I’m definitely someone that believes that things happen for a reason. Even from the most hideous events, a lesson can often be learned. In the case of the recent global turmoil, one trend that resounded with many was people saving money by shopping for things in bulk or at less expensive wholesalers which allowed them to enjoy the food that they had always liked, but at a better price.
Dry aged prime rib
Haverick Meats is one the largest food service distributors in Australia that sell over 20 tonnes of meat a day supplying meat to Bilson’s, Est, Sepia, Manly Pavilion, Assiette and Tetsuya’s. Started in 1962 as a butcher shop in Paddington it now supplies meat to restaurants, airlines, cruise line and entertainment venues-Qantas First Class passengers eat the meat from Haverick’s and they have the largest inventory of dry aged meat in Australia. Because of customer demand, they have now started selling to the public from their warehouse in Banksmeadow in an industrial estate. We arrive there one Saturday afternoon and see their trucks everywhere.
They are finding that customers choose to buy their whole primal cuts which they then offer to break down for them for free. There is also a trained chef Detlef Haupt on the premises at all times that can help buyers with any cooking questions. The prices are often lower than what you may find at supermarkets but the main distinction is the quality of the meat you can get.
They have Wagyu, grain fed and grass fed beef, suckling veal and pig, La Ionica, Barossa Valley and Glenloth chickens, rabbit, goat offal, pheasant and spatchcock. All of their pork is free range and female pork only. The piece de resistance for me at least is their dry aged steaks. Dry aged for five weeks in their custom built dry aging room, the cuts of meat are tender and full of flavour which is why steak connoisseurs prefer a dry aged steak.
It’s not a fancy set up with racks in a cool room (and jackets if you want them) but the prices and cuts are very good. The pork belly is $9.99 a kilo which is a steal for free range pork. A 500gram Rib Eye Steak which is certified dry aged is $20. They can also do a T Bone in a Bistecca Fiorentina cut (i.e. a one inch thick1 kilo t bone) for $20 a kilo and if it isn’t on the floor they can retrieve it from the back. Other types of beef are Angus Hereford on sale for $10.99 a kilo which they will cut into steaks for you. If you’re entertaining, you can get a 6.5 kg cut for $72 which you can get 20 or so 300gram steaks which makes is a very reasonable $3.60 a steak! Steak party! 
Now that’s a tomahawk…
And then….there’s the Tomahawk. When Peter first mentioned the tomahawk I thought that it sounded like a cute name for a steak. And then he brought it out. Holy Tbone! I don’t think I’d even know how to cook that. It certainly wouldn’t fit into any of my pans! This retails at some restaurants for $150 and is meant to be shared between 2-3 people. Here it is $36.90 a kilo which makes each tomahawk about $56.
9+ marbling score Wagyu beef
Peter also shows me the most expensive cut of meat, the 9+ marbled Wagyu beef which sells for $140 a kilo. Only top restaurants like Rockpool Bar & Grill would buy a steak of this marbling and you would expect to pay $120 for a 200gram fillet. We do a quick tour of the dry age room (sorry no photos allowed) which has shelves and shelves of meat dry aging, the flavours collecting and the meat tenderising. They have a camera in their dry aging room which allows them to watch the meat drying (although I don’t know if it’s particularly riveting tv if you know what I mean 
).
A giant meat clutch bag! Haha how Lady GaGa…
Haverick’s currently has a special where if you spend $50 you get a packet of sausages for free. In addition to this, Not Quite Nigella readers can get an additional 10%! Just print off the first page of this story! And look out for an upcoming giveaway where you could win $150 worth of meat-that’s right you could win your very own Tomahawk party!
So tell me Dear Reader, how do you like your steak done?
Haverick Direct
13-15 Green Street, Banksmeadow, NSW
Open: Saturday 9am-2pm to the public
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50 Comments | Add your own
Is it wrong to get excited about hunks of meat?
And congrats on your upcoming book!
I have to have my steak with just the right amount of pink in the middle – not too blue – but please not “cremated”.
Thank you so much for this story – as usual leading us to places we have not heard of before – I will definitely have to put this on a weekend “to do” list!!
Wow, is that tomahawk a serious peice of meat! Looks like they have some really quality cuts of meat there…my hubby would be in heaven!
I love discounts! I have already shopped at Haverick twice, and find their pork to taste beautiful. Can’t wait for Saturday to roll by again. Time to top up on my meat supply.
A fun post! but it’s made me hungry … Steak for breakfast anyone? I like my steak medium rare.
Thanks for the tip…we love our steak (on the rarer side of medium rare), so will definitely make the trip to Banksmeadow. Certainly gives Victor Churchill/Vic’s Meats a run for their money!
Imagine five tomahawks on the BBQ – what a sight that would be!
Wow, Lorraine, what a find. Def worth a visit, although best to have a big group coming or clear out the space in the freezer. I heard that dry-aging beef reduces the water levels in the meat, which is what increases the flavour (but decreases the size and weight of the meat itself). I am definitely a medium-rare girl, although sometimes it does backfire: some places without the cheffie grunt can deliver a burger raw in the centre…no thanks.
Ooh, I love my steak done rare to medium rare. There is nothing better than a nice big steak for dinner! Thanks for the heads-up Lorraine, we’re going to visit there soon.
Years ago I used to go once a fortnight to all the meat down in Melbourne to the Victoria Markets. This was an eye opener and wonderful. Dont know if even butchers still there. You would find that the butchers were very conversant with most recipes, and then even our dog faired pretty well. Moved to w.a. , gave the dog away, and havent found anything here to compare.
Oh yummmmm! I would love to find a wholesale restaurant supply in my area! I recently had a steer butchered and it is undoubtable the best beef I have ever eaten. I knew where the beef came from, how it was treated while alive, what it was fed, and it wound up costing me approximately $2.00 per pound! Best of all I talked the butcher into letting it hang for 3 weeks, which I know led to its tasting even better and more tender. As far as how I like my steak cooked- cooked hot and fast- the fat cooked, crispy edges, and pink in the middle- mmmmmm. Oh, and salt and pepper only for seasoning. One day before I die I hope to experience Kobe or Wagyu. Yup. As usual, girl, you rock!!
I would like mine very rare! But I know I can’t win, since I am in the USA in the state of Florida.
I LOVE a good steak. Wish I lived closer. Medium Rare – the only way to eat steak.
Ahh Havericks, just around the corner from where my Aunt and Uncle use to live. Even though they only now officially sell to the public, my Uncle use to get his meat from there all the time (I am going back now about 20 years. I am really going to have to pay them a visit.
Having just come back from India where almost everything was vegetarian I had decided I didn’t really need to eat as much red meat as I did…. I was wrong.. I WANT A TOMAHAWK…!
I love getting meat in bulk like that, although I have always had to slice my own!! A little dangerous with my blunt knives
We usually get rolls of fillet steak YUM! Although I love 9+ wagyu it is just divine! We have a farm near us so I am a little spoilt.
Dear God! I have no idea as to how to cook that Tomahawk steak….. but I would love to give it a try! Now you have me wondering if there is anywhere like that in Melbourne! The search is on!
Looks like my kind of butcher. In saying that, I get all my meat delivered to Hudsons Meats from Richard Gunner in Sth Australia. He has some amazing suffolk lamb
Whoa! That tomahawk is a monster! Just last night, Soy and I remarked that we could unfortunately never be vegetarian… while we polished off a delicious cut of rump. This place looks like a must-stop for Xmas shopping!
We have a fantastic meat warehouse like this in Brisbane – Super Butcher. I love it! Premium quality without the price.
I don’t like to see blood in my meat but a little bit pink in the middle is just perfect – about medium leaning towards well done.
Medium to medium rare and WOW what a find, thanks Lorraine. Don’t think I’ll need to bribe my husband to come with me to Haverick Meats, as he loves a good steak. Looking forward to stocking up the freezer and your upcoming competition.
the prices do sound quite good, for meat of such good quality
Thank you so mcuh for this post! We use to go to a wholesaler over near Bankstown but were unsure of where the meat was coming from and it was hard to have a coversation with the workers to find out.
We’ll def head over to this one and give it a go.
Those are great prices for steaks. Sounds like the perfect place to go when stocking up for parties!
Have been looking for a place like this for some time, thank you! There will be a couple of tomahawks going on the bbq this summer, rain hail or…well snow is a possibility in Sydney this summer!
Medium steak…hmmmmm
This place looks like a great find! Great value!
I like mine medium rare. I grew up on a beef ranch here in Canada, so I am spoiled. We buy a half steer from my dad or my brother and have it custom butchered. I love to barbeque a nice thick steak with foiled potatoes and corn on the cob. Ok now I am drooling and we just had supper!
Okay, I have to admit I prefer the chocolate cake post before this to one about meat… but can’t win ‘em all
That place looks worth checking out. So much nicer and cheaper.
I have my steaks medium to medium rare.
I’m sadly a medium/well type. I’ve tried rarer but just can’t manage the texture (obviously I’m not a tartare person either!)
It makes me happy to see how much interest people are putting in high quality ingredients. Properly butchered and aged meat like what you posted on is one of those true culinary pleasures.
Thanks for another great tip, Lorraine!
I’m in dire need of a good steak – or 12!
SSG xxx
Wow! Get a load of that Tomahawk, now that’s serious Fred Flinstone eating
Fave steak is med/rare.
ohhh my gawd!!! thats crazy!!! … wagyu… NOMM!!!!
What a great thing that the company is brave enough to think outside the box like that and diversify a little. Good luck to them!
Please never ask for a well done steak at a restaurant, if you like it that way, cook it at home. It’s just one of those things that annoys a kitchen, and many chefs (not me) will do nasty things like Devil the steak -stick it in the microwave and hit 666 on the timer, then brown it on the grill.
A really nice place probably wouldn’t do this to you, but you just never know…
OH I think that place and the tomahawk would be just a little too meaty for me. Vegetarian anyone?
Buying in bulk is AWESOME, not in the least because I’m Asian and stingy lol. Only wish I had a fridge/freezer big enough for that tomahawk!!!
Oh steak… I’m such a carnivore and looove meat. I like my steak realy rare and bloody. Yum!
That Tomahawk reminded me of the ribs that Fred Flintstone balanced on the roof of his car every episode, I assume you need a BBQ to cook these so I’m outta luck but they sure look tasty! He he!
Soon as I saw that tomahawk I had to check the address again to make sure I know where to get one! It looks like a slab of dinosaur meat from the Flintstones! I like my meat with a little bit of blood, must be my inner vampire, hehe!
I love places like that, I could be happy in there for hours…
I like my steak non-existent
Another great thing about places like this, I think, is that it gets people connecting more with their food and its origins than just picking a generic packet up at the supermarket.
Rare, rare, rare….
I have to tell you my Beef Wellington story. I did an engagement dinner at my house for my assistant and her betrothed… 50 people! I decided to make Beef Wellington. About three o’clock in the afternoon, my oven decided that it was tired and wasn’t going to cook anymore! EEK…I called Wolf (they have a 24 hour customer service) and they told me how to reset it…Crisis averted! The Wellington was absolutely perfect!
Lovely post, I want to come and live your life for a week or two!!!
xxoo,
RMW
I love warehouses of food! I will be very happy when costco comes to Canberra. Definitely like my meat medium rare.
I like my steak cooked medium, but I’m starting to order it medium rare now!
I’ve had a few items from Haverick Meats (it’s 5 mins from my house) which were lovely, but I haven’t tried their steaks yet!
I love my steak medium.
Free range Pork belly for $9.99/kg?! And I thought my local Vietnamese butchers were cheap!!
I love my steak (very partial to a good scotch fillet!) rare to medium … Barbequed to give it extra flavour, salt flakes, and freshly ground pepper – You just can’t beat it !
great meat- great taste
My husband just started working for them as a butcher and is blown away by the state of the art equipment and systems in place. Can’t wait to get our first meat purchase!
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