AWARD-winning lamb from a Sanderston feedlot has found its way onto fine dining plates throughout Adelaide.
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![Thornby Premium Lamb's Alex, Oscar and Paul McGorman, Sanderston, have reported an increased demand for their lamb in restaurants. Thornby Premium Lamb's Alex, Oscar and Paul McGorman, Sanderston, have reported an increased demand for their lamb in restaurants.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/Fuxf4VmvfUmd225xeYC69T/0bde5ddd-e6d5-484d-99ec-a0e7bf89dfe3.JPG/r0_181_3696_2267_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Thornby Premium Lamb's Paul and Alex McGorman and their father John have expanded their business and begun supplying restaurants.
The Thornby Premium Lamb label was launched in July, and supplies Camden Park meat wholesaler My Butcher.
Through the wholesaler, their lamb is on the menu of a growing number of SA restaurants.
Paul said they decided to go through an intermediary to take advantage of the wholesaler's market knowledge and connections.
"If we do it ourselves we would need to find a market for the whole carcase," he said.
Paul said it had been a slow burn, holding tastings and meetings, but once the brand took off, it could move quickly.
The McGormans began their feedlot about 10 years ago, and started off finishing their own stock to get it to market weight.
They initially expanded into opportunistic feedlotting, before the business transformed into a year-round operation about five years ago.
Last year they were encouraged to enter the inaugural quality competition held at LambEx 2014, where they won the overall title of Australia's Best Lamb.
"That gave us the motivation as we do have a good product," Paul said.
Alex said with the numbers of sheep they were putting through the feedlot, they were in a good position to ensure consistency of supply and quality.
"We can pick out the top ones to get consistency," he said.
Paul said the family was always looking for areas to "firm up" the business as a whole.
"If we can put a premium on every lamb we sell out of here, Alex can buy more confidently and we can expand, which means further employment for the region as well," he said.
Lambs at the feedlot are predominantly sourced on-farm, with some bought at Mount Pleasant and the Murray Bridge spring sales.
Alex said they had good connections with several farmers and agents which helped keep up regular supply.
"We've got a good core group of suppliers," he said.
Once on the property, the sheep are given one of three different feed rations, depending on their age, with feed predominantly made up of barley, lupins and oats.
"It's one we've developed over the years," Paul said.
They grow some of the crops on their own property, and try to source the rest from other local farmers.
Paul said they select the lambs for the restaurant trade on a weight grade, as well as how many days they had spent on the feed ration.
"We look for about 40 to 50 days," he said. "That provides enough of an influence on the quality of meat for tenderness and extra marbling."
He said after the lambs had been selected for weight within a two-kilogram weight range, a manual selection took place.
"We make sure the best ones are sent down," he said.
They stock different breeds in the feedlot, but for consistency they tend to stick with a first or second-cross lamb.
The family previously owned a butcher shop, Thornby's Fine Meats, in Tanunda, which they said gave them an appreciation of the other side of the meat industry.
After the sheep are slaughtered at Menzels Meats, Kapunda, Paul weighs and grades each carcase before it is sent to My Butcher.
"If we have any feedback we have already seen what the carcase looks like," he said.
He said this was also a good way to assess the sheep selected.
"What you see live is very different to what you see hanging," he said.
"We're trying to keep premium integrity of the product.
"We've learnt in the past, through trial and error, that it's good to be involved in all parts of the chain so we can talk confidently about our product."