Discover the unique heritage and culinary excellence of Dexter cattle.
Dexter cattle are one of Ireland’s oldest native breeds, known for their resilience, efficient grazing, and exceptional beef quality. Dexter beef is gaining recognition for its superior flavour, fine marbling, and sustainable farming benefits. As Ireland looks to promote high-quality, locally produced meat, Dexter beef stands out as a premium product with a rich heritage.
Due to their small stature, the Dexter cow is less severe on the land. In fact, Dexter cows help to break up the soil and lead to greater biodiversity in their habitats making them a more sustainable option.
Unlike modern beef cattle, Dexter don’t need lush pasture, they are natural foragers, thriving on a variety of vegetation, from rough grass and shrubs to even brambles. This makes them ideal for maintaining and restoring meadows and woodlands.
They’re also excellent at enhancing biodiversity, by selectively grazing off different plants, which helps prevent any single plant dominating. This promotes a richer biodiversity, creating habitats for wildflowers, insects and birds.
Their ability to thrive on natural forage with little intensive feeding means they are much more suited to low input farming systems such as regenerative or organic. Their hardiness means they require less veterinary intervention, and housing. This makes them a much more eco-friendly choice.
Dexter beef is highly prized for its distinctive characteristics
Rich
Flavour
The meat has a distinctively rich, full-bodied flavour, deeper and more savoury than many mainstream beef breeds.
Fine
Marbling
Unlike other beef, Dexter has a natural balance of lean meat and fat, ensuring tenderness and juiciness without excessive fat content.
Tender
texture
As Dexter are grass fed and allowed to mature slowly and naturally. They’re not intensively fed or forced into unnatural weight gains, producing naturally tender beef.
Grass-fed quality
Most Dexter cattle are reared on pasture, resulting in beef that is healthier, higher in Omega-3 fatty acids, and free from unnecessary additives.
