is available in Eaglehawk Farms’ online shop, at their farm and processing facility, at several farmers’ markets in and around Sydney and Brisbane, and a new retail shop in Warriewood.

Tasting Overview:

Taster:	Carrie Oliver
Date Tasted:	March 2010
Cut Tasted:	Rib Eye and New York / Kansas City Strip Loin
Diet/Feed:	Grain Fed
Cooking Method:	Outdoor Gas Grill and Indoor Induction Grill
How Served:	Medium Rare
Seasoning:	Kosher Salt
Previous Cut Tasted:	None
Previous Date Tasted:	None
Previous Taster:	None

Quick Facts

Breed:	Black Angus
Growing Region:	New England Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia
Farm/Ranch:	Eaglehawk Angus
Farmers/Ranchers:lllllllll	Ian & Sally Vivers
Diet/Feed:	Open choice range fed grain and forage finish
Raising Protocols:	Calves bought back from bull buying clients at weaning (7-9months). These calves are then turned out onto crop oats and/or pasture of fescue rye, lucerne and red clover until up to 400kgs. (880lbs)
Finishing Protocols:	Range fed on the same pastures/crops with an additional ration of corn silage, rolled wheat, macadamia nut meal and oaten hay. Range fed for at least 100 days. Finished weight of 550kgs (1210lbs)
Slaughterhouse:	Northern Cooperative Meat Company, Cassino, NSW, Australia
Butcher:	Eaglehawk Farms’ own processing and value adding facility. www.eaglehawkfarms.com.au
Aging Technique:	Wet-Aged (slaughtered and boned out the next day. Wet aged in Vacuum packs).
Aging Time:	21-60 Days
Packaging:	Cryovac
Never Use Antibiotics Ever:	-
Use Vet Approved Spot Treatment Antibiotics:	If we can’t treat animal naturally we do administer antibiotics but treated cattle are not eligible for our beef product and are sold.
Never Use Feed Antibiotics	✔
Never Use Added Growth Hormones:	✔
Never Use Ionophores:	✔
No Animal, Fish, Fowl By-Products in Feed	✔
100% Vegetarian Feed	✔
Practice Rotational Grazing	✔
Practice Managed Intensive Rotational Grazing	No
USDA Natural	Not applicable
USDA Naturally Raised New Voluntary Certification	Not applicable
Third Party Certified Organic	No
Third Party Certified Humane	No
Other Third Party Certifications	Graded under MSA (Meat Standards Australia) and Audited by Ausmeat Australia.
Other	We practice low stress stock handling techniques. No prodders, no dogs, no loud noises. We regularly weigh and handle to familiarise cattle with moving through yards without stress.

Tagged as: Artisan Beef, Black Angus, Eaglehawk Farms, Steak, wet aged