Hi, I’m Richard from the Asda Butchers Selection team and we’re here in Memphis, Tennessee to get ready for The World BBQ championships. We’ll be sending regular blogs and hope you can share with us the experience of competing alongside some of the best BBQ’ers in the world.

We’re entering four classes in this competition; pork rack of ribs (just like the Asda Butchers Selection Sweet BBQ Rib Rack on sale in store now), British beer basted rib-eye beef steaks, mint marinated lamb shoulder and a lobster dog!

The weather is amazingly hot! Apparently for the last eight years the competition has been swamped with mud due to a combination of the rain and the event being held on the banks of the Mississippi river in the Tom Lee park.

This year it’s just under 40 degrees centigrade and our master butcher Andy fainted earlier due to the heat. After being checked over by the paramedics and given the all clear we’ve taken him back to the hotel to get some sleep and fully recover.

Asda’s Butchers Selection lamb range now includes New Zealand lamb… but what makes lamb from New Zealand so special?

New Zealand’s lambs are raised in free-range open fields all year round, and live on a natural diet of fresh green grass, virtually eliminating the need for grain feeding or additional nutritional supplements. A temperate climate also assists in rearing lambs, meaning animals do not need to be housed indoors. Animal welfare standards in New Zealand are exceptionally high, being enforced by both legislation and the demanding criteria set by the Asda quality team.

The New Zealand farming industry enjoys a number of unique advantages, including a 130 year supply history to the United Kingdom.

Its geographic isolation has also ensured that its flock has remained disease-free, which coupled with strict biosecurity controls, means that farmers are producing safe, healthy, sustainable products for consumers all over the world.

As a result of being pasture-fed and naturally raised outdoors, our Butchers Selection New Zealand lamb is tender, flavoursome, and succulent.

But don’t just take our word for it… try some yourself!

For further information on the preparation and cooking of New Zealand lamb, together with a range of exciting recipes for all occasions, go to www.loveourlamb.co.uk

We’re so proud of our Butcher’s Selection range; we’re working with our butchers to expand the range. From this week you’ll find our sausage range in Butcher’s Selection!

We’ve worked with our butchers to truly make the recipes The Butcher’s Selection. All our Butcher’s Selection sausages are now at least 72% meat content.

Our butchers have helped us improve all our existing sausage recipes and introduce new sausages into the range including our new gluten free pork sausage, hot and spicy ones, jumbo pork sausages, pork chipolatas and pork and tomato.

You might have noticed your in store fresh meat counter has changed recently. Some of our counters have been changed to Butchers Selection.

Watch the team work on the new counter in ASDA Hamilton.

Following the overnight conversion, the colleagues are trained about their new Butchers Selection range, and shown around their new counter by Jim, one of Asda’s in-store trainers.

Over the past few months our sausage quality team have been searching for this years Bangers & Cash winning sausage. We asked Asda customers to send in their ideas for a new sausage flavour to celebrate the Olympics and Queen’s Jubilee.

We received over seven hundred entries! Our sausage quality team the shortlisted the top five entries. These five flavours were presented to a testing panel of sausage lovers.

It was then voted that the winning sausage is Great British Pork and Beef BBQ Sausage as entered by Julia Newton from Aberdare.

The panel particularly liked the idea of the product being sourced and produced in the UK, as well as being ideal for the BBQ this summer.

Last week the Asda sausage team went to present Julia with her prize of £1000 Asda vouchers. Asda also donated £1500 worth of cookery equipment to Oakland’s Primary School, Aberdare which was nominated by Julia to receive the prize.

The Asda team gave an assembly to the children about healthy eating, showed how sausages are made and then served Extra Special Chipolatas for break time.

The school were joined by the Mayor or Aberdare, Sylvia Jones as well as Mr Sausage, who were both welcomed warmly by Oaklands Primary School.

I would like to thank all this years entries, and congratulate Julia! You will be able to purchase Julia’s sausage from Asda Butchers Selection Counters from the end of April.