Why Australia Has Some Of The Best Steak In The World
During the COVID-19 pandemic, American beef sales outgrew any other food group at the grocery store, reports Insider. Ascribed to the popularity of takeout burgers and steakhouses coupled with a strong preference for red meat, the U.S.'s enormous volume of beef production are the largest in the world, per Statista. While a hardly surprising statistic, the 10th entry on the list, Australia, is a little more unknown for its outstanding steaks.
Europeans brought cattle to the land down under only in 1788, and by 1900, the herd had grown to almost 9 million head. According to Princess Royal, beef production comprises 1% of the country's GDP; a major sector of its agricultural industries. Backed by expansive ranches coupled with low pollution, Australia produces some of the top steaks in the world, states The Gourmet Food Store. Aussie beef even dominated at the 2021 World Steak Challenge, winning in categories like ribeye, sirloin, eye, and others, reports Beef Central. So why does Australia produce such top-quality stuff? Let's cut into it.
The Australian beef industry has vigorous regulation and a high volume of Wagyu production
Australian beef is regulated for taste even more than the U.S. The Meat Standards Australian grading system looks into a dazzling variety of factors, such as color, breed, pH, and more, while the U.S. only grades marbling, reports Crowd Cow. This system is carried out through 800,000 tests sourced from over 100,000 consumers, ensuring the ratings are crowd-sourced. Such a tasty result is achieved through the country producing mostly grass-fed cattle, which is known for both improved nutrition and flavor, via The Meat and Wine Co.
Australia receives recognition on the high-end part of the spectrum due to its large number of prized Wagyu cows. The country is the world's 2nd largest breeder after Japan, with the vast majority of the cattle sent for export, per Ribs & Burgers.
Wagyu or not, all of these cows are stringently regulated for animal welfare. The Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines are some of the best in the world, considering factors like pain relief, mental health, and the cow's environment. Such protocol is applied to all red-meat producers in the nation, states Good Meat. Combined with a proud cattle culture, these thoughtful protocols produce delicious steaks — some of the world's best.