Buying Great Aged Beef In Britain

[Paul de Gruchy]

Pork is a mystery to me. The best dish I have ever eaten anywhere was a fillet of pork (at the long defunct Partners restaurant in Dorking - well, the chef/proprietor moved on at least). The fillet was cooked pink and was juicy and sweet and full flavoured and a complete revelation. Since then I have on numerous occasions ordered pork in restaurants, both good and bad, and it always comes out white and dry and smelling a bit fishy. Jane Grigson says that pre-salting is the key to cooking pork, to help lose its "grossness" and as ever, she's on the money. But it feels awful to have tasted how good pork can be and then to never even get an inkling of it again. I could try myself but getting decent pork is virtually impossible where I live and mail order won't deliver. The joys of island life...

One day I shall buy and fatten up some piglets just to make sure I didn't hallucinate the whole pork episode.

[MobyP]

This might be worth a different thread, but since I'd only have myself to apologise to, I have a question:

Has meat cookery in this country taken a quantum leap in the last 10 years?

I was born here, I grew up here, and like any Englishman or woman I've had as many overcooked, dried out, well-done pieces of meat as I've had hot dinners. But then something happened. I moved away for a few years (roughly 8 of the last 14) and all of a sudden, I'm tasting a quality of meat cookery that I've never experienced before. And not just once, but over and over again, a tenderness in care and in the approach to preparing meat that I have found really inspiring. From pubs, to star restaurants. Not just a leap in the quality of the meat, but from the moment it goes in the oven, a real attention paid to ingredients.

Paul d-G's post reminded me of it. We've all had dried-out dessicated roast pork. That's what it used to mean to be British! But how much more often in the last ten years has it been tender, and moist, and unbelievably good?

BTW - Paul, what Island are you on? Clearly some pig smuggling is due.

[Carlovski]

This might be worth a different thread, but since I'd only have myself to apologise to, I have a question:

Has meat cookery in this country taken a quantum leap in the last 10 years?

I was born here, I grew up here, and like any Englishman or woman I've had as many overcooked, dried out, well-done pieces of meat as I've had hot dinners. But then something happened. I moved away for a few years (roughly 8 of the last 14) and all of a sudden, I'm tasting a quality of meat cookery that I've never experienced before. And not just once, but over and over again, a tenderness in care and in the approach to preparing meat that I have found really inspiring. From pubs, to star restaurants. Not just a leap in the quality of the meat, but from the moment it goes in the oven, a real attention paid to ingredients.

Paul d-G's post reminded me of it. We've all had dried-out dessicated roast pork. That's what it used to mean to be British! But how much more often in the last ten years has it been tender, and moist, and unbelievably good?

BTW - Paul, what Island are you on? Clearly some pig smuggling is due.

I think there has been an increase in the availibility of good produce, but I think even more important is that the customers are becoming more discerning, more people are happy to pay a bit more for good meat, and they don't expect it to be burnt to a crisp in the traditional English style.

And also, Pork shouldn't be a dry meat, it takes a bit of care to cook well, Beef is easy in comparison as for prime cuts you keep it moist by keeping it rare. With pork you need to choose a piece with enough fat to keep it moist, and cook it at the right temperature, for the right amount of time.

[MobyP]

Pork shouldn't be a dry meat, it takes a bit of care to cook well, Beef is easy in comparison as for prime cuts you keep it moist by keeping it rare. With pork you need to choose a piece with enough fat to keep it moist, and cook it at the right temperature, for the right amount of time.

That's my point - or at least, something that I realise I've started taking for granted. It's not just chosing the product. There has been a leap in technical ability in what to do with it, as well as an appreciation for it done well (as opposed to well done).

[Paul de Gruchy]

Moby - I'm a Jersey boy. Which is great for milk and cream and fish and seafood and potatoes and tomatoes, which, let's face it, isn't bad. But it is depressing that we have a beautiful Victorian covered market with four butchers in it, and when I asked for shoulder of pork for barbecue they each replied "sorry, the stuff we sell comes in boxes and we don't get shoulders". Nor do they get organic and if you asked them to hang the meat I think they'd suggest you go hang yourself.

There are some okay restaurants here and one very good one, so if anyone is ever coming over and needs to know, shout.

[PoppySeedBagel]

So what were you doing in Reigate Paul?

[Paul de Gruchy]

very generous in-laws in the stockbroking belt while I bummed around at law school. we are allowed to leave Jersey you know (as long as we promise to come back with womenfolk to keep the blood thin)

[MobyP]

very generous in-laws in the stockbroking belt while I bummed around at law school. we are allowed to leave Jersey you know (as long as we promise to come back with womenfolk to keep the blood thin)

[PoppySeedBagel]

Having relatives on Guernsey I imagine you have to get out occasionally - though I've heard that there are people on Guernsey who've never been to St Peter Port

[Paul de Gruchy]

Guernsey is seriously grim. I'm not saying Jersey is great but twice I've been to Guernsey with my wife and both times we've ended up having a dispute over the sex of the taxi-driver. Very League of Gentlemen. I've never had a good meal there either, though the wife has (maybe my absence had something to do with it).

[PoppySeedBagel]

Ive never had a good meal there either - apart from at my sister in law's of course.

[MobyP]

Of course.

Now back to our scheduled programming. PSB - have you ever bought any braising cuts from Ginger Pig?

[PoppySeedBagel]

Moby - no I haven't - will do some time though and report back. That wonderful-looking sirloin keeps winking at me though.

[Matthew Grant]

DO NOT THINK THAT THE GINGER PIG IS THE BE ALL AND END ALL OF BUTCHERS IN BOROUGH MARKET

The Ginger pig does do good meat, especially pork, the Longhorn beef is good but try the other places as well. In my opinion, Northfield farm is the best beef butcher in Borough by siome margin. It may be small and not always have a lot on display but do ask for what you want and they will get it from the fridge.

[MobyP]

DO NOT THINK THAT THE GINGER PIG IS THE BE ALL AND END ALL OF BUTCHERS IN BOROUGH MARKET

Does not compute. Head hurts. Pain. Ow.

[curlywurlyfi]

Inspired by this thread, and Jackal's tip about aging ordinary beef in the fridge, I conducted my own steak taste test last night. Bought four supermarket sirloins: 1 x standard Tesco, 1 x standard Sainsburys, 1 x Waitrose organic (previously lauded on this thread), and 1 x standard Tesco aged for one week in the fridge as Jackal prescribes.

Aided by my beautiful assistants Matt and Matt, we set up the tasting table in the kitchen. There were sauces - Thai dipping sauce and Roquefort sauce - and a ficelle for juice-sopping, and spinach with lemon + garlic, but I insisted we taste the steaks naked first. [Not LITERALLY naked, guys, come on, eeeeeuuuuwww.] Salt + pepper only for the first sampling. Fried the steaks in a little olive oil to rare, rested them for five minutes and sliced them onto the sampling plate.

The results were surprising. The head + shoulders runaway winner was the Tesco bought that afternoon, which had good depth of flavour and good texture. Second was the Tesco bought a week ago - slightly rubbery and less flavour. Waitrose organic was next - chewy and only a little beefy. Which leaves the JS steak, which tasted of absolutely nothing at all and was frankly rubbish. We fought not to have to eat it. Picture a pack of squabbling vultures, however, for the remaining strips of the Tesco steak. I was sorely disappointed in the fridge-aged beef - it had gone a wonderful dark red and was much drier than the other three steaks - very promising - and yet it tasted dull. Yes, these were all supermarket steaks so the potential for dullness was never far away, but I had had higher hopes for this method.

So there you have it. An entirely subjective and non-scientific Steak Trial. Followed up with a bottle of Passito di Pantelleria and some cantuccini.

Fi

[Scott]

Aided by my beautiful assistants Matt and Matt,

Fi,

are you going all Liza on us now?