Meat requirements, suggestions please

[robgunby]

Horse can be a wonderful meat if done right! A lot of people were put off by the so called horsemeat scandal. What bothers me more about unscrupulous meat distributors is the quality of the meat itself (as well as not knowing what you are buying, but if you buy findus lasagnes, what do you expect!). Many of the "horse smugglers" were using chunks of beef several years out of date, cutting putrid meat from them before mincing and bulking out with other meats.

Horse produces wonderful steaks, burgers, stews. When I was a boy, any holiday in France was not complete without a meal of horse. Can be very flavourful, but can also be very dry, sinewy and chewy - depends on the piece you get and how you cook it.

The license to butcher horse in the UK is prohibitively expensive, which, combined with the British public's reluctance to eat it, means it is neigh on impossible (boom! boom!) to find in Blighty.

[ConorD]

@ Rob.

I have eaten horse on many occasions (and most of the time by choice ) across the continent and it can be delicious. Like a lot of meats it is just down to the cooking.

[keith157]

I agree it can be nice, only had it a couple of times abroad. I would choose beef over horse though from a taste point of view. However I can't see it catching on in competitions, even though we had a close relative submitted in the Anything But category last year (zebra). Sadly there were extenuating circumstances regarding it's cooking and flavouring, of which I'll say no more.

[slatts]

Hi Toby

I would like to get some decent pork ribs.
Brisket im just starting to do and have only used Costco so far without trying a couple of butchers until im more confident but decent brisket at decent prices.

PS,are you sending out anymore samples?

[ConorD]

Toby - I know that you have mentioned the name before but where is your butcher. I have been known to travel far for the right cuts (although delivery would be amazing).

Also When are you going to be retailing your rubs as I want to get some to try. I'm going to order some heat beads in the next couple of days as well.

[Toby]

Hi Conor, just got your heatbeads order and sent you an email. My butcher is in Chertsey but you still have to order in advance for most cuts as they arent currently stock items. The butchers is called roberts and they are on windsor street. The rubs are still ticking over in the background i will keep everyone posted.

[TakingtheBrisket]

Am very lucky with my butchers. He has an abattoir at the back and he buys all his stock from local auction. So am like a kid in a candy shop when am there. Only thing is baby backs, where if a need a decent quantity he has to buy them in, in boxes of 10 which are frozen but still got decent meat coverage. If anyone else up in flintshire i can pass on his details

[ConorD]

Hi Conor, just got your heatbeads order and sent you an email. My butcher is in Chertsey but you still have to order in advance for most cuts as they arent currently stock items. The butchers is called roberts and they are on windsor street. The rubs are still ticking over in the background i will keep everyone posted.

Got the mail and responded so no problem there - thanks

[robgunby]

Am very lucky with my butchers. He has an abattoir at the back and he buys all his stock from local auction. So am like a kid in a candy shop when am there. Only thing is baby backs, where if a need a decent quantity he has to buy them in, in boxes of 10 which are frozen but still got decent meat coverage. If anyone else up in flintshire i can pass on his details

That sounds amazing! I thought I was lucky with my butcher, but this guy sounds awesome! Re the ribs, ask him to get em in and freeze em! Mine keeps his in the freezer, I think there is only me and one other customer that buy em, but he has a big enough deep freeze.

[ConorD]

Is anyone getting and decent baby backs from anywhere?

I didn't put them on my initial list but would like to add them now.