Specialist Salt Chamber for Butcher

Hannan Meats, in Moira, county Down, aims to complete the chamber in early March. It will be four times bigger than the company’s previous chamber, which was one of only four ever made.

The blocks used to build the chamber are being imported from Himalayan mines in Pakistan.

Peter Hannan, managing director of Hannan Meats, said, “We just haven’t been able to keep up with the incredible demand for the dry-aged meat from the existing chamber from top chefs and organisations who’ve either sampled or heard about the unique characteristics of the meat from our existing chamber. There’s just nothing else that compares with it for taste and tenderness.

“The new chamber will enable us to meet the growing requirements from Fortnum and Mason and Mark Hix, both of whom we’ve agreed exclusive deals to supply in London. By building a much bigger chamber we’ll also be able to grow sales in other parts of Europe particularly with our targeted upmarket restaurants. The wall, comprising 5,000 salt blocks, will enable us to expand our development of innovative meat products using the distinctive qualities of Himalayan salt.”