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By: Gaucho

The story of the rise and progress of the Aberdeen-Angus breed has no parallel in the annals of cattle breeding. Evolved during the early part of the 19th century from the hardy, black, polled (hornless) cattle which populated North-east Scotland, the Aberdeen-Angus breed had within the short space of 50 years spread to all the major beef producing countries of the world and had achieved the ultimate accolade of winning the beef cattle championship of the world at the Paris Exhibition of 1878.

Today, the breed is to be found all over the world and Aberdeen Angus is the dominant breed of beef animal in USA and Argentina. This dominance has been achieved as a result of the utilitarian characteristics identified by these early pioneers - easy management, economy of production and superior beef qualities. In 1879, Don Carlos Guerrero brought over from England a bull called “Virtuoso” and two mares called “Aunt Lee” and “Cinderella”. They were pure pedigree Aberdeen Angus animals registered in the English Herd Book.

Argentina’s major advantage is the Pampas, a farming region that is ideal for producing top-class beef thanks to adequate moisture, mild climate, rich soil and vast terrain. Livestock, mostly Aberdeen Angus, graze freely over the grassland and don’t require hormones (Used in American beef to fatten up and give extra marbling). This allows Argentina to deliver tasty and tender steaks that contain 10% less cholesterol and 25% less intra-muscular fat than U.S. or UK beef. Also the cattle are 10% smaller. The grass plays a vital part in the rearing of the beef. Because argentine pampas grass is so fine, it is easier for the animals to eat, making their fattening better and quicker. The flatness of the pampas is brilliant for the muscle development as the animals walk freely over the grass (up to 200km in their 2.5year lives).

Breeding
Not all Argentine cattle make great beef. Areas near the sea or wine producer’s areas are not good for raising cattle. The main region of beef production is Las Pampas. This is a vast area around 10 times the size of UK. Of these huge areas Gaucho use beef from the best areas, which include the provinces of: Entrerios (between the Parana and the Uruguay rivers), Santa Fe, Cordoba, Buenos Aires and North of the Pampas. Even here the quality is differing. The rivers Parana and Uruguay are very lengthy rivers, around the same size of the Nile, and create a very special climate.

Where the cows live food is 100% natural. Not all the meats plants are approved to export and there is a list of approved plants by the EU. The meat Gaucho use is as organic as you can get it in the UK although Argentineans do not bother to have the official rating as they do not think is worth the hassle.  Argentina's alfa-based system uses virtually no chemical fertilizers or pesticides but do use herbicides on the grass and inoculate the cattle against foot and mouth.

The cows are fattened in open spaces in the Pampas. As the grass runs out, the steers will be moving between large areas to feed. The grass is one of the factors that contribute to the quality of the beef. The grass in other places, for example in Brazil, is wetter and grows faster so the animals do not need to move as much. This will affect the marbling of the meat as the cows do no exercise as much as the Argentineans ones. Argentinean beef has been so far free from the mad cow disease. This is part due to the Malvinas war that took place in the 80’s. After the war UK imposed a ban on export to Argentina, which kept the country mad-cow disease free.

Slaughtering
The slaughtering process is the next vital part. It is imperative that the animals don’t get stressed out as this causes toughening of the muscles and the adrenalin that the stress causes gives a sour, bitter taste to the meat. Nowadays the slaughtering is done by using electric prongs to stun the animal and then slit its throat. In the past this was done with a bolt to the temples.

The slaughter takes place when the steer is around 24-27 months and weigh around 450/500 kg.


Ageing
The carcass is gutted, skinned and left to bleed for 24 to 48 hours where the majority of the blood drains from the meat and the ageing process starts. This is known as dry ageing.

After this initial period the beef will be cut to pieces and vacuum-packed. This process is called wet ageing. The meat will carry on ageing in the bag with the blood. Blood has an enzyme that will help to tenderize the meat and stop the meat drying out. The meat is aged to develop its flavour and improve its texture. This process depends on certain enzymes, whose function while the animal is alive is to digest proteins. After the animal is slaughtered, the cells that contain these enzymes start to break down, releasing the enzymes into the meat where they attack the cell proteins and break them down into amino acids, which have more flavour. The enzymes also break down the muscles, so the tissue becomes softer. This process will take place over the transportation over to the EU which normally takes around 4 to 5 weeks. Wet aging is done to improve meat safety and eliminate the product's exposure to additional pathogens that can occur during a dry aging process. It also enables the meat to age without losing valuable moisture incurred during the dry aging process.

The meat is cut into wholesale cuts and aged for an average of 21 days before portion cutting.

Beef and Health
Argentina has the world’s second-biggest herd, numbering 50 million, and is the number-four exporter. The United States has the biggest herd (100 million), while Australia and New Zealand are the other big players.

Being the best beef is debatable. What differentiate Argentine beef from the rest is that the cattle are grass-fed in opposition to grain-fed. Beef from grain-fed cattle is very rich in intra-muscular fat content and some steak lovers appreciate that. We believe that good steaks are not only about fat content but also about taste. Argentine cattle exercise more and feed on up to a 100 different types of grass, hence the steaks are leaner and have a greater complexity of flavours.

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