As the leaves around our Stapleton site begin to turn, our dedicated New Product Development team have been hard at work developing the first few autumn lines for the Waitrose shelf. The first two lines are a re-imagining of two of our existing meatball lines. Having introduced the first fresh supermarket meatball – the Aberdeen Angus, which we continue to manufacture -  in 2000, Dovecote Park are proud to have expanded this range over the last two decades, and continue to be a leading meatball producer, with bespoke equipment and factory lines designed towards this much-loved product. 

As a company who have led the industry in bringing dry-aged beef to the supermarket shelf, we are pleased to be re-introducing a meatball product which incorporates dry aged trim – a by-product of our award-winning dry aged butchery – and brings a unique, aged beef flavour to the meatball range. This product is perfect served with buttered pasta, a simple primavera sauce, and a dusting of finely grated Parmesan cheese.

We have also re-purposed our Waitrose1 venison meatballs, a product we were pleased to include in the initial Waitrose1 launch last year. Both these lines have been adjusted to a pack quantity of 20, replacing the previous 6, in keeping with other Waitrose meatball lines.

Finally, we have a new addition to our highly popular and ever-expanding Easy to Cook line, our Swedish Style Easy to Cook Meatballs. This dish is inspired by one of Sweden’s most iconic culinary offering, meatballs in cream gravy – perhaps best known to many UK residents as the flagship dish of homeware giant IKEA! While traditionally made using pork, we have put our own spin on the idea, using our flavourful 85VL British beef trim with breadcrumb and seasoning to create the meatballs, alongside a variety of traditional ingredients.

‘We’ve incorporated a variety of traditional Scandinavian flavours into this product’ says Jonathan Murray, Executive Development Chef, ‘the flavour of the pickled gherkin really permeates the cream gravy, and the sugar-infused lingonberries, a staple of Nordic cuisine, add a subtle sweetness to the dish, while the fragrant fresh dill rounds the flavour off. It cooks in just 25 minutes, making it an ideal option for busy customers who want to bring a taste of Scandinavia to their home kitchen.’

We are excited to see the launch of these products, and hope Waitrose customers will give them a try next time they are in store! Dovecote Park have also been hard at work on the launch of some exciting additions to our venison range – watch this space for further details!