Ahead of the game!

Evening all, did any see the BBC news this morning?
They we're talking about the very big increase in people asking and buying the old style of meats etc ie Tripe/ trottters / offal,
We we're only talking about this very subject a few weeks ago and im so pleased the old style of being a butcher is back and someone is wakening up to what people really want from the meat counter.

 

'pink slime' in the mince in the USA??

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlin...und-beef-at-supermarkets-contains-pink-slime/

I enjoy the cheaper cuts .... oxtail for under £6 per kilo .... £5 a kilo of mutton ... and if you are feeling adventourous, £4.99 a kilo for goats meat (I have a kilo in the deepfreezer and will try a goat curry this weekend ... wife and kids have said they will not eat it)

 

Ahhhhhhh Dim who was it who said "give em cake then"
We've had 4 pigs trotters from the village butcher today and after asking and asking the super market butcher if he could get us sauage skins so we can make our own (we"d still buy the meat off him so he's not loosing anything) It's always the same reply "Cant get hold of them"
But the village butcher today said he can and will just give him a weeks notice and he'll get them for us.

What goes round comes round and it's the butchers turn.

 

I've asked several butchers in my area for sausage skins (cleaned intestines) and they have all refused (I make south african sausage called boerewors)

I even told a butcher that I will bring my own spices, buy the meat from him, and he can fill the sausages for me, and charge me accordingly

he was not interested

was planning on buying a decent mincing machine, but it's pointless is you cannot buy the cleaned intestines to make the sausages (and I don't want to use the new synthetic stuff that some butchers use)

 

i do want to try oxtaiand mutton, keep forgetting to find a decent local butcher to source it.

not sure i could bring myself to eat tripe tho.

pigs trotters dont seem to have any meat on them but they are cheap

 

none of my local small butchers have mutton, but I get it from an asian store that has a butcher .... same for the goat meat

My local tesco sells oxtail at their fresh meat counter .... bought £9 worth last week (big pieces), and fed 4 adults with that .... one of the best cuts of beef, but you need to cook it slowly (a slow cooker works well but you must also brown it first (seal it) before cooking slowly)

for stews, nothing beats oxtail ... keep it simple (loads of onions, a bit of garlic, a few pieces of sliced carrots, some bisto or 2 of those packets of goulash/caserole powder stuff from tescos) ... a splash of red wine ... and a bit of water

cook slowly for 3-4 hrs in a good lidded pan ... or cook for 6-8hrs in a slowcooker, and 20 minutes before serving, add some frozen peas ... serve with mash

 

that sounds delish tbh.

i have been meaning to try ail for ages tbh, and i do already have a slowcooker so thats not an issue either.

hhmm tesco you say, i will see what our local one has

 

most local butchers also have oxtail ... sometimes it's not on display, but ask them and they get a frozen one from their freezers ....

let them cut it in thick slices (2 inches thick min) .... if it is on display, choose the thicker cuts and don't buy the end sections that are thin and mostly bone

if cooking in a slowcooker, don't add too much liquid

 

ok then thank you, i shall pop to the butchers and see whats in there.

goat is supposed to be nice, i havent tried it but i know plenty of people that have and like it

 

I've had goat before but I was young so cannot remember what it tasted like, but I assume it will taste like mutton (needs to be cooked a bit longer)

I will let you know on saturday (thats when I will be cooking my curry) ... i found a Nigerian recipe called jollof rice with goat meat (A Nigerian recipe) .... I may try that instead of curry

 

I was talking to my wife about this thread and how many people are interested in the muton/tripe/ etc and she has said the problem these days ref cooking is just that "Cooking" so many people dont have time to really cook because of life stlye ie both adults work and by the time they're home from work to cook a good slow cooked meal or to bake would mean they'd have even less time to rest before starting the same routine the next day.
I gave this some thought and looked back at my grand parents who took me into their home from the age of 5 or 6 and looked after me until i was a young man,

My nan was home all the time and my grandfather worked nights at the local flour mill "a job im sure didnt pay bankers wages or bonus" Yet i had food that ive tried to eat these days, never hungry, and very rare was i ill, and i never saw stress on their faces.

Maybe we they next generation and so fourth have bitten off more than is healthy to chew in life and if you think about it if we dont have time to cook a meal thats better for you and would workout cheaper in the long run "then the writings on the wall"!