Tenderness is the key

Mr Needs is a third generation butcher, with his father and grandfather before him running the South Coast business.

He said the butchery, delicatessen and seafood shop specialised in "quality meat" rather than quantity.

"We do cut up Simmentals a fair bit," Mr Needs said.

"Simmentals seem quite popular with the graziers here.

"They've got consistent fat content... it's moist and doesn't dry out."

He said the Simmental carcase also "chopped up well" and was never black or sticky.

"It has a good fat score and it's got a good yield.

"A lot of Angus have too much fat - these are leaner and tender and that's the major thing."

The meat is hung for about two weeks, Mr Needs said.

"We hang it for a little while, the longer it hangs the better it is, but you don't want to hang it for too long or it'll lose its yield."

He said Simmental meat also had a mild flavour, as opposed to the strong flavour some breeds had.

"It's always tender which makes it better for use."

Mr Needs didn't market the cuts as Simmental, but rather marketing focused on how the animal was raised.

"We want grass-fed animals more than any particular breed. We don't want feedlot animals," he said.

Size was also important for the butchery.

"Yearlings at about 170 kilograms to 180kg dressed weight is about perfect," Mr Needs said.

"They are always more tender than the larger ones.

"Oversize ones have too much fat and are tough."

He said if they were much smaller than that there was too much waste and not enough flavour.

One of Mr Needs customers, who sends Simmentals and Simmental crosses is Warren Salway, "Wandella Park", Cobargo, of Solly's Bulk Meats.

Mr Salway has been using the Bermagui store to cut up his animals since last September.

He sells them as part of his direct-to-door meat business, supplying quarters, halves or full bodies to customers.

Mr Salway first started using Simmentals to lift the carcase weights of his herd, and said they did that successfully by about 50kg to 60kg.

"We first had Herefords about 30 years ago," he said.

He now runs Simmental-Angus or black baldy crosses.

Mr Salway also runs a Simmental stud.

"We want bigger carcase weights to get more back in yield," he said.

However, he also had to ensure his carcases came in at less than 200kg dressed weight, to meet his customers needs.

"I'm looking at about 320kg to 380kg live weight as the ideal weight," Mr Salway said.

He said 340kg was optimum at about nine months old.

"A 100kg half-body dressed weight is ideal."

He said if a beast was over that the price started to increase dramatically for the customer.

"I only have about three of four customers who want the biggest calf you can supply."

He aimed for his quarters to be about 35kg, and the quarters were a mix of forequarter and hindquarter.

The main selling point for the business was maintaining quality and selling direct from the farm, delivered direct to the customer's door.

"Grass-fed is also a big selling point," Mr Salway said.

"People want contact with the farmer, they want to get away from Coles and Woolworths."

He said it was the quality of the meat that kept people coming back.

"The customer reaction is that there is a huge different in taste with the Simmental meat."

Mr Salway said he sent about 250 calves a year to D and S Affleck Abattoir, Moruya, and all but about 20 or 30 a year where they sent onto Bermagui Fresh Food Emporium to be cut up for his Solly's Bulk Meats business.