Al Sheldon, vice president of Ellison Meat Co, Pipestone, MN, says the FAST™ system will help his company better serve its restaurant customers who want consistent-sized pork products. Sheldon (left) is pictured with Ellison’s production manager Brad Karels.

Delivering chef-friendly pork is the name of the game at Ellison Meat Co., Pipestone, MN. Ellison’s products go into upper scale, “white tablecloth” restaurants throughout the country.

Al Sheldon, vice president at Ellison, says the company’s customers want consistency, not only in taste and juiciness, but also in the size of chops, roasts, shanks, bacon, etc. Variation in pig size creates wide variation in these cuts, which makes it more difficult for restaurants to offer uniform servings. According to Sheldon, that affects how restaurants do business and how much a consumer enjoys his or her meal. “A restaurant wants to serve the exact same plate each time a customer orders,” says Sheldon.

Without FAST™ (Farmweld Automatic Sorting Technology), producers have a harder time selecting uniform pigs for market. When pigs fluctuate from 220 pounds to 300, for example, Sheldon says loins also fluctuate, weighing anywhere from 21 to 28 pounds. The smaller loin means a smaller diameter chop. To utilize a smaller loin but still offer a specific weight chop, Ellison or other meat processors must cut the chop thicker. That’s where the problem comes in, according to Sheldon. A thicker chop takes longer to cook than the thinner one.

“This is real crucial when you have large volumes, say a restaurant cooking 30 to 40 chops at a time,” says Sheldon. He says restaurants try to standardize their procedures as much as possible in order to preserve quality. For example, the restaurant manager or head chef may tell the cooks to grill chops at a specific temperature for five minutes on one side and then four more minutes on the other. When you have a variety of sizes, “that goes out window,” says Sheldon. “Less experienced cooks may have a difficult time knowing when the meat is done.”

Sheldon says the beauty of the FAST system is that it allows producers to precisely select the animals that will yield the most consistent cuts. The result: Ellison gets a product that will allow restaurants to standardize their procedures and better plan their menus. And, ultimately, that means pork consumers get to savor the same, high quality product each time they order a meal at their favorite restaurant. That’s a step forward for the industry!