Meat Institute, Beef Checkoff Unveil The New Culinary Concept ‘Beefshi’

Washington, DC — A new culinary concept called Beefshi that ‘beefs up’ traditional sushi was unveiled today by the North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute), a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, and polling suggests Americans are eager to try it.

Developed by a Culinary Institute of America-trained chef, Beefshi integrates prepared beef favorites like pastrami, corned beef, jerky, beef hot dogs and beef bologna into traditional, sushi style rolls that taste as delicious as they look.  Eight engaging videos, shot in a traditional sushi restaurant, depict how to prepare each recipe and may be viewed on the new web site, Beefshi.com.

Among the recipes are: 

  • Texas Asade Sushi — Roast beef rubbed with lime zest, ground cumin and garlic and rolls with Cilantro, slivered jalapenos and onions, crumbled cotija cheese. Served with salsa.
  • Inside Out Wisconsin Maki — Sushi rice on the outside wrapped around a stick of summer sausage, a sliver of Colby cheese and shaved dill pickles. Served with brown, spicy mustard.
  • New York Deli Roll — Corned beef takes the place of nori on the outside of the roll. Slivers of fresh horseradish and Swiss cheese are rolled into the middle. Roll the exterior in a few caraway seeds.
  • The Reuben Roll — Warm pastrami, sauerkraut and thinly sliced Swiss cheese rolled into sushi rice and served with Russian dressing.
  • The Hiker’s Roll — A traditionally styled roll with nori wrapping around sushi rice, filled with slivers of beef jerky, slices of egg omelet and pea shoots or watercress with the leaves poking out the top of the roll. Dip into sriracha.
  • Carolina Sushi – Shredded fried beef bologna and carrot slivers rolled in rice with a vinegared cabbage leaf in place of Nori.   

In a recent online survey*, American adults who eat meat and fish were asked to rate how appealing they found a photograph of a sushi platter and a photograph of a Beefshi platter.  More than half (59%) find the concept of Beefshi appealing, almost equal to those who find sushi appealing (58%).  Millennials aged 18-34 (66%) and those aged 35-44 (69%) showed a particularly strong interest in trying Beefshi.

“Beef has always been popular among Americans and Millennials and those aged 35-44, in particular, they seem to see the appeal of beef prepared in new and interesting ways,” said Meat Institute Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Janet Riley.  “When a new and not-yet-tasted recipe scores this well against a familiar food like sushi, it’s clear that Beefshi is positioned to be a hot culinary trend in 2018 and beyond.”

Beefshi recipes are versatile and make an excellent first course – or a full meal.  Two piece servings of Beefshi range from 100 to 180 calories, depending upon the recipe.

“Beefshi can serve as an excellent and innovative addition to sushi restaurant menus or any restaurant looking to innovate with a creative new food concept,” Riley said.  “Beefshi recipes also use fully cooked and prepared beef products, making them safe and delicious options for beef fans of all ages.”

*This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of NAMI, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, from January 16-18, 2018 among 2,033 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, among whom 1,566 eat meat and fish.  This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.  For complete survey methodology, including variables, please contact Janet Riley at 202/587-4245 or jriley@meatinstitute.org.

About The Beef Checkoff:

The Beef Checkoff Program (www.MyBeefCheckoff.com) was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. In states with qualified beef councils, states may retain up to 50 cents of the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval. 

ABOUT NAMI

The North American Meat Institute (NAMI), a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, is the leading voice for the meat and poultry industry. Formed from the 2015 merger of the American Meat Institute (AMI) and North American Meat Association (NAMA), the Institute has a rich, century-long history and provides essential member services including legislative, regulatory, scientific, international and public affairs representation. NAMI’s mission is to shape a public policy environment in which the meat and poultry industry can produce wholesome products safely, efficiently and profitably. Together, the Institute’s members produce the vast majority of U.S. beef, pork, lamb and poultry and the equipment, ingredients and services needed for the highest quality products.

"Internal links within this document are funded and maintained by the Beef Checkoff. All other outgoing links are to websites maintained by third parties."

Source: The Beef Checkoff