Homegrown, handpicked steak judged as best in the world

Steak selected from Alliance Group’s Pukeuri plant, just north of Oamaru, has been crowned the world’s best.

The company’s Pure South Handpicked 55 Day Aged Beef was named best grass-fed steak and the best ribeye steak at the World Steak Challenge awards function in London.

Medallists from a preliminary World Steak Challenge event in the Netherlands in September went on to the "best of the best" contest in the United Kingdom with the winners revealed recently.

Alliance Group sales and marketing general manager Shane Kingston said the award was a globally credible and recognised accolade, which was always the strongest endorsement of a product.

"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," Mr Kingston said.

The Handpicked programme was developed to deliver consistently superior eating quality outcomes for the customer, he said.

The animals were selected and graded by internationally accredited assessors based on a range of criteria including marbling score, fat colour, fat cover, meat colour, and pH.

From there, the meat was aged in a vacuum bag for up to 55 days.

The beef is sourced from prime cattle of any breed.

— Staff reporter