On 26-27 October, the 10th annual Food on the Edge food summit took place in Galway. This year’s theme was ‘Evolution’, and among the many discussions held around the future of food and hospitality, something equally thought-provoking was featured on the lunch menu – slow-roasted Irish Droimeann beef.
The lunches at Food on the Edge were provided by bespoke Irish catering company Gather & Gather. They chose to serve Droimeann beef to help tell the story of this native Irish breed of cattle. The timing is fortuitous: Droimeann Cattle Society (droimeanncattlesociety.com) will be launching their new Taste of Droimeann beef box on 6 November in Skelly’s Bar and Restaurant in Ballymahon, Co Longford.
Skelly’s is the first restaurant in Ireland to exclusively use Droimeann beef on their menu. Lore associated with Droimeann cattle (including poems, traditional songs and stories) go further back than 1,000 years, according to the Irish Native Rare Breed Society (inrbs.ie). Droimeanns come in a variety of colours but are generally known for a distinctive white strip running down their back, and a white diamond shape on their flank. They are a dual-purpose breed, used for both milk and beef production.
Droimeann cattle were granted indigenous (native Irish breed) status in 2020 – the first Irish native breed to be recognised since 1927. Once extremely common in Ireland, Droimeanns were on the brink of extinction by the early 21st century. The Droimeann Cattle Society was established in 2016 to preserve the breed and ensure genetic diversity. According to the last census in the Droimeann handbook, there are 750 breeding females and 64 bulls.
Barbavilla Farm
At one time, Westmeath farmer Claudia Marl, who operates Barbavilla Farm with her husband, Juergen, was one of the country’s largest goat’s milk producers. She also kept a herd of Droimeann cattle for beef. Two years ago, she got out of goats but has stayed with the Droimeanns, saying they are light on the ground and relatively easy to care for.
“I started [farming Droimeanns] by accident,” she says. “Someone said, ‘You might be interested in this rare breed,’ and I said, ‘OK, organise two animals for me.’ Two months later, this person returned with six animals. I thought, ‘Oops – that’s a bit more than I wanted,’ but the farm was big enough, so that’s where I started.
“Those first cows were a bit wilder than the ones I have now,” she continues. “They weren’t used to people, so when the first cow calved, we had to be careful with her. That was 15 years ago and that cow is still in my herd.”
As Claudia became interested in Droimeann cattle, she was asked to join the society. At one stage, she had a herd of approximately 50, but as the ACRES scheme was introduced and farmers became interested in rare breeds, she sold a considerable number to others. This past year, her cows had 17 healthy calves. Next year, she thinks there will be 20.
“[Originally] there weren’t that many people in the society, so I was brought on to the board,” she explains. “They gave me a great start in terms of organising bulls and helping keep my genetics under control.”
Claudia has been farming under organic certification for the past four years. She keeps her Droimeanns outside all year and says the herd rarely needs medical or calving intervention.
“I don’t keep these cattle to make mountains of money,” she says. “I need them for the farm, I enjoy the odd Droimeann steak, and I like keeping them. I think [their beef] is nicely marbled and has a good bit of fat in it.”
Some Irish chefs agree with Claudia’s assessment. Jess Murphy (of Kai Restaurant) uses Droimeann short rib and says the beef is “out of this world” with “fantastic marbling”, and Danni Barry at Ballinahinch Castle has also featured Droimeann beef on her menus.
Kerrigans Butchers
Barry Kerrigan operates Kerrigans Butchers (kerrigans.ie) with three locations in Dublin. He is currently collaborating with the Droimeann Cattle Society for their Taste of Droimeann beef box. These boxes will be delivered nationwide and are currently operating on a pre-order basis as the beef is aged and butchered.
Barry tells Irish Country Living he is proud to be working with the Droimeann Cattle Society on this project.
“I got an email from the society saying they were on the lookout to work with some well-established butchers,” he explains. “They explained the concept and asked if I would be interested in working with them. I was, of course, because as a butcher you always want to keep that connection with the farmer.”
When the Droimeanns are processed, the meat is aged and butchered at the Kerrigan’s production site. Once launched, the boxes will feature a variety of Droimeann cuts including burgers, roasts, steaks and mince.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what the public will think,” Barry says. “There are definitely people seeking out these niche products – we also butcher west Cork Wagyu beef, and it sells really well.”
Barry says the beef features a “beautiful” covering of fat and is nicely marbled throughout, though not as heavily as Irish Wagyu beef. Irish Droimeanns are often killed at a higher age than standard Irish beef as they can take longer to grow.
“The one we got in last week was 24-26 months old, but some farmers let them go a bit older – even up to late 30 months,” Barry says. “You get more marbling when it’s older. Some trial and error will be needed to see how long it should be aged to retain that marbling and lock in the flavour, but the resulting beef will be tender and flavourful.
“The one we butchered last week was a good size: about 620kg live weight, which equated to around 280kg post-butchering. That size for us is perfect – you get a nice fillet steak, a nice ribeye.”
This project not only benefits the Droimeann Cattle Society; it enables Barry and his team to offer something different to the supermarket.
“We have high-quality products and can butcher meat to a customer’s specifications, but supermarkets sell more cheaply,” he says. “It’s really worrying and makes you wonder: what can we do as an industry [to overcome these challenges]?”