Jurassic Scotch Beef Steak Causes a Sensation at Royal Highland Show

A “Jurassic” Scotch Beef steak caused a sensation at the Royal Highland Show today when it was unveiled on the Quality Meat Scotland stand.

The immense steak has been developed by butcher John Davidson,  whose shop in Inverurie is the current holder of the title of UK Butchers Shop of the Year.

During the past three weeks, since introducing the Jurassic to visitors at “Taste of Grampian” Mr Davidson has sold 2.5 tonnes of the immense steaks to customers intrigued by the concept.

The idea behind the development of the huge steak was, said Mr Davidson, to offer customers a lower cost but highly flavoursome steak.

“We wanted to develop a more affordable steak which still had fantastic eating quality.  The results have been outstanding and surprised us all!” said Mr Davidson, who has 22 staff and also runs a retail outlet in Dobbies in Aberdeen.

While unwilling to give too much away, Mr Davidson revealed the steak was from a  seamed out hindquarter muscle. He has been serving customers with steaks tipping the scales at  up to 7.5lbs in weight and has plans to create an even bigger steak. “We’re selling the Jurassic for £20/kg compared with £30/kg for sirloin or £40/kg for fillet which means its more affordable to consumers and results in a  better margin for our business – a win-win all round.”

The huge steaks have been creating quite a buzz in the shop and, as of this weekend, are also available via mail order throughout the UK at www.johndavidsons.com. The Davidsons’ staff have, however, had to correct a couple of their  younger customers who mistakenly thought the steaks were from dinosaurs!

“The steaks, designed to be shared by 15-20 people,  create quite a talking point round the table or, weather providing, the BBQ,” Mr Davidson added.

Among those to feast their eyes on the immense steaks at the show was TV personality Aggie MacKenzie, a celebrity chef at the Quality Meat Scotland cooking demonstrations. Aggie, who has starred on Masterchef and Come Dine with Me, said she was also extremely impressed with what she saw on her first ever visit to the Royal Highland Show.

“Whatever the weather the Show is a fantastic opportunity to understand more about good food and the standards and provenance behind its production.”

Undaunted by the wet weather Aggie performed all her demonstrations of dishes using Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork in a stylish pair of pink wellies.

Caption: TV celebrity Aggie MacKenzie pictured with butcher John Davidson and one of his Jurassic Scotch Beef steaks sliced and ready to share