Here's some information about whole animal butchery - availability of cuts and how to cook and store them.
Whole bodies
We bang on about it all the time but, in case you hadn’t noticed, we buy whole bodies – NO BOXED MEAT.
This means we’ve got the whole body to sell – nose to tail and everything in between. Including cuts that many of us, these days, have barely heard of, let alone know how to cook. This poses some challenges - animals only have four legs so when everyone wants shanks in winter it can get tricky - but it also provides a world of wonderful information and opportunities!
Product availability
There are lots of variables in what we source – different farming practices, geography and different breeds that grow at varying rates and weights. Not to mention the fact that all the animals we source are entirely pasture-raised which brings the weather, in all its unpredictable glory, into the equation.
So while we do our best to provide you with a consistent product, we’re also committed to supporting producers who are working in tandem with natural systems. Natural rhythms include frequent pauses - plants and animals respond to seasons and abundance ebbs and flows. For example, in winter there are no fresh tomatoes but lots of lovely brassicas. Animals living outside on pasture grow more slowly and the chooks lay way fewer eggs.
If you can't see what you want, please ask. We'll probably have it.
Whole body opportunities!
A world of new cuts
Not just the steak and chops, but also the ribs and shanks and livers and flanks and hocks and heads! You get to open your hearts and minds to a fabulous array of different culinary adventures with cuts like lamb breast, beef skirt and pork medallion, not to mention the whole retro thing with gammon and corned beef.
Greater choice
Choosing to buy whole bodies allows us to source from small farms with superb quality produce that can only afford to sell the whole animal. This means more diversity in breeds and growing practices which means more options for you.
Quality control
It also means that we have greater quality control and we can be absolutely sure we’re getting what we ordered. In addition, there are few better ways to determine the health and vitality of an animal than by scrutinising the organs, which you only get if you buy the whole animal.
Cuts
Knowing which cut to use and when to use it can have a big impact on your bottom and your bottom line.
Cooked the right way, beef skirt or lamb breast can be just as gorgeous as a plump chicken breast and have your dinner party guests cooing with pleasure. You can feel doubly smug because you’ll have paid at least a quarter what you might have spent on beef eye fillet, for example.
Which isn’t to say that beef eye fillet doesn't have its place, but it's only about 2% of the carcass and, as such, should really only be eaten about 2% of the time.
Cooking - which cuts to use
Whole forests, real and virtual, have been devoted to tomes about cooking meat and most of us have bookshelves groaning with them. So if you're looking for heavy detail, please refer elsewhere. Otherwise, here are a few basic guidelines that we follow.
All meat should be at room temperature before cooking.
SLOW COOKING
A muscle like beef chuck (neck) or round (front thigh) or lamb shank or shoulder does a lot of work, so the meat is highly flavoured but interspersed with tough sinews that will give your dentures a good work out if they’re not properly cooked.
These sorts of cuts – known disparagingly and unfairly as ‘secondary’ cuts - need to be braised or roasted low and slow for a long time to dissolve the fibres and give that gorgeous flavour a chance to shine.
Some secondary cuts, like beef blade or lamb ribs, live a double life and can also be delicious quickly seared on a high heat or used for stir frying.
But keep that heat high and fast unless you have a thing for eating boot leather. A partial stew on a lower temperature will turn your meat tough and chewy.
FAST COOKING
The muscles that don't work as hard are more tender and are referred to as the 'primary cuts', such as eye fillet, sirloin, loin cutlets, chicken breast.
Be careful not to over-cook your primaries - lean, delicate meat doesn’t need much cooking. It’s best served rare or medium rare and deserves plenty of rest so the meat can settle after cooking and before serving.
Storage
We'd love to use less plastic and we're patiently waiting for the day that a strong, bio-degradable plastic that can withstand intense heat, cold and pressure eventuates. However, as things stand, we do vacuum pack quite a lot of our product for delivery because it's the best way to keep things fresh for the longest period and avoid freezer burn.
They're pretty strong but occasionally the vacuum seal on a bag is compromised resulting in oxidisation. It's always wise to check your packages when you're putting them in the fridge or freezer to make sure they haven't popped. If you see air in the bag, then freeze or use that day.
Like fish, poultry is best eaten as fresh as possible.
If it’s cryovaced (vacuum sealed in plastic), it should last for four or five days. If you know you won’t get to it for a few days, we recommend taking it out of the plastic and putting it in the fridge on a plate lined with a paper towel and loosely covered with a plastic bag to stop it drying out. Or simply freeze it until the day you want to use it.
Otherwise, you’re better off freezing it in the vacuum sealed bag which protects it from freezer burn and then, when you’re ready to use it, letting it thaw slowly in the fridge.
If it’s not cryovaced, take it out of the bag you brought it home in. Put it on a plate lined with a paper towel and loosely cover with a plastic bag in the fridge.
Cook within a few days.
These meats are more robust than poultry but not as long-lasting as beef.
If your meat is cryovaced (vacuum sealed in plastic), it should last for at least a week in your fridge. Any longer and we suggest you freeze it.
The day before you plan to cook, take it out of the plastic and put it back in the fridge on a plate lined with a paper towel and loosely covered with a plastic bag to stop it drying out. It may have a slight odour from being packed in plastic for a while but the smell should evaporate once it’s had time to air.
If it’s not cryovaced, take it out of the bag you brought it home in. Put it on a plate lined with a paper towel and loosely cover with a plastic bag in the fridge.
Cook within a few days.
If your beef is cryovaced (vacuum sealed in plastic), it should last at least two weeks. Our beef is dry aged (hanging in our cool room) but a lot of beef is ‘wet aged’ in plastic for three weeks or longer.
The day before you plan to cook it, take it out of the plastic and put it back in the fridge on a plate lined with a paper towel and loosely covered with a plastic bag to stop it drying out. It may have a slight odour from being packed in plastic for a while but the smell should evaporate once it’s had time to air.
If it’s not cryovaced, take it out of the bag you brought it home in. Put it on a plate lined with a paper towel and loosely cover with a plastic bag in the fridge.
Cook within a few days.
Cured meats are, well, cured. That means by definition that they’re treated to last, usually with time-honoured processes that were invented way before we had cold-storage on tap. So your bacon and ham is very robust and will last months if properly stored.
Of course, once sliced, cured meats won’t last as long because there’s a greater surface exposed to oxidization. Once you’ve opened your pack of sliced bacon, salami or ham, wrap the remainder in grease proof paper and put it into a sealed container in the fridge so it doesn’t dry out.
If you’ve got an unsliced chunk, just wrap the sliced section in grease proof paper and refrigerate.