The Meat Magician

Harald Neumaerker has worn many hats. He was a publisher, studied medicine, repaired cars, and remains a collector of historic sports cars. He has always been a connoisseur. But what Harald Neumaerker never was, is a butcher, and even less so a chef. He even claims that he actually can’t cook. Perhaps this unique perspective allowed him to approach meat preparation in a completely different way: about twenty years ago, Harald Neumaerker was dining out with his family, excited for roast pork—only to be disappointed by tough meat and a soggy crust. The technician and researcher in him knew there had to be better methods and more reliable results, so he began his quest.
He studied ancient cooking methods of past civilizations, researched preparation techniques of various cultures, and familiarized himself with all possible techniques for cooking animal protein. Ultimately, he devised a process chain involving no less than 19 different steps, spanning 192 hours, and subjected to eight testing procedures. In the strictly secured Aumaerk factory in Strebersdorf ’s industrial area—accessible only through magnetically coded doors— meats including beef, pork, veal, and poultry are “cooked” using a combination of sound waves, magnetism, and precisely controlled temperature curves. “We go where sous-vide stops,” says Neumaerker. Chefs and food enthusiasts who hear this for the first time often react with skepticism—until they try dishes like the “Pork Royal” belly, “Big Beef Rib,” “Sunday Roast” beef, or “Mad Leg” goose leg. These cuts, so often experienced as tough, dry, or stringy, literally melt on the tongue—without any chemicals or preservatives, purely through physics.