Discussion
I'm a meat snob. I'm very fuss about butchers, my favourite was Meat City in Smithfield, but a few years ago the butcher, Nigel, who was a lay preacher went off to join the church. This was a great loss, he knew his meat and had visited most of the farms he sold produce from. I also like Graham's in East End Road, Finchley which is a small family butcher, but I've got past some of my snobbishness about only using small independents. Costco meat is great, and not just the expensive cuts. Tonight I roasted a chicken, it was pretty much the cheapest thing they had - something like a fiver for two chickens - and it was amazing. Soft, juicy and flavoursome.
Simon
Simon
There are two factors that will determine the quality of your meat:
1)The quality of the animal it came from and how long it was aged (carcass left hanging in the chiller before butchering).
2)How you store it and prepare it.
I think you are talking about point one really. So you need to find a butcher that sells properly aged meat, 21-28 days ideally. The average supermarket and butcher will have meat that is probably only "aged" for a couple of days because during the period it is ageing it's losing weight and tying up cash. Then choose your cut; the more work the muscle does the more connective tissue it will contain (which makes it tough at worst or chewy at best) and the longer you will need to cook it. So shin/shank plus cuts from the forequarter are generally tough whilst the fillet which does very little is the most tender.
HTH
L.F.
1)The quality of the animal it came from and how long it was aged (carcass left hanging in the chiller before butchering).
2)How you store it and prepare it.
I think you are talking about point one really. So you need to find a butcher that sells properly aged meat, 21-28 days ideally. The average supermarket and butcher will have meat that is probably only "aged" for a couple of days because during the period it is ageing it's losing weight and tying up cash. Then choose your cut; the more work the muscle does the more connective tissue it will contain (which makes it tough at worst or chewy at best) and the longer you will need to cook it. So shin/shank plus cuts from the forequarter are generally tough whilst the fillet which does very little is the most tender.
HTH
L.F.
lockhart flawse said:
There are two factors that will determine the quality of your meat:
1)The quality of the animal it came from and how long it was aged (carcass left hanging in the chiller before butchering).
2)How you store it and prepare it.
That's three. Or the first part of one is essential, the other two may improve lesser quality meat too. 1)The quality of the animal it came from and how long it was aged (carcass left hanging in the chiller before butchering).
2)How you store it and prepare it.
Being a pukka snob, I try to use only grass fed meats, especially beef. It's far superior to any other beef I've yet tried. Luckily, I have a farm locally which specializes in it.
The best terra firma butcher I have come across in London is Lidgate but it's reassuringly expensive
http://www.lidgates.com/index.asp
We used to get the beef we had every Christmas there, absolutely delicious.
I heard about the East London Steak Co about a year ago and am very imprssed with the quality of their beef and also the customer service..t.hey've started doing Pork and Lamb now but haven't tried that.
http://www.eastlondonsteak.co.uk/
http://www.lidgates.com/index.asp
We used to get the beef we had every Christmas there, absolutely delicious.
I heard about the East London Steak Co about a year ago and am very imprssed with the quality of their beef and also the customer service..t.hey've started doing Pork and Lamb now but haven't tried that.
http://www.eastlondonsteak.co.uk/
lockhart flawse said:
Then choose your cut; the more work the muscle does the more connective tissue it will contain (which makes it tough at worst or chewy at best) and the longer you will need to cook it. So shin/shank plus cuts from the forequarter are generally tough whilst the fillet which does very little is the most tender.
If you think shin or shanks are tough at worst or chewy at best, then you've obviously never had it cooked for you by someone with the slightest idea what they're doing!Both cuts, properly cooked (very low temperature for a very long time - several hours) make for some of the tenderest, most wonderful, falling apart meat you can get off the animal.
Best butcher I've ever known is Humphreys near Great Leighs in Essex. The butchers is actually an offshoot of the abatoir business on the same site and prices are good as a result. They hang meat on the carcass for 4-6 weeks, cure their own bacon properly rather than the 'cure in the morning, sell in the afternnon' method used by supermarkets and they sell great haslett.
On one occasion I was next to a customer who wanting oxtail and, as they had none in the fridge, the butcher stolled across the yard and came back with a tail that he could still make twitch. On another occassion an elderly couple asked for a pigs head and the butcher obliged with one and charged £1!!
I live a couple of miles away and wouldn't buy meat anywhere else.
On one occasion I was next to a customer who wanting oxtail and, as they had none in the fridge, the butcher stolled across the yard and came back with a tail that he could still make twitch. On another occassion an elderly couple asked for a pigs head and the butcher obliged with one and charged £1!!
I live a couple of miles away and wouldn't buy meat anywhere else.
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