Meal preparation has become streamlined as time-strapped consumers want quick and easy recipes. In response to that demand, the Beef Checkoff has put a whole lot of research muscle behind convenience. And based on our recent preview, that market investigation could pay big-time dividends.
Among the items that could be hitting store shelves soon are microwavable Tri-Tip and Sirloin-Cap Roasts. The trick to making them look like the finished beef-based meals we have all grown to love are three factors: microwave-safe packaging, salt and a little fat.
"We have been working on unique packaging for a numbers of years," said the Beef Checkoff's Steven Wald. "We've teamed with Excelsior Technologies, a packaging company based out of the United Kingdom, to develop a microwavable-safe packaged product that works much like cooking steamed vegetables in the microwave," explained Wald, who also said the packaging is FDA approved. "The trick is the self-venting, microwave-safe bag."
With that packaging in hand, the Beef Innovation Group researched how they could get beef to come out looking brown . . . just like out of the oven. The trick they found is the right balance of salt, seasoning and fat.
"The microwave heats (cooks) fat incredibly well," said Wald. "By leaving a fat cap on the outside of the roast, and adding a few spices and salt to the already packaged roast, the product that comes out rates high in our consumer tests."
In another branch of research, roasts in a bag are also being developed for slow cookers. The product cooks so easy that almost anyone can make it. Turn on the slow cooker and set the entire bag into the slow cooker. Come back eight or so hours later, take the bag out, let it cool, tip it sideways, and the roast and gravy separate into two separate compartments. Dinner is served in about 5 minutes.
How did that slow cooker roast fare in consumer tests?
It rated even better than the game-changing flat iron steak, which now boasts more sales than T-bone and porterhouse steaks combined. If these new microwave and slow cooker products reach half that level in 10 years, beef will be what's for dinner.
Editor's note: This is the third in a three-part series on research from the Beef Checkoff's Beef Innovation Group. To read more, go to: Finally, ground beef is an easy thaw and Flat irons trumped T-bones and porterhouses.
