Festival of Meat set to find best beef ribs

Visitors to 2008 Countryside Live on 25-26 October will see top-quality beef and lamb when competitors in the National Festival of Meat present saddles of lamb and ribs of beef to the panel of judges.

Organised by the Royal Smithfield Club, the competitions set out to show consumers what gives the best eating quality, with judges on hand to talk to visitors about what to look for when buying meat. The event takes place at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate.

Show director Bill Cowling says Countryside Live provides an excellent platform for consumers to talk with butchers and farmers about how their meat is produced and how to choose the right cut and the right piece. “Also, it gives the industry a platform to show we can and do produce the very best beef and lamb.”

Butcher and sheep farmer Norman Kyle of Carlisle will judge the beef ribs, while John Wood, an abattoir owner and butcher from Mansfield, will judge the lamb.

Alongside the beef and lamb competitions, Countryside Live has also launched a new sausage competition. There are three classes – for traditional pork, speciality pork and any other meat – and entries are currently flooding in.

Sausages will be judged both cooked and raw and there will also be a demonstration of sausage-making. “Good quality sausages are definitely making their way back on to the dinner plate assisted by the increase in speciality sausages,” explains Mr Cowling. “This new competition extends the range of meat on display at Countryside Live and highlights the versatility and vibrancy of the meat industry.”