Bored of the same go-to dinners? Wondering how many times can you reinvent chicken? Many of us are stuck in the routine of eating the same 2 or 3 meats week-in week-out. There's nothing wrong with your firm favourites but it's too easy to get stuck in a rut. Here are some ideas to jazz up your dinners and who knows you might find a new favourite along the way.
Meat that comes from a cow calf of either sex is called Veal. Once the calf reaches a year old it becomes a cow and is therefore, beef. Both meats have similar fat and protein content but different tastes and texture. Veal is lighter in colour, a finer texture and is more tender than beef.
Due to animal welfare concerns, veal became unpopular for a while. However British rosé veal (veal produced to the highest welfare standards) is a by-product of the dairy industry. It is delicately flavoured, has a great texture with a pink flesh. Just as versatile as beef, veal can be used in many recipes. Cuts include fillet, mince, rib chops, T-bone, and shoulder. Give it a try!
If you haven't tried venison yet, then now is the time to do so – Autumn, Winter and Early Spring is the season for game meat, especially venison.
Venison is lower in fat than any other red meats and gram for gram even contains less fat than a chicken breast. It's also high in iron and full of B vitamins so it's a healthy choice as well as a tasty one.
Any cut of meat used from a deer can be called venison. If you're concerned about animal welfare, venison is ALWAYS free-range! Although usually wild, even if farmed it is still free-range - always good to know. Venison is extremely versatile and is a great way to introduce a new meat to the family and theres many recipes on the internet for you to get experimenting. We highly recommend it cooked in a stew or cooked like you would a beef steak.
So, you have probably seen guinea fowl whilst shopping but never purchased it, most likely because you're not quite sure what to do with it! Well, a general rule of thumb is, treat it like a small chicken.
One of the great thing about guinea fowl is that one bird serves two people making it perfect for a nice quiet meal in with a glass of red. Unlike a larger chicken roast you won't need to think too hard about leftovers like you get with the more common chicken.
The flavour of Guinea fowl would fall somewhere between a chicken and a pheasant, the meat itself is darker, leaner and more flavourful than chicken but not quite as rich as pheasant. Often, people are deterred by pheasant due to it's strong "gamey" flavour but the guinea fowl is a happy medium.
When it comes to cooking you can take pretty much any chicken recipe and swap it for Guinea fowl. Slow cooking the meat keeps it nice and tender or when roasting baste the bird at regular intervals using butter or cover in bacon fat to keep moist.
As a lamb matures at around 2 years old it becomes a sheep, the meat is then called Mutton. You don't often hear of people cooking mutton as much as the more common choice, lamb.
You might be led to believe that mutton is lamb past it's prime and therefore a tough, less flavourful piece of meat. This is not true – in fact you shouldn't compare the two and think of mutton as a whole different piece of meat entirely. Although less tender than lamb, mutton is stronger and richer in flavour making it perfect for slow cooking, especially in curries, stews or casseroles.
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If you have any questions then don't be afraid to ask! Wether it's where the meat was raised/fed right through to tips on how to cook – our butchers are happy to help with any queries you may have. If you would like anything ordered in drop us a message and we can ensure it's in-stock at our Epping Butchers
