British BBQ Society Forums

Just got back from the butcher. Been going to this guy for a few months - not our nearest place, but he took much more of an interest in what I was doing with the meat he sold, wanted to learn about the different American cuts etc

Spoke to him last month before we went on holiday about beef fore ribs - he explained that he always has them in when it's cold but didn't during the summer (he smiled at the summer reference!). Reason? In the winter he is more regularly buying in whole / half / quarters of beef and breaking them down. But there is less call for the bigger joints of meat etc during the summer, so he buys in specific cuts / joints rather than finding use for all parts. But he said he'd see what he could do for me.

Got a call "I've a side of beef in for you - you can have as much or as little as you want. But I want to hang it another week for you if that's ok?" - basically I got first dibs. He'd already got other people interested in e.g. some of the fore ribs but said I could take as much as I wanted.

So I've come away with three very meaty fore ribs - each one with enough meat to easily feed two hungry people.

3/4s of the muscle you get feather steak from - I cut this in half & each half will be more than enough to feed four people with thin slices griddled quickly.

And a brisket - again, he showed me the whole thing & said I could have as much or as little as I wanted. So I took most of it (11lbs) I am cooking the brisket on Friday - going to give the Wicked BBQ recipe a go.

All but the brisket has been vac-packed & into the freezer - can't eat this much beef in a week! Well, I'd try but I'd be the size of a house.

Best part of it? This was all extra income for him - from somebody who is becoming a regular. And he did it for me at a very good price. The 5kg / 11lb brisket, for example, came in at £4.6 per KG - which is a pretty good price judging by what others are paying on here. And it looks an awesome piece of beef - hoping I can do it justice.

So, it does pay to get to know your butcher....

He's going to try & get me tri trip next - just need to find a good guide to the cut....

Make sure you post some pics of that brisket. I'm interested in how the wicked good bbq recipe works out but won't get a chance to do one myself til next month

Will do - going to prepare it tomorrow - will take step by step piccys. Looking forwards to it - and those burnt ends....

Simon your quite lucky. Im pretty convinced my butcher just says yes and then tries to fob me off with anything believing I wont be bothered, its really frustrating. The other day I asked for a rib eye and he proceeded to cut me off a piece that was clearly not rib eye. I had to refuse it.

Then I emailed a different local butcher with a request for a specific cut and heard nothing. There are a few other butchers in the area but most of everything in the stores are all that pre-packed stuff.

Getting a good butcher is a real barrier to cooking good US style bbq is this country, but its something Im going to keep working on.

I'll be very interested to see how the recipe turns out as Steve recommended the book to me and Im going to get it. The only thing is that there seems to be some very obscure ingredients in there such as citric acid, lemon pepper and food glue to name but a few.

Davy,

Have you had a look on this site to see if there is one of these butchers local to you?

http://www.guildofqbutchers.com/

Swindon_Ed wrote:Davy,

Have you had a look on this site to see if there is one of these butchers local to you?

http://www.guildofqbutchers.com/

Thanks for the link. Just had quick look. The nearest one is 14 mile away so not too bad and they seem very professional, as well as having some sort of BBQ award.

Agree - this is the third or fourth butcher I have tried. And the only one that has really taken an interest. To me it's pretty simple - you take an interest & give your customer's a little better service, they'll come back time and again. It's not as if the other ones I tried had better meat or anything else that would set them apart to 'forgive' them the lack of interest.

Out of interest, does this Butcher's Guild require any qualifications to join? I am skeptical of professional associations due to the lack of decent ones in the photography world that I have had direct experience of (RPS appears an exception).

It seems a bit dubious to me. The best butcher in my area is not listed.

Once you find a good butcher, make them your best friend
also consider contacting small holders, they produce some wonderful meat, and can often be found at farmers markets and the like
cheers
marcus

thelawnet wrote:It seems a bit dubious to me. The best butcher in my area is not listed.

Nope nor is mine, apparantly the nearest good butchers is 21 mile away and there is only one in Herts, even Chapmans which has been mentioned by half a dozen or so on here isn't there. However that site is the Guild of Q butchers. There was, may still be, a Guild of Master Butchers in the 70's (my last contact with my old boss) and they had to be independant, of good quality and have a place in the community. These days so much meat is pre-packed, and for the general market that's a good thing, that the more "exotic" cuts are hard and or expensive to find.