Yellow Label Brand

[Cheese Mechanic]

Who goes for it? Come on, own up :-)

Who heads straight for that section first? Who has a freezer full of it?

Whats the best bargain? Do you bore friends with your achievments?

Come on own up time :-)

[Cheese Mechanic]

Woody, Sir, you are a gem.

Have you never had the "Bulk reduction" where the reduction is more than the write down price, thus they pay you to take it away?

Its not so common of late, in fact, since things have got tough, the yellow label scenario has been tougher. Those who would held up snooty nose, have delved into the reduced sector and have been stupid enough to think a 20% write down is a bargain.....

No ambition!!! :-)

[Cheese Mechanic]

Curious that, bread is one of the few things, that I don't usually bother with. I like it very fresh for sandwiches, the better loaves. Those with the most preservative's in them tend to keep well,. but I don't tend to like them that much anyhow. Handy to get a cheap loaf and freeze in 2 slice lots for fry ups..I never have room in the freezer though.

Not had a great deal of success this week, but got a leg joint of Pork (2.1 kg) for £4 and a whole leg of lamb (2.2kg) for just over a fiver. So all not lost...will have to steady off now though..freezer is chocker :-)

Edited by Cheese Mechanic on Thursday 8th April 18:56

[Cheese Mechanic]

Mobile Chicane said:

Cheese Mechanic said:

Curious that, bread is one of the few things, that I don't usually bother with. I like it very fresh for sandwiches, the better loaves. Those with the most preservative's in them tend to keep well,. but I don't tend to like them that much anyhow. Handy to get a cheap loaf and freeze in 2 slice lots for fry ups..I never have room in the freezer though.

Not had a great deal of success this week, but got a leg joint of Pork (2.1 kg) for £4 and a whole leg of lamb (2.2kg) for just over a fiver. So all not lost...will have to steady off now though..freezer is chocker :-)

Freezer full? It sounds as though you need to rediscover the more 'traditional' (and delicious) methods for cooking and preserving meat.

If fatty, pot it. Also known as ' rillettes' / 'confit' by the cheese-eating surrender monkeys.

If gristly, brine it then slow cook. A basic brine for 2-3 Kg of meat is:

5l water
500g light brown sugar
1Kg sea salt
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp juniper berries
5 cloves
2 bay leaves
sprig of thyme

Boil that lot up in a stainless steel pan for a few minutes and allow the brine to cool completely. Add the meat and weight it down with a bowl to keep it submerged.

After 5-7 days (in a cool place) remove the meat and soak it in fresh water for 24 hours, then slow cook it for 8 hours (or more) in a water bath with a chunked carrot, 2 celery sticks, an onion studded with 4 cloves, a bay leaf and a few peppercorns.

Let the water cool, remove the meat, wrap it in greaseproof paper, wedge it in a bowl and refridgerate. Overnight, a lovely jelly will have formed around the meat. Slice it and serve with whatever takes your fancy. Rye bread, with mustard and pickles is my 'thing'.

Incidentally, I have tried the above with ox tongue, pork shoulder and beef brisket. No reason why lamb wouldn't work though. In NZ they make lamb 'ham'. Delicious it is too.

Thanks for that.I'm going to have to give it a whirl You've reminded me I've Jane Grigsons book somewhere, but where I dunno. From memory I think she has some preparations like that.

How long can you reasonably expect the meat to keep after this kind of preperation?