Kentish 12 Year Old Beef : Ribeye Steaks

The holy grail of retired dairy beef.   

The Story of the Old Cow

I have been working with Phil & Erin Dawson at Pollhill for a number of years and their grass fed beef is a regular offering in our shop.     

There is a tradition in Northern Spain where cows are left to mature for up to 17 years before slaughter and their meat, known as rubia gallega (or vaca vieja) is considered a real treat. The idea is that the longer you leave cattle to graze on lush grassland, in a free-range and stress-free environment, the longer it has to develop the depth of flavour in its creamy-yellow fat, which, over time, infiltrates the meat like fine lace.

We teamed up with Phil and Erin to produce our own, local ‘old cow’ from a pasture-fed, traditional-breed herd, rather than import it from Spain.  We believe we have created something which is just a little bit extra special.   The colour is dark and intense; and the yellow fat runs lightly but consistently right through the meat, due to a rich and long diet of good grass. The steaks are wonderful to cook over an open fire grill and the braising steak and the mincemeat have an extra layer of flavour and texture that brings real depth to bolognese, curries and burgers.