Introducing Barbell Foods: Nutrient-dense, regeneratively-produced meat on-the-go

 

Eat delicious and nutritious Air Dried Steak anywhere any time!

Eating nutrient-dense food that is highly satiating is the fastest way to maximise your health. With bio-available nutrients found in animal products your body thrives, is full of energy, it wants for nothing.

Cravings and sugar crashes are a thing of the past.

With McKenzie's Meats you get locally grown, fresh grass-fed and finished meat delivered to your door whenever you want. At home you have no excuse not to eat nutrient-dense.

But, what about when you're away from home?

Service stations, airports, tuckshops, canteens, 7/11s and even Post Offices are chock full of food that is absolutely terrible for your health.

Low satiety (meaning you're hungry 5 minutes later), nutrient-poor, full of sugar, full of preservatives, full of ingredients you can't pronounce.

It's like these places are trying to compromise your health!

For years I've been on the lookout for an alternative to the packaged crap on offer when I'm away from home. 

I wanted something Australian-made, nutrient-dense, crap-free and with a long shelf-life.

A go-to option has always been canned tuna. But, this isn't a perfect solution - it is smelly, messy, often has seed/vegetable oils and hard to know whether the fish are ethically farmed.

Also, I absolutely love biltong which is made from dried beef steaks with minimal additives (generally just vinegar, salt and some spices). I lived in South Africa for 3 months while on school exchange. I came home with a terrible South African accent (can't blame me for trying to fit in right?) and a love for biltong.

So, I thought about trying to make my own here in Aus.

Put simply, it's not easy. You need acees to vast quantities of extremely high quality meat (ok, that's easy for me), you need a factory with a drying room (not so easy) and you need to spend years practising and taste testing (doable but I want it now). Basically, you need to devote your life to biltong and that would comprimise McKenzie's Meats.

Enter Barbell Foods.

One of our most dedicated Meat Club Members Tom Roets (who is a South African) recommended I try Barbell. I was a bit hesitant at first because I've tried most biltong suppliers in Aus and they've all been OK but haven't blown me away.

I jumped on the Barbell Foods website and what I found blew me away.

The back story behind this business is bloody amazing.
The young founders have shown a deep dedication to their craft and a commitment to regenerative agriculture.
I instantly loved everything they're about (I'll explain more later in this post).

So, I tried their biltong (called Air Dried Steak on the packaging as many people don't know what biltong is) and fell in love.

I ate 200g of biltong in one sitting, I just couldn't get enough.

As a Meat Club Member, some or all of these are likely a priority for you:
- Maximising your health with nutrient-dense food
- Supporting regenerative agriculture
- Supporting Australian-made and Aussie businesses
- Making your life easier with products and services built to support you

If any of these are a priority for you, I guarantee you will love Barbell Foods!

About Barbell Foods

Brothers Luke and Rory grew up wild on the lush South African coast before moving to Australia with their family over a decade a go.

The adventurous brothers fell in love with the Australian bush and would embark on camping and hunting adventures with their best mates Tom and Matt.

With a shared passion for health, movement and the outdoors, the four mates needed a healthy and convenient source of protein to fuel their adventures. They looked everywhere for real food that would do the job, but everything they found was artificial or packed with preservatives and sugar. Not wanting to settle for less, they drew on the wisdom of their African ancestors to dry steaks, traditionally known as biltong.

Steaks were marinated, spiced and hung to dry in their granny's old cupboard. A few days later they could not stop smiling (and chewing!), the dried steaks were such a hit that requests started flooding in.

Tying shoe strings together the boys formed Barbell Foods; they quit their jobs committed 100% of their time to their biltong journey.

The boys attended local Canberra markets tirelessly, interrupting passersby asking “have you tried biltong before?”. Eventually, they slowly entered Canberra’s collective consciousness. News travelled across the border until health food stores, gyms, bars, and butchers across the country contacted them asking to become distributors.

The lads have come a long way, but I have the feeling their adventure is only just beginning.

You can read more about their story here: https://www.barbellfoods.com.au/pages/our-story

Barbell is backed by a true spirit of entrepreunership, mateship, commitment, devotion and passion.

With these ingredients you simply can not fail!

Enjoy absolutely delicious beef anywhere

When I say Barbell is 'absolutely delicious' I'm not exaggerating.

The meat is extremely tender! Not chewy like beef jerky or other suppliers.

It is literally juicy and with one bite your entire mouth begins to salivate.

It's like eating a perfect steak.

The flavouring is subtle, a light vinegar/salty taste but I doubt you'll notice it. Depending on what flavour you choose there will be a little bit of flavour from the spices but it isn't overwhelming and it adds to the flavour of the meat rather than masking it.

Clearly, a lot of work has gone into nailing the biltong. It is hands down the best biltong I've ever had and once you try it I know you'll agree.

The biltong is beautifully marbled with fat.

When I was considering making my own biltong my point of difference was going to be that the meat was fatty.

I figured this would make it more tasty, juicy, nutritious and packed with energy.

When I tried Barbell's biltong I discovered they've already achieved this. Their biltong is marbled! It's like eating a wagyu steak at a hatted restaurant.

Unbelievable.

And all the fat means you will have mountains of energy.

Imagine being out in the bush miles from civilisation and tucking in to some nutrient-dense, tender meat with plenty of fat to fuel your body and mind?

Or, being on the road for work, skipping the sugary donut that your mates are buying and instead fuelling yourself with Barbell biltong.

Or, imagine going on a 200km cycle with a peloton and refuelling with Barbell biltong and coffee while the others get their almond croissants. Who's more likely to be calm, strong and ready to sprint at the 190km mark??

Do your bit for the environment by supporting regenerative agriculture

The Barbell lads have connected with David Pocock and Charlie Arnott (pictured above) who are two of the biggest voices in the world of regenerative agriculture.

Regenerative agriculture focuses on improving soil health and restoring ecosystems by following a set of farming practices that maximise the conversion of sunlight into sugars through the process of photosynthesis.

If the focus of farmers shifts away from maximising short-term yields and towards regenerating the landscape, this would result in more carbon being dragged down from our atmosphere and stored in the ground, more water being stored where it can be utilized, and the production of more nutritious food.

The team have committed to source meat exclusively from farmers who use planned grazing as a tool to improve the health of their soil. 

When you purchase Barbell biltong you have peace of mind knowing your meat was produced in a way that is better for the land, better for the animal and better for you.

(These beautiful photos were taken at Charlie Arnott's farm a few years ago when we were still experiencing severe drought)

Get all three flavours of Barbell biltong (Air Dried Steak)!

Access all three flavours of Barbell's delicious biltong through McKenzie's Meats.

BENCHMARK
Classic biltong flavour simply made from organic grass-fed and finished Australian beef, gluten free white wine vinegar, sea salt, coriander seeds, black pepper, cloves and cayenne pepper.

BURN
Flavoursome chilli flavour with a mild burn, the lads use loads of real chillies to make it! Ingredients include organic grass-fed and finished Australian beef, gluten free white wine vinegar, sea salt, coriander seeds, chilli, black pepper, cloves and cayenne pepper.

CARNIVORE
Plain and simple, no spices.
Ingredients are simply; organic grass-fed and finished Australian beef, gluten free white wine vinegar and sea salt.

You have two size options:
70g - snackable. A great size for a small meal or an in-between meals fuel-up.
200g - a larger meal, perfect for sharing and it's re-sealable meaning you don't have to eat it all at once and your biltong will always stay fresh.

Barbell biltong is offered as a one-off purchase or as a subscription. 

Add delicious Barbell biltong / Air Dried Steak to your next order and eat nutrient-dense Aussie meat any time anywhere!