Aston Park Beef is all about producing the very best beef we can.  A lot of factors influence the final product: what breed of cattle, how old the cattle are, what they have been eating, how much exercise they have, how much stress they experience at slaughter, how the beef is hung and prepared.  Too reach its full potential attention must be given to all stages of the process.

We produce our beef from Highland cattle, grazed on heather moorland to at least 3½ years old after which they are killed at a small local abattoir, hung for at least 3 weeks and then packaged by a local master butcher.

We use Highland cattle because as a native traditional breed they retain the natural marbling (small amounts of fat in the muscles) that provides the taste.  This marbling can only occur if the cattle are allowed to mature slowly and at their own pace.  We keep our highland cattle for at least 42 months (3 ½ years) old when more commercial beef is killed as young as 11 months.

Using Highland cattle also allows us to graze them on high hills and heather moorland.  What an animal eats has a profound effect on the final taste.  The wider the range of plants it feeds on the better the taste will be.  Heather moorland contains dozens of different species including grasses, herbs, dwarf shrub and mosses.  Highland cattle are supremely suited to graze this ground being intelligent and sure footed.  The broken hilly ground also gives the animals plenty of exercise to develop their muscles in a natural way and without the use of artificial high protein foods.

Once our animals have reached full maturity we make sure they are killed with an absolute minimum of stress. This is important from an animal welfare perspective but is also vital for the final taste.  When an animal is stressed it releases adrenalin into the bloodstream, this can make the beef dark in colour, tough to eat and kills the taste.  We take our animals in small groups of 2 or 3 to a small local abattoir that we know and trust and where the animals are killed with minimum stress and no loss of flavour or taste.

Once the animal is dead it is vital that the beef is hung properly.  This allows the beef to set and tenderise.  This process can not be rushed and we hang our beef on the bone for a minimum of three weeks.  Many large retailers do not like to hang beef as it looses weight whilst it hangs.  This is through evaporation of water from the carcass.  It is quite possible for a carcass to loose 25% of its sellable weight whilst it hangs.  This does not effect the amount of protein or meat available but most retailers like to sell this water with the beef rather than see it evaporate.  We know however that for the taste it is important that this hanging process is done properly.  The loss of water intensifies the flavour and allows the meat to cook properly.  That is why when you cook one of our steaks it does not shrink and there is no water to boil off in the pan.  

Once the beef has been hung it is given to a skilled master butcher to break down ready for selling.  We do not run our own butchers shop and all beef is delivered through our local butcher in selection boxes. Through experience we have found that the best way to divide an animal is into eighths.  Each eighth weighs in at 20 to 24 kilos and fits nicely into a manageably sized selection box.   The box contains a variety of cuts from both the hind and forequarters.  A typical selection box contains

4 sirloin steaks

4 rump or 2 T-bone steaks

4 braising steaks

2 to 3 topside roasting joints

A fore rib or leg of lamb roasting joint

A brisket or chuck joint.

A quantity of highland mince

A quantity of stewing steak

The mince and stewing steak is individually wrapped in packets of 1 or 2 lbs for easy use and or freezing.  All the cuts and joints come wrapped for easy freezing.  We do not vacuum pack our beef as we think this can effect the flavour.  Instead all the cuts are clearly labelled and wrapped ready for use or freezing.  The selection box is priced at £160 which works out at under £8 per kilo.  This is competitive with the supermarkets but for a much better product, especially when one considers the reduction in water content through the hanging process.

The only cut not included in the selection box is the fillet.  It is not practical to divide the fillet between eight and so they are available separately. 

Although vacuum packing would give us a lot more flexibility in how we can deliver and store our finished product it does affect the final taste and we would rather give our customers the very best beef we can even if this means slightly less flexibility as to when the beef can be delivered.  We therefore encourage customers to collect their selection box or take delivery on a prearranged date, normally a Thursday, so that they get their beef in perfect condition. 

Please ring James on 07970 462 516 to reserve your box or discuss any queries or special orders you may have.

We have complete confidence in our beef and are happy to offer a money back guarantee if you are not completely satisfied with our Highland beef.