Aged in a vacuum bag for 55 days, the world's best rib eye steak.
The best grass-fed steak and the best ribeye steak in the world comes from New Zealand’s South Island – according to judges at the World Steak Challenge awards ceremony in London.
The Pure South Handpicked grass-fed steak and ribeye triumphed over entries from across the globe.
Medallists from a preliminary World Steak Challenge event in the Netherlands in September went on to the ‘best of the best’ contest in the UK with the winners revealed at the glittering event on November 13.
“It is testament to Alliance’s exceptional focus on excellence and the dedication and hard work our farmers put in day in, day out to raise the best grass-fed red meat in the world,” Shane Kingston, general manager sales and marketing at Alliance Group, said.
“It was already a great honour to have won gold in the World Steak Challenge where multiple gold, silver and bronze medals can be awarded in each category.
“But to now have our steak judged as the best of all the ribeye and grass-fed steak gold medal winners globally is just outstanding.
“It’s the pinnacle of achievement for an end-to-end beef system and reflects the commitment to the highest standards, at every level, of our farmers, our people and our processes.
“This programme was developed especially to deliver consistently superior eating quality outcomes for the customer. The eating quality attributes the product is assessed against during the selection process are what makes this product superior.”
The ribeye had unprecedented levels of tenderness and a milder beef flavour profile, he said.
The steak has a robust, zesty, buttery, and creamy flavour that gives it a deeply satisfying savoury presence, along with caramelisation of marbling, which builds on the flavour.
Pure South Handpicked is aged craft meat as nature intended.
From free range pastures in New Zealand, the animals are carefully selected and graded by internationally-accredited assessors based on a range of criteria including marbling score, fat colour, fat cover, meat colour, and pH.
Only the finest meat makes the grade. From there, the meat is aged in a vacuum bag for up to 55 days, allowing the natural enzymatic processes to enhance tenderness and develop exquisite flavours.
The beef is sourced from prime cattle of any breed. The ribeye was selected at the co-operative’s Pukeuri plant in Oamaru.
