THE MARBLING MYTH

This one may be a little controversial..

If there’s one fad that has leapt into prominence in recent times when it comes to steaks, it is the obsession with marbling.

So let me explain. Marbling is a factor undoubtedly. But only a factor. Is it the dominant factor that distinguishes a good steak from a poor one? Absolutely not. So many factors, the majority in play long before that steak is cut, have a farm more significant impact on the quality of the steak on a plate.

It starts on the farm. It always starts on the farm. I am adamant that an animal that has a long and consistent growth curve, without check or challenge is vital. It is possible to take an animal in average condition, feed it in a certain way for the last six months of its life and create subcutaneous, intermuscular and intramuscular (marbling) fat.

That beef, will not have the same quality as an animal that has grown without check, that has had a good body condition score for its whole life, and that has a good fat to lean balance in its musculature for its whole life. It may not have the same level of marbling, but it will unquestionably be a higher quality eating experience.

We will deal with Wagyu in a separate article, but it is worth explaining the difference for those who may not be aware.  Wagyu is unquestionably a breed genetically disposed to lay down high levels of marbling. This is maximised by grain finishing for the last period of their life, which can range anywhere between 100 and 400 days. A high protein diet, on demand, in a housed or feed lot situation requiring minimal energy requirement.

Now contrast that with grass fed beef. Animals that for their whole life walk the pastures and hills, and eat grass. Nothing else. The genetics of those animals play a role of course. But the health of the soils, the quality of the pastures, and the management of that animal by exceptional farmers over the duration of their live is the primary consideration.

That’s why I work only with those farmers, those guardians of the land whose animals condition and development over time is consistent, whose animal welfare standards are exemplary, who create for me a product that I know will grace the plate, and that the flavour of that steak will be king.

The food science, the PH levels, the fat colour, the management of that beef between processing and cutting, all topics for another day.

For now, let’s celebrate marbling, but please, let’s not obsess about it!