Hanging beef on the hook is a traditional and effective method of delivering fresh meat to markets and butchers. This technique involves suspending sides or quarters of beef on large hooks during transport.
Hanging meat involves suspending beef in a controlled environment to enhance flavor and tenderness through natural enzyme action and moisture evaporation. Proper temperature and humidity control are crucial during this process to prevent spoilage and ensure safety. The method also helps in maintaining the integrity of the meat by allowing air to circulate around it, which can help to cool the meat evenly and reduce the growth of bacteria.

Refrigerated transport ensures freshness from slaughterhouse to market results in superior quality meat. This method is particularly favored in wholesale meat markets and among traditional butchers who prefer to receive larger cuts for custom butchering. Overall, hanging beef on the hook is a time-honored delivery form that combines practicality with the preservation of meat quality.

It takes experience to create a modern masterpiece, and careful ageing using both traditional and modern techniques is the key to getting the full expression of a meat’s taste potential. 

Vacuum maturity

In addition to our dry-aged meat, we also use vacuum maturation. Here, the meat is vacuum packed immediately after cutting and matured at a controlled temperature. An advantage of vacuum ripening is that individual cuts can be matured separately, so that only the cuts that need it are matured. 

Marbled beef, enriched with various degrees of fat, offers a richer and juicier flavour, adding essential umami to the taste experience. The fat melts during cooking, which enhances the tenderness, while infusing the meat with a succulent, buttery mouthfeel. The aesthetic appeal of marbling also takes dish presentation to new levels of artistry.

3 steps to taste heaven

To make it easier to choose the degree of marbling a dish requires to fully express itself, we have three grades of marbling to choose from:

MARBLED: Offers a taste experience with lots of texture and bite with a medium umami taste.

FINE MARBLED: Delivers a steak with a higher powered umami presence and a powerful, intense juiciness.

EXTRA FINE MARBLED: It all comes together here with soft texture and a deep, full and round taste experience

Danish Crown’s MASTERPIECE 1887 is dry aged beef that has been specially curated and hand-picked by our meat sommelier for its unique appearance and taste.

Danish farmers with a passion for excellence deliver the raw material upon which our master maturer works his magic. With years of experience and a fingertip feel, a unique taste experience is refined.
The secret is in the marbling: it’s this fat that imbues flavour to the meat and which prolongs the taste of umami – the true expression a master maturer’s art. This is why we put so much emphasis on selecting only beef with the very best marbling.

In our maturation process, the highly valued umami aroma is brought to the front of the olfactory palette, adding depth and power to the taste. The texture also becomes softer and fuller bodied, giving plenty of mouthfeel to the taste experience. Combined, the unique flavour and texture create the ultimate taste experience for chefs to fully express themselves.