Top 5: Cuts of meat

2
Don’t cut it out, cut it different

Never let it be said that the way to save money on your weekly shop is to cut the lovely, bloody, fleshy stuff from your diet. Instead, let it be said that in times of purse string tightening you might have to forgo your 28 week aged Wagyu steak and premium pigs’ legs in favour of a slightly cheaper piece of meat.

Cuts which were once unfashionable, such as beef cheek and belly pork are increasingly popular – and increasingly pricey. But there are plenty of other limbs to try, providing you know what to ask for.

Having never hacked at more than a piece of vacuum packaging in our quest for meat, it would be improper of us to try and advise you without first conducting a little research. So we headed to our friendly local butcher to squeeze his brain for some tips. Here’s what came out:

1. Lamb breast
£2 per kg
It doesn’t come much cheaper than this lovely cut of lamb. Roll it up with a selection of your favourite vegetables, spices and cous cous inside, tie and then roast.

2. Mutton
£6 per kg
Another meat on the up, mutton really benefits from a little care and attention. Perfect for stews, casseroles and curries, you can treat mutton in much the same way you would beef or lamb – give it a long, slow cook, adding a few minutes more than you would for beef or lamb to get it nice and tender.

3. Skirt beef
£7 per kg
Taken from around the belly of the cow – surrounded by delicious fat – skirt is full of flavour, making it great for casseroles or stews. However, if cut thin, it also fries well – especially after a night’s marinating.

4. Pork Shoulder
£4 per kg
This fantastic part of the pork needs at least 3 hours’ roasting to get the best out of it – any less and it can be tough. The fat marbling within pork keeps it moist, so cover the shoulder with tin foil and give it a slow 6 hour roast for tenderness like you won’t believe. Shoulder is also the favoured cut of pulled pork fanatics and if those words don’t excite you, we don’t know what will.

5. Feather blade beef
£6.50 per kg
This thick, square cut can be fried in much the same way as the skirt. However, it also braises up a treat. Season well and brown for 5 minutes or so on each side, add a little white wine, a sprig of thyme, a handful of mushrooms and pop in the oven for 15 more minutes for a quick meaty hit, to enjoy with a nice salad and some crusty bread.

Mr Pickett’s Top Tip
Ask your butcher for a big piece of pork shoulder (at least 3kg) and roast that mother up nice and slow for 24 hours. You won’t regret it.

Comments

Uncle Chris - 29th September 2009, 11:41pm

I’ve always been a fan of cheap cuts of meat and could bore you on the subject for hours (really). Leaving aside offal, (which I can assure you I do not leave aside) there are several cuts which I come back to. The tastiest part of a pig is right next to the bone and the scrummiest part is the crackling. These two bits appear right next to each other, but are usually separated by the butcher into belly pork and “spare ribs”, a big mistake. Prevent your butcher from doing this (physical restraint is acceptable under these circumstances) and you have the ideal pork roasting joint, combining ribs and skin. The ribs & skin require different cooking methods as the ribs/flesh require slow cooking to become tender whilst the skin needs a searing heat to become crisp. But if you start by cooking slowly, about 140c for 2 1/2 hours, then whacking the heat up to max for 20mins then you’ll get the best of both worlds and the crackling will be so crisp that even when it cools it will retain its crispness. PS, you don’t die just because you occasionaly eat something the food police would rather you didn’t. More on dripping on bread later….

Uncle Chris - 29th September 2009, 11:48pm

It’s generally accepted that lamb becomes mutton at around 12 months old, so it’s best to comment on the mutton/lamb thing at the begining of Spring.

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Don’t cut it out, cut it different Never let it be said that the way to save money on your weekly shop is to cut the lovely, bloody, fleshy stuff from your diet. Instead, let it be said that in times of purse string tightening you might have to forgo your 28 week aged Wagyu steak and premium pigs’ legs in favour of a slightly cheaper piece of meat. Cuts which were once unfashionable, such as beef cheek and belly pork are increasingly popular – and increasingly pricey. But there are plenty of other limbs to try, providing you know what to ask for. Having never hacked at more than a piece of vacuum packaging in our quest for meat, it would be improper of us to try and advise you without first conducting a little research. So we headed to our friendly local butcher to squeeze his brain for some tips. Here’s what came out: 1. Lamb breast £2 per kg It doesn’t come much cheaper than this lovely cut of lamb. Roll it up with a selection of your favourite vegetables, spices and cous cous inside, tie and then roast. 2. Mutton £6 per kg Another meat on the up, mutton really benefits from a little care and attention. Perfect for stews, casseroles and curries, you can treat mutton in much the same way you would beef or lamb – give it a long, slow cook, adding a few minutes more than you would for beef or lamb to get it nice and tender. 3. Skirt beef £7 per kg Taken from around the belly of the cow – surrounded by delicious fat – skirt is full of flavour, making it great for casseroles or stews. However, if cut thin, it also fries well – especially after a night’s marinating. 4. Pork Shoulder £4 per kg This fantastic part of the pork needs at least 3 hours’ roasting to get the best out of it – any less and it can be tough. The fat marbling within pork keeps it moist, so cover the shoulder with tin foil and give it a slow 6 hour roast for tenderness like you won’t believe. Shoulder is also the favoured cut of pulled pork fanatics and if those words don’t excite you, we don’t know what will. 5. Feather blade beef £6.50 per kg This thick, square cut can be fried in much the same way as the skirt. However, it also braises up a treat. Season well and brown for 5 minutes or so on each side, add a little white wine, a sprig of thyme, a handful of mushrooms and pop in the oven for 15 more minutes for a quick meaty hit, to enjoy with a nice salad and some crusty bread.

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