We are often asked by customers how to cook our meat and, equally, we are given some great cooking tips and recipes. Our butchers are trained and experienced in cooking meat and will always advise you on which cut is best for your recipe or purpose, plus come up with ideas for cooking.This page features recipes that we use and have been given. We
hope they give our customers inspiration and that, in turn, you
would like to share your tips and recipes with us. To share your
recipe, visit our weblog. |
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Recipe |
Ingredients
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Spicy Mexican Ragout or Pie |
12 merguez chipolatas 1 onion 1 clove garlic (crushed) 1 tin chopped tomatoes or passata any other casserole vegetables such as carrots, peppers, celery, etc. tin of baked beans with the sauce rinsed off or tin of mexican-type beans squirt tomato puree dash worcestershire sauce 500ml beef or lamb stock 1 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp cayenne 2 tsp fresh or dried basil salt & pepper to season |
Method: |
Brown the sausages in a little oil then remove
from pan. Cook the onion and garlic with the lid on the pan, then
add the tomatoes and all the other vegetables. Simmer for 10 mins.
Chop the merguez sausages into inch-long pieces and return to pan. Check seasoning and herbs and add more if needed. Simmer with the lid off for 20 mins or until sauce has thickened. Serve with pasta for ragout, or top with mashed potato and grated cheese and brown in the oven for the pie version. |
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Hearty Oxtail Soup |
1 ox tail chopped into 3-4 chunks (as big as your pot allows for)
4-5 whole shallots (peeled) 2 carrots (peeled and in large chunks) 2 sticks celery (in large chunks) 1 clove garlic (crushed) 2 pints beef stock 1 pint brown ale or other traditional dark beer 4oz/125g pearl barley (ready soaked) dash of worcestershire sauce 2 bay leaves salt & pepper to season olive oil for browning |
Method: |
Brown the ox tail chunks in a little olive oil. Add the shallots,
celery and garlic and cook with the lid on for 3 minutes approx. Pour
in the beer, then the stock and stir. Add the worcestershire sauce,
pearl barley, carrots, bay leaves and a good grind of black pepper,
then stir again. Bring to the boil with the lid on then reduce to
a low heat and simmer for 1.5 - 2 hours. Take out ox tail and remove meat from bones. Skim off any excess fat from the soup and return meat to pan. Roughly chop any very large vegetable chunks which remain. Season if required. Serve with warm crusty bread. |
Cooking Tips |
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| Roasting |
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| Lamb: | 25 minutes per lb/450g plus 20-25 minutes Oven: 180°C, gas mark 4 Rack may be cooked pink at 200°C, gas mark 6, for 15 minutes per lb/450g plus 15 minutes, covering the bones with foil to prevent burning. |
| Beef: | Rare: 20 minutes per lb/450g plus 20 minutes Medium: 25 minutes per lb/450g plus 20-25 minutes Well done: 30 minutes per lb/450g plus 25-30 minutes Oven: 180°C, gas mark 4 |
| Pork: | 25 minutes per lb/450g plus 20-25 minutes Oven: Very hot to start then 160°C, gas mark 3 For perfect crackling, turn the oven to the hottest setting and sprinkle a little salt on the rind. Let the salt 'bead' on the skin then put it in the very hot oven for approximately 30 mins or until it has blistered all over. Then turn down the heat and cook the joint. You can remove the skin for crackling and cook the joint seperately if preferred. |
| Mutton: | Slow roast for best results, covering the whole tray with foil and
adding wine, garlic and herbs to the tray. If time is short, cook
as lamb but still cover etc. 40 minutes per lb/450g - remove foil for last 30 mins Oven: 150°C, gas mark 2 |
When roasting lean
meat medium or well done, raise the joint inside the tray on a rack
or scrunched up tin foil, add a little water to the tray and cover
the whole tray with tin foil. Remove foil for the plus time so that
the meat browns nicely. If the joint has a nice cover of fat, it
won't need this treatment, although raising it and allowing the
fat to collect in the tray below allows the crackling to crisp during
the last part of the cooking and is handy for making gravy or roasting
potatoes. |
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Links |
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| Simply Beef and Lamb | Beef and lamb recipe database searchable by timescale, cut, occasion etc. |
| BBC recipes | Searchable database of recipes featured on BBC programmes |
| The Foody | Recipes, Farmers' markets, farm gate and mail order sales - promotes local produce |
| Love Pork | Recipes and pork promotion |
