SPONSORED: Why top-quality pork, beef and lamb provide perfect balance

At this time of year, there is a lot of talk about introducing a new eating plan or changing our diet, however, the best thing we can do is continue to follow a healthy balanced one.

Packed with protein and essential vitamins and minerals, red meat can play a very important role in this along with eating fruit and vegetables, high-fibre starchy foods, dairy, and fats.

In fact, as you will discover, there are numerous benefits to eating red meat, not just from a health perspective. Last year, the Covid-19 pandemic taught us two very important lessons: that we should consider healthy choices when it comes to food consumption and where our food comes from.

From a health perspective, red meat is a vitamin-rich food group. Nutritionist Dr Laura Wyness is keen to stress that beef, lamb and pork is a good source of iron essential in making red blood cells which carry oxygen around the body.

Remove “nutrient-dense” meat from your diet and you increase the risk of iron-deficiency anaemia, which causes lack of energy and shortness of breath, says Dr Wyness.

She explained: “Meat is naturally low in salt and provides a rich source of high-quality protein which helps maintain healthy bones and growth in muscle mass. It also provides essential vitamins and minerals that play important roles in the immune system, the nervous system and in converting food into energy and helping prevent fatigue.”

Shopping local and supporting local producers is something we are doing more and more, and this is especially true when sourcing meat products. Meat carrying the Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI and Specially Selected Pork logos all come from trusted, local farms where all cattle, sheep and pigs are born, reared and processed in Scotland.

When you see these logos in your supermarket or local butcher, you can buy with confidence knowing the meat in your basket is sourced from quality assured Scottish farms that adopt the best animal welfare and production methods.

Joyce Campbell, who breeds livestock on her hill farm in Sutherland, explained: “We work with nature and the environment to produce top-class protein and try to deliver the best outcomes for the land, our animals and our fragile rural economy.”

Perthshire cattle farmer, Tom Clark, who co-runs eighth-generation Pitlandie Farm, added: “If beef is quality assured, it gives consumers who are concerned with animal welfare complete confidence that the animal has had a good life and been well cared for.”

Because Scotland’s quality meats are produced with care for the animal and the environment as well as being having health benefits, consumers can make conscious choices they can feel good about. Scots food blogger Claire Jessiman writes about the benefits of different food groups in her blog.

Claire explained: “For me, and us as a family, red meat is part of our daily or weekly diet. It’s all about making choices and being considerate about what we eat. I was brought up on a daily diet of meat and two veg but I am more considered in choosing what meat I eat now, for example, last night we had lean 5% Scotch Beef mince. I specifically choose quality assured red meat.”

For more than three decades, Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI and Specially Selected Pork has adopted a quality assurance scheme which means its supply chain is independently audited to a strict set of guidelines.

Farmer Tom added that with these quality assurances and guidelines the industry, it makes, “Scotch Beef the best in the world and I really do believe that.”

Korean Style Pork Stir Fry Recipe from Scotch Kitchen

Whether your meat of choice is Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb or Specially Selected Pork, it can be prepared in a variety of ways, with a choice of cuts, making it a versatile and nutritious meal choice.

Here, QMS shares a delicious recipe for Korean Pork & Veg Stir Fry made with Specially Selected Pork medallions (prep time: 30 mins, cooking time: 40 mins, serves 4).

INGREDIENTS:

● 500g Specially Selected Pork medallions, sliced thinly

● 1 tbsp Scottish rapeseed oil

● 3 tbsp Gochujang* paste

● 100g spring onions, cut into inch-long batons

● 2 x onions, peeled and thinly sliced

● 3 x cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

● 50g ginger, peeled and grated

● 30g sesame oil

● 30ml reduced salt soy sauce

● 1 x red pepper, deseeded, sliced

● 30ml rice wine

● 30g honey

● 2 x tsp sesame seeds

● 140g basmati rice

● 120g pak choi, washed and sliced lengthways

● 100g baby corn, halved lengthways

● 100g carrot, peeled and sliced into matchsticks

● 100g sugar snap peas

● 1 x red chilli, seeds removed and cut into matchsticks

● Salt and black pepper

● 1 x tbsp rapeseed oil

HOW TO COOK:

For the marinade

1. In a large bowl, mix the Gochujang*, soy, sesame oil, honey and rice wine and whisk together.

2. Add the ginger and garlic.

3. Mix well.

For the stir fry

1. Pour over half the marinade over the pork and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

2. Place the pepper, onion, baby corn, pak choi, carrot and sugar snaps in a bowl.

3. Pour in the remaining marinade and allow to marinate for 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, heat a frying pan over a high heat and add the oil.

5. Carefully add the pork to the frying pan and fry for four to five minutes until the sauce is sticky and the edges of the meat are crisped up.

6. Remove from the heat and set aside.

7. Heat oil in a separate frying pan and add the vegetables and marinade mix.

8. Stir fry for two to three minutes.

9. Season and remove from the heat, the veg should still have a crunch.

10. Cook the rice as packet instructions To Serve: Divide the rice and vegetables between four bowls and top with pork. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

*TIP: If you can’t find Gochujang, then use Sriracha.