Pictured (L-R) Ronan McLaughlin, development chef at Linden Foods, Pauline Gordon, marketing executive, Linden Foods and Claire McCrory – NPD technologist, Linden Foods
Linden Food Group, the leading Northern Irish meat processor, has launched a 20-strong range of gourmet burgers for both retail and foodservice under its established Turf & Clover – Honest Irish Meat brand.
Linden Foods, which is based in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, has created the luxury range of burgers in different and unique flavours using premium meat, lamb and chicken from its own extensive network of Northern Ireland farms.
The gourmet range draws on Linden’s longstanding experience in providing quality products to many of the leading retailers in the UK, Ireland and other parts of Europe as well as top chefs in Michelin star restaurants.
Linden’s experienced chefs and new product development team have created the innovative Turf & Clover portfolio. Kettyle Irish Foods, a Linden group subsidiary and a long-time specialist in dry-ageing meat, has also been part of the new burger development.
Pauline Gordon, explaining the decision to introduce the Turf & Clover range of gourmet burgers, says: “The gourmet burger now has pride of place on restaurant menus, bespoke burger bars and has now crossed over to retail. The gourmet burger not only tells but also empowers the story of culinary excellence, diversity and innovation. What we have done with the Turf and Clover range is to carry forward the legacy of excellence and innovation with a sharp focus on taste.
“In creating burgers of distinction, the meat must be the hero. The freshness of the meat is essential in making a stand out burger. As we use our own meat exclusively from our own farm suppliers, our burgers just can’t be any fresher,” she adds.
The search to find the perfect gourmet burgers involved extensive research and evaluation by Linden’s team of marketers, chefs and product developers into breed attributes, cut selection, maturation techniques, grind size, blend and fat content.
“Our journey to find culinary perfection and outstanding taste started with the best grass-fed meat possible. It’s 100 per cent Irish meat, whether salt-moss, dry-aged beef, Hereford or Angus sourced from our own family of farmers within the Linden Food Group. We have an honest and sustainable approach to land and beast – Irish born and bred and DNA traceable operating within the framework of our GreenTrack sustainability programme,” adds Pauline.
The new Turf & Clover burgers, she continues, have been created to be as versatile as possible. “Whatever way Turf and Clover burgers are served – with buns, sauces, relishes, fries, a door to a world of flavour possibilities is opened. We believe we have created a next generation range of burgers.”
The Turf & Clover range features a wide variety of premium meats – grass-fed beef, chicken, pork, lamb and venison from breeds such as Angus, Hereford, yearling and wagyu. Cuts used include brisket, chuck, cheek, rib or flank in styles such as dry-aged marrow melt, quarter pounder and sliders. The company has created burgers with flavour-filled recipe flavours including Louisiana, Iberian and Tennessee.
“We believe we’ve created burgers with the texture of a homemade pattie lovingly prepared in the kitchen open and fluffy, a firm bite yet unquestionably succulent. All our burgers are also gluten-free with no compromise on quality.”
Linden Foods is part of Fane Valley Group, Northern Ireland’s largest farmers’ co-operative. The company employs around 800 people at its modern processing operation in Dungannon.
