IDEAL CHILLING CARCASE

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27641, 23 April 1955, Page 5

IDEAL CHILLING CARCASE

SOUTHDOWN LAMB SHOULD BE MODEL Producers of chilled beef should bear the shape and finish of a Southdown lamb carcase in mind, according to advice given to producers at the carcase judging in the Chilled Beef Competition last week by Mr F. Hansen, chief supervising grader for the Meat Board. Mr Hansen has judged most of the North Island competitions since they were instituted before the war, ami his findings have been confirmed by the London judges, Mr Hansen, in a demonstration on carcases, specially arranged for the visitors, and in conversation afterward, insisted that the first point was to .avoid excess fat, about which the British market was becoming very sensitive after wartime rationing when meat was often very much too fat. The type of chilling beast to look for, he Baid, was full on the leg, full fleshed, and thick, and full over the loin. Development should be in the hind quarters, where the choicest cuts, and those most profitable to the butcher, were to be found.

Fat was needed over the buttock, but it should cover the buttock well and evenly, without being excessive and wasty. Fat there was needed, he said, because no matter how carefully preparation and shipping were done, any part of the leg without a protective covering of fat went black during transport, and its appearance was spoiled. Breeds differed in their capacity to cover the leg. Some breeds could cover the leg well, but the leg itself might be poor. Others with a well-filled loin might be weak on leg cover, but judicious crossing could get the best out of all breeds. Conformation Good conformation meant a thick eye of meat, and the thicker this was the better, he said. The United Kingdom consumer liked marbling in the flesh. This was mainly due to feeding. If a beast was reared well for the first year* and then allowed to go back during its second year, it would invariably develop gristle. “The ideal carcase is thick in the leg, well-filled in the loin, and with a deep eye of meat,” he said. “It should be well covered with fat but without excess fat. Producing a beast of that sort is of course an art which farmers will no doubt work out for themselves in time.” The competition cattle were a very good effort on the part of Canterbury producers, he said. The main weakness was conformation, and some carcases were carrying excess external or internal fat, but as a whole they were a good lot. When the chilled beef trade started in the North Island, there were a lot of teething troubles, which took time 'to overcome, he concluded. Of the 42 cattle entered in the competition, only two were above the maximum chilling weight of 7401 b; One beast went 7971 b, and the other 7581 b. The rest of the entry killed at between 4591 b and 7391 b, with the majority within the limit of 6001 b to 7001 b set by Mr P. Borthwick as being about the weight wanted. The average of the 40 carcases which came within the limits averaged 6261 b, which was a remarkable performance by producers with very little previous experience of what is required for the chilled beef trade. An interesting entry was the three 18-months heifers included in the halfdozen sent in by Mr Jack Acland. One of Ahem, which weighed 4851 b, was placed seventh in the competition. Theother two went 4591 b and 5431 b. They were included to show that it is possible to produce chiller weights at 18 months.

WOOL SALE DATES The full roster for the new season's main sales is:— April 27.—Dunedin. May 2.—Christchurch. May 13.—Auckland. May 18.—Napier. May 21.—Wanganui.