Bid to bust British barbecue myths for sake of beef and lamb
A FARMING industry-led campaign aims to repair the image of British barbecues to drive higher beef and lamb steak sales over the summer months.
The nation’s barbecue market is being targeted because it presents “a huge opportunity” for the industry, levy payers group AHDB said.
About 108m barbecues took place last year with an almost even split across midweek – 46 per cent – and weekend meals – 54 per cent.
But while the number of barbecues held in Britain has risen by six per cent in a year, a survey of 2,000 people saw British barbecues voted the worst in the world with burnt food, backseat “barbecuers” and drunken arguments cited as top niggles.
Nonetheless, the same survey found that over a quarter of Brits wanted more lamb and beef steaks to be used on barbecues.
Nick White, the head of beef and lamb marketing at AHDB, said: “It’s a misconception that steak is difficult to cook on the barbecue – it’s actually one of the quickest and tastiest cuts to prepare on the grill.
“It’s brilliantly versatile and there are numerous ways to enjoy it, from cutting it into kebabs to marinating it in different flavours; it’s an easy way to impress guests.”
For beef farmers, the industry is currently heavily reliant on mince, which accounts for half of carcass uses. Mince is also the main way in which younger consumers choose to eat beef, according to AHDB.
The AHDB’s Simply Beef and Lamb barbecue campaign is running throughout the summer months and is expected to particularly benefit the home-reared lamb market by increasing demand during the months of June, July and August when English lamb is dominant in its supply on the supermarket shelves.
The industry group has called on the support of YouTube comedy act Anto Sharp, and online “Food Busker” John Quilter, to help spread campaign messages online. Between them, the pair have more than 1.4m followers across social media channels.
Surrey-based beef farmer and butcher Steve Conisbee, who is one of a number of English farmers also backing the campaign, said: “Beef steak is delicious and with millions of Brits barbecuing any day of the week, we need to help them learn to barbecue steaks just like the Australians or Argentinians do.”