Broad Stripe Butchers (online)

[Corinna Dunne]

Just wondering if anyone has used Broad Stripe Butchers.

It’s a new online butcher run by Fairfax Meadow (who supplies the likes of Angela Hartnett, Michel and Alain Roux at the Waterside Inn, and Brian Turner). The deal is top meat at high street prices, and restaurant cuts are available, from larder-trimmed sirloin steaks to French-trimmed oven-ready five bone fore-ribs through to whole, oven-ready pheasant, partridge, guinea fowl and Gressingham duck. They’re also happy to fulfil requests for specific cuts or different meats.

Anyway, they’re offering eGullet Society members a particularly attractive deal.

At checkout just use the code EG40 and press apply button and you’ll get 40% off your first order (which must exceed £50 before discount) and free delivery. Unfortunately the offer doesn’t extend to Ireland.

[Matthew Grant]

They are vague on hang times

between 21 - 28 days

and breeds used

Using British beef breeds such as Aberdeen Angus, South devon.....

aren't they?

Poultry is simlarly vague

100% british and sourced only from genuinely free-range flocks

Breakfast even more so:

We believe the Great British Breakfast should be made with great british produce - there fore all our sausages, bacon, black pudding, and other breakfast items have either been reared in the UK or produced by great British suppliers

Reading that last paragraph it could be coming from Tesco (I'm not suggesting for one moment that it does).

When I'm buying good meat I want to know what breed I'm getting and how long it has been hung for (as well as a longer hang time than 3 to 4 weeks for beef). Nice discount though.

Edited August 30, 2007 by Matthew Grant (log)

[bakerestates]

Reared in the UK or produced in the UK - what does that mean.......born in the UK but reared in Hungry was the issue with Bernard Matthews Turkeys was it not.

The vagueness of the breeds and hanging time may stem from the fact that they don't know exactly what you are going to get until they have the stock in the shop and hanging and then going out to the customer.

This is the case with my meat supplier as they buy from a number of farms, some of which have two or three different breeds. I know what all the breeds are but won't know what I get until I get it. I am sure you can request a certain breed.

I think 21 days is about right, depending on the size which again may explain why they say 21-28 days. Dexter would be shorter hanging time than Angus.

High Stree Prices - from their website I worked out that a pack of 142g of Fillet was £7.58 which makes it £53/kg. Its £44/kg at Moens. This is the only one that stood out mind you. I'm glad I can buy my fillet direct from the farm at £19/kg!

[ravelda]

Agreed there bakerestates - the prices are way too keen for me. Without revealing my source, I get my fillet (21, 28 or 31 day hung dependant on what I want) for around £16.50-17.50 per kg! I sholud supply to eG's myself!

[Matthew Grant]

Reared in the UK or produced in the UK - what does that mean.......born in the UK but reared in Hungry was the issue with Bernard Matthews Turkeys was it not.

The vagueness of the breeds and hanging time may stem from the fact that they don't know exactly what you are going to get until they have the stock in the shop and hanging and then going out to the customer.

This is the case with my meat supplier as they buy from a number of farms, some of which have two or three different breeds. I know what all the breeds are but won't know what I get until I get it. I am sure you can request a certain breed.

I think 21 days is about right, depending on the size which again may explain why they say 21-28 days. Dexter would be shorter hanging time than Angus.

High Stree Prices - from their website I worked out that a pack of 142g of Fillet was £7.58 which makes it £53/kg. Its £44/kg at Moens. This is the only one that stood out mind you. I'm glad I can buy my fillet direct from the farm at £19/kg!

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I've had Dexter hung for 6 weeks - best piece of beef I have had, I would disagree that 3 weeks is ever enough to get the best out of a piece of beef.

Even Tescos hang all there beef for 3 weeks now with the finest range being hung for 28 days (No idea what it tastes like)! I'm not doubting that the beef here is better but I think more clarity is needed. At the moment it looks like any number of online retailers.

[britcook]

There again the client list is fairly impressive, which might count for something.

[fisherman]

Even Tescos hang all there beef for 3 weeks now with the finest range being hung for 28 days (No idea what it tastes like)! I'm not doubting that the beef here is better but I think more clarity is needed. At the moment it looks like any number of online retailers.

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Don't Tescos etc hang meat in vacpacs though, just so they can do it the cheapest way possible, enabling them to label it as being hung?

[Matthew Grant]

I've no ide how they hang it, i was just trying to demonstrate that 3 weeks is nothing special these days. I've no doubt that Broad Stripes would be better than Tesco.

Another thing I don't like is giving their beef a brandname

[Gary Marshall]

thing is you're unlikely to be able to get artisanal type meats from a catering supplier. At the end of the day the sort of farms that supply farmers markets are small scale producers and if your business is supplying restaurants then you need to have the goods, so reliability of supply is key.

This means you are forced to look at the larger farms and multiple suppliers and as such you can understand they are looking for a certain minimum level of husbandry hence the branding but can't guarantee exactly where it will come from one week to the next as it's nature after all and you can't quickly grow a dexter, kill and hang it on demand when someone rings wanting 3 aged strip loins tomorrow!

When we had our pub our meat was from a local butcher and the butcher had exclusive supply of beef and pork from two farms, and that was just to keep a local butcher in meat, his catering supply didn't extend much past us, indeed rivals approached him for supply but he refused as he just didn't have the meat to spare. And every now and again he couldn't supply the aged meat as it had just sold too quickly so we had to recourse to the catering suppliers

[muichoi]

Why do trade suppliers always propose the most tedious and useless cuts to the public? I never use any of these.