M&S Beef Traceability Campaign (plus recipe)

You know how I wang on about not eating too much meat and that flexitarianism is actually a thing?

Well, I really believe that eating less meat helps me stay healthy, slim and I am in no doubt that it’s better for our planet. But when I do eat meat I want to know where it’s come from, you know?

I know it’s not always convenient to go to the butchers or a farm shop (but it is so worth it when you do, isn’t it?!) and yes I do occasionally buy meat from the supermarket. But the packaging usually has you believe it’s all farm fresh, local cows that have grazed in green fields for days, eating nothing but organic grass and buttercups. But at the alarmingly cheap prices, I very much doubt it.

But I do think overall, meat available in the supermarkets is improving in quality. Whilst still being affordable which is great.

It seems the big players are adapting to the demand for better, and there does seem to be more and more organic, free range, red-tractor assured options out there. Which is indeed good.

However, M&S seem to be raising the stakes (pun intended) even higher.

Their new British beef traceability campaign means that from corned beef to fillet steak, every single piece of beef that M&S sells has two things in common – it can be traced back to the farm and animal it came from AND it is all British.

That makes M&S the only retailer in the UK that can trace every piece of beef it sells – whether it’s in a prepared meal, a sandwich or a prime cut – all the way back to every farm and animal from which it is sourced.

It’s done via DNA sampling, and I guess the whole premise is to encourage trust from an already weary consumer.

I think it’s a good thing, but what about you?

To celebrate, I had a go at this rather indulgent and delicious recipe from their “Cook with M&S” website and app (cookwithmands.com), have you had a browse? It’s full of gems!

Japanese Sirloin Steak with Wasabi Mayo

This is an absolute taste sensation. I served it at lunch for two people and just added some tender stem broccoli to pad it out a little. In the evening as a main I’d serve it with sticky white rice and a little extra soy sauce at the table so you can dig those chopsticks in and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 5 Pak choi leaves
• 0.5 limes
• 2 tsp wasabi peas
• 5 tbsp mayonnaise (Kewpie mayonnaise is best)
• 3 tbsp Japanese steak sauce (Hibachi is best)
• 1 red chilli
• 1 pack Baby Pak choi
• 1 tsp Japanese chilli powder
• 1 sirloin steak
• 2 tsp wasabi paste

Method:

1. Crush wasabi peas in a pestle and mortar.
2. Halve the Baby Pak choi. Slice the red chillis. Juice the limes.
3. Dust the steak with the chilli powder and set aside
4. Stir the wasabi paste and lime juice into the mayonnaise and set aside in a service bowl
5. Heat a frying pan over a high heat and brush the steak with a little oil
6. Cook the steak to liking then remove and rest. Add the pak choi to the pan to gain a little colour, deglaze with the steak sauce, and drop in the chilli.
7. Arrange the pak choi leaves on a long wooden board. Slice the beef then arrange the beef and baby pak choi on the board all with a nice drizzle of the glaze covering them.
8. Serve with the wasabi mayonnaise and a sprinkle of the crushed wasabi peas.

Link to the recipe on the M&S site can be found here.