U.S. Beef, Pork Cuts Introduced to Upscale Restaurants in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula

USMEF partners with Mexico's largest foodservice distributor to expand the range of U.S. beef and pork cuts utilized in popular tourist region.

USMEF's mobile grill and kitchen provides great flexibility for introducing targeted cuts of U.S. red meat to new regions, new markets and new customers in Mexico. In partnership with importers and distributors, USMEF identifies cuts and variety meat items that have local potential and promotes those items by bringing the mobile kitchen directly to end-user customers, typically in locations that can accommodate large groups such as parking lots or open areas.

One such training and promotional event was held recently in Cancún, where 100 regional customers of Sigma Foodservice learned about alternative cuts of U.S. beef and U.S. pork and their potential applications in foodservice. A USMEF chef also led a workshop for 40 participants to prepare and grill dishes with U.S. beef chuck short ribs and pork Boston butt.

"We conduct these workshops in partnership with importers so we can promote cuts with market potential, provide the product information their customers need and demonstrate cooking applications that will work on their menus," says Rigoberto Treviño, USMEF trade manager. "In Cancún and other cities on the Yucatán Peninsula, we see potential in high-end restaurants for alternative cuts such as chuck short ribs and Boston butt."

USMEF also utilized the mobile kitchen with Sigma Foodservice on a recent promotion for its end-user customers in Monterrey. Featured cuts included chuck roll, ribeye, sweetbreads and Boston butt.

The Cancún event was made possible with support from USDA. The Monterrey event was made possible by the Beef Checkoff Program, Nebraska Beef Council and National Pork Board.