'burger monday with Blanch & Shock'

I am sat in Andrew's Cafe awaiting Daniel Young's acclaimed 'Burger Monday' event and I'm looking at the menu before me.

This particular BM is being hosted by Blanch and Shock  who came to the shop a few weeks back on the hunt for a consultation. With me. I was rather taken aback as it is usually me seeking the advice. However they indulged me slightly and we talked in depth about beef.

They were wanting to know what exactly to put in their burger. They wanted to push the boundaries of cooking and cross the line of normality. So we tried to come up with something pretty odd...

Which is now glaring at me on the menu. Panic sets in, the sweat starts to prickle and the bottle of Italian red going down a little too quickly..so if this goes wrong it may well be on my head! I decided then and there that if it were to go wrong I'd put my hands up boldly and ward off the madness telling them 'we knew it was madness but it was important that we tried! However I also put great faith in the chefs that were cooking it, so I left this chaotic scene to the recesses of my mind...

Josh comes over and shows me the raw burger which consists of ox cheek, short rib and the end piece of 40 day aged rump (i.e the blackest bit) and it looks...like a burger! The pockets of aged meat do look good, hopefully to give off a gamy flavour. But what will it taste like when cooked...

While sat here, chatting away, I look at the caff. And it really is a caff - ad I love it. This is perfect. On my table are young, fun and lovely software developers Ben & Dan - BM veterans. These guys knows their burgers..

So the plate arrives and it looks sensational. The hay bun is superb and retains all the juices from the met perfectly. Not too much cheese and a hint of pickle. Lovely touch indeed with the chicken skin. The consistency is smooth and very agreeable and the whole thing is perfectly accompanied by the beef fat fries.

Success.

I chatted to the chefs afterwards about their feelings on the evening. We both shared in the relief tht the burgers went down well. As to those hamburger connoisseurs who said you can not make a burger without the use of 'chuck' in the ingredients. Well myself and Blanch & Shock say 'f*ck chuck - there are better cuts to be had.

gb

'how not to poison your Granny..'

Is in web terms an 'FAQ'. We get asked this so very often at the shop and I usually say, 'how do you like it?' Paramount when cooking beef, but essential with other meat too. Some may prefer their lamb more pink. And there is research taking place at present regarding how rare we can stomach pork.

My advice to all of you is this: purchase a meat thermometer immediately if not sooner. These are wonderful inventions, when plunged deep into the heart of the meat (or the meatiest part) and they will give you an accurate reading as to how hot or cold your meat is. This is ideal for roasting joints. Some, even have special settings which emit an irritating beeping sound when at the optimum point i.e your 'taste requirement'. These very helpful and inexpensive bits of kitchen kit render you less stressed, satisfied and totally avoiding poisoning your Granny.

If only all areas in life were served so conscientiously on the basis of your personal preferences..

gb

'does size matter?'

When poised behind the counter we invariably get asked, 'how much do I need?' This could be with mince, leg of lamb or calves liver. We technically don't need that much meat but it may be nice to have a little extra? The recommended amount is roughly 200g each. However some people are perfectly happy with 75g-100g of meat. In our household it's far higher! But trying to ascertain how much a total stranger will need can be impossible. And it can be quite amusing, for instance if a lady comes in wanting to buy two rib eye steaks and she asks me how big I can hardly say, 'Well Madam, is your husband a big eater? greedy? or large?' o we often just the knife on the meat and ask the customer if it is adequate, it also means that you know your steak was cut just for you. 

The other interesting point is that meat looks far larger when you get it home. Okay, so this may well just be another random theory of mine. When in the butcher's shop surrounded by full loins and ribs of beef, shoulders of lamb and legs of pork, 500g of diced chuck/beef looks so tiny it hardly looks worth it. This happens to me all the time and I end up bringing home far more than we need! So I find it easier if I weigh it. But this could just be me. The point is I guess does the size matter? Does it depend entirely on how you're cooking the meat and what you're serving it with? Or should we just be grateful for the food experience? Portion control: it's all up to you. But at times, the last thing customers need is choice.

gb

'British Sausage Week' article for Great British Chefs

http://greatbritishchefs.tumblr.com/post/12148374909/girl-butcher-thoughts-british-sausage-week

It was while I was legging it down the street brandishing a clear bag of beef and mustard sausages screaming ‘excuse me madam’ when I realised I love butchery. 

I was working for a smart butchery in the North East of England and this lovely elderly lady would come into the shop and purchase this particular denomination of sausage (pursing her lips and tutting if we had sold out..) and I knew if I didn’t run after her I would be put down in the appropriate ex-school teacher ‘Sorry Sir’ sort of fashion. While the sweat was beading on my forehead, my steel-toe boots very heavy and especially inelegant and all the passers-by finding this hysterical, that it occurred to me how much love our nation has for the sausage. 

The sausage is one of the few culinary creations totally formed from the butchery in its entirety. It isn’t a ‘jus’ or a ‘terrine’ it is meat, seasoning, etc. in a case. Natural if possible. It is appropriate for any meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner; and is favoured by children and adults alike. It can embody pork, lamb, beef or indeed chicken or game. It is a miracle as it utilises all ‘spare’ meat. 

 Every butcher loves a well made sausage. It is one of the first skills an apprentice learns and savours with relish. I have loved learning the craft of perfecting the seasonings, ensuring the meat is minced in the correct fashion and of course linking them skillfully.

For British Sausage Week in O’Shea’s we will be doing our usual range of Toulouse, Pork and Leek, Spicy Italian, Smokey Beef, Old English, Pork and Stilton, Lamb Merguez, Chilli Beef, Irish Breakfast and many more.

'flavour..'

Lately I have been giving the concept of 'flavour' some thought. It's something we relish and savour. It's something we value. But what does it actually mean? It's not exactly like taste, it's more like the soul of taste. Well we could philosophise about this all day! But I had a flavoursome experience recently with aged beef.

Now most beef snobs will tell you that beef should be hung for minimum 21-28 days. Minimum. Now where I work we usually hang it for 30-40 days. And we can go even longer if it is what the customer requires.
Now I am not a beef snob. But this meat was on a whole other level. This piece was rump and by looking at it, had been left to mature and dry for about 35 days. I cut the piece in half and shared it. the inside of the meat was a beautiful claret colour with white marbling and yet the outside was black. And I mean black, but not sticky. Most would assume this meat to be ruined. But I refused to accept this.

So I asked Mick (the source of all butchery knowledge) what I should do with it, because I felt it in my gut that this steak could be spectacular (or maybe I was just hungry..). He said, get the pan piping hot, with sunflower oil.. Drain the oil. Add mayonnaise, lemon juice and ginger and place the steak (black side down) into the moisture. This essentially revitalises the steak, infusing it with juices once more. Aged meat is often described as 'gamy'. This steak was on the gamy side, but it was stunning. Absolutely amazing. It wasn't the most tender of steaks but the flavour. Holy Moly. I now know what flavour is.

gb

'making meat look pretty..'

Since time began women have been trying to make things look attractive. Whether it be their homes or indeed themselves, beauty is a thing of great importance.So when I was posed with the challenge of 'make this meat counter attractive to the eye..' I thought. Holy hell. How can you tart up a bit of meat (apart from by actually putting it into a tart of course..). But I set to it, thinking what looks good and what looks awful, I definitely knew what I didn't like.

Most people do not even consider just how much effort and how much pride a butcher places on his or her counter. And also every individual will claim theirs is the best and I happen to think that's wrong. It's like saying in my sitting room I have the best wallpaper. And not surprisingly it boils down to a matter of taste. There are some rules that are good to stick to, such as using a variety of colours, place things in different dishes, make sure joints of meat are not just dumped in a pool of blood, ensure there is as little mess as possible. But most importantly make it look vibrant and fresh and change it around, to ensure the customer notices something new.

The best thing about the counter? there are no rules, you are free to do whatever you like. I am still developing my sense of style and I try and see it objectively. Thinking realistically, what do we need to sell, what do we have lots of, let's put offers on. Cut steaks fresh every morning. Ensure the chops are brand spanking new every day and utilise the larger joints to provide textured layers.

One could argue that it isn't quite the same as applying make-up or interior design or even planting hydrangeas in a straight line, since after all, we can not lose sight of the fact that it's chopped up bits of animal. However  the meat world deserves a bit of glamour. What would Gok say?? Let's set to it shall we..

gb

'a chop & a hard place..'

The difference between up North - (a rather vague definition) & London is fairly astounding when it comes to meat. Londoners request bavette, cote de beouf and go through fillet like it's going out of fashion; whereas up North things are rather different, selling lots of roasting joints: topside, the occasional rib and brisket. The average spend per head is so far removed from what I am familiar with. But the biggest difference to me is that up North people are wanting local meat. They want to know exactly where it's from. And don't even think about presenting them with Iberico Pork or Wagyu Beef, unless you happen to stumble across a local producer. The emphasis  is so different. Priorities are different. And I find myself caught between a butchers chop and a hard place.

I still need full and total traceability on all meat - knowing exactly where it has come from. For that my absolutism can be described as fascist. And local is all relative any way, wherever you are is local. Surely, though, we should be supporting our 'local' economy our local farmers? And I know many butchers/chefs would argue that they would choose quality over local, and I think in this dog-eat-dog world that has to be done. And top of all of this you have the evil commodity of money. What's worth it and what isn't? Why should you spend an extortionate amount of money just for beef trim? 

I clearly don't know what the answer is to this rather inarticulate question - but I suppose the important thing is to keep asking the most important question when it comes to meat. The one that keeps us trying to produce better food from good quality producers. 'Why?' Whether it is 'Why is this so expensive?' to 'Why is this ridiculously cheap?' 'Why is the meat this colour?' Why do I find I can't cook this properly?!' If we stop asking why, we stop caring. 

gb