Then you are using the wrong chicken. Proper slow grown chicken on a diverse natural diet has a wonderful flavour. Good luck finding it though because the market is all for the meat you describe, bland and pumped full of water to make it cheap then smothered in a chemical sauce (often, ironically for this thread, a "smoky" one).
Red meat quality is all about the life the animal has led, stress free slaughter and respectful treatment of the carcass. This country does not value either.
Some of us are but it's hard work,My point is though for you livestock producers - why are not more of you not butchering and retailing direct, online at a premium?
why are the good places the exception?
get a que outside his shop , even in normal times , and its local meatG Mitchard & Sons for anyone near Radstock - might be a bit far for you @Clive
Because, certainly up to now, it just hasn't been worth the huge hassle. Try setting up your own farm grown food retail operation and see for yourself. Those who do it well put ENOURMOUS effort into it. Unless you enjoy dealing with the public it is anathema to most livestock farmers.My point is though for you livestock producers - why are not more of you not butchering and retailing direct, online at a premium?
why are the good places the exception?
Why is this SO hard ?
One of the positives of this awful lockdown year for me so far is that I have had time to do something I have wanted for a long time ............. learn to cook
I spent some money saved from a canceled ski holiday on a fancy smoker BBQ (Big Green Egg) back in March and have cooked almost daily on it ever since, surprising myself with what I am actually capable of cooking and as a bonus, no one has died yet !
So as you get into these things, join Facebook groups, forums, watch youtube etc you start to get more ambitious and want to try more unusual things, it becomes more than just food, its a new hobby at this point and as a result what you become prepared to spend raises accordingly.
I'm not alone, there is a big scene of other middle-aged twits like me all into this, mostly with money to spend - I can't help but feel the UK livestock industry is missing out here
YET (and here is the point of this thread) Top quality meat, particularly the unusual (expensive) cuts are very hard to get? why is this? I read constantly on here that British grass fed beef is "better" but where is it when I come to try to buy it ?
The first stop was the village butcher in a village a few miles away (my village has no shops anymore sadly) It's all very traditional looking and surely worth a premium over the supermarkets ? ............. but no, I've come to learn the meat is nothing special, no real provenance and pre-cut from wholesalers just being retailed. Ther first time I asked for a Picanha for example they hadn't got a clue what I was on about, I had to google it for them and what I got, in the end, wasn't really done properly.
I tried another local butcher (a bit further away but of BIG local reputation, I ordered Brisket and it turned up rolled ! I asked for "packer cut" they had no idea what I was on about despite the internet and a million youtube video's about cooking such cuts
Jacobs ladder, beef short rib, 4 rib, Tomahawks etc all command premium prices but are really hard to get until you discover the gems that do butcher their own carcasses like Tori nad Bens Fram shop etc Grass-fed Longhorn with quality and provenance worth paying for proving that these places do exist and do know how to provide what customers like me want and reap the premium price rewards to match, why are they so "hidden" though? why not the normal rather than the exception ?
Tori & Bens Farm Shop – Derbyshire Farm Shop & Deli
toriandbensfarm.co.uk
One place I have found you can get the unusual and better cuts is Costco ..................... but it's more often than not USDA and imported! I don't want to buy that but have done as it's so much easier
My question is why is this rare? what are not more livestock farms not butchering retailing direct? surely the internet has made it easier than ever before to cut out the middlemen who from what I see are doing a very poor job of butchering and retailing your products?
Why are you not milling your wheat into "TWB Farms premium flour" and selling it direct at far greater unit profit?My point is though for you livestock producers - why are not more of you not butchering and retailing direct, online at a premium?
why are the good places the exception?
Friend has set up a couple of milk vending machines.Because, certainly up to now, it just hasn't been worth the huge hassle. Try setting up your own farm grown food retail operation and see for yourself. Those who do it well put ENOURMOUS effort into it. Unless you enjoy dealing with the public it is anathema to most livestock farmers.
Beat me to itWhy are you not milling your wheat into "TWB Farms premium flour" and selling it direct at far greater unit profit?
I'll just leave this hereMy point is though for you livestock producers - why are not more of you not butchering and retailing direct, online at a premium?
why are the good places the exception?
Most pitmasters buy cheap brisket and cook it for days!taste is a matter of opinion - the fact people will pay big money for top chefs and pitmasters all around the globe to cook and prepare meat suggests to me there is more to it than "making it hot"
even those fresh peas and asparagus can be made better (IMO) with a little sea salt and a knob of butter, they can also be easily cooked badly and ruined as a result
Total sense, listen to this post!I've said it already: both my parents were chefs, the real deal commercial sort. You start with good ingredients and cook them right. A sauce is merely the icing on the cake.
There is no need to invest in crazy expensive kitchen accessories and try finding me any chef worth his salt who doesn't cook on gas. If I'm cooking steaks for example I cook them on a cast iron griddle plate on the hob, gets hot as hades and lets any moisture or fat run clear. The trick is in buying steak that is hung long enough, not-over cooked and then rested properly.
Lay off the salt and butter (which often contains a shed load more salt), there is no need for it and it is bad for you in excess.
Most pitmasters buy cheap brisket and cook it for days!
We had a BBQ for one of my lads team , they all brought their own "meat" for BBQ it was marinated kebabs etc etc, not many of them ate what they brought but all the lamb,pork chops and ribs , steak and own burgers went.I've said it already: both my parents were chefs, the real deal commercial sort. You start with good ingredients and cook them right. A sauce is merely the icing on the cake.
There is no need to invest in crazy expensive kitchen accessories and try finding me any chef worth his salt who doesn't cook on gas. If I'm cooking steaks for example I cook them on a cast iron griddle plate on the hob, gets hot as hades and lets any moisture or fat run clear. The trick is in buying steak that is hung long enough, not-over cooked and then rested properly.
Lay off the salt and butter (which often contains a shed load more salt), there is no need for it and it is bad for you in excess.
The trouble with a selling boxed meat to average joe family is that they only understand sausages, steak and rib of beef etc. If you present them with a box containing beef skirt or flank or a T bone they wouldn't know what the fudge to do with it. Hence the popularity of burgers and beef sausages which you can nearly microwave if you are savage enough.
My point is though for you livestock producers - why are not more of you not butchering and retailing direct, online at a premium?
why are the good places the exception?
Our local cash and carry’s butcher is very good (Bookers Kings Lynn ) , Tomahawks are superb . That is a fillet next to it .Why is this SO hard ?
One of the positives of this awful lockdown year for me so far is that I have had time to do something I have wanted for a long time ............. learn to cook
I spent some money saved from a canceled ski holiday on a fancy smoker BBQ (Big Green Egg) back in March and have cooked almost daily on it ever since, surprising myself with what I am actually capable of cooking and as a bonus, no one has died yet !
So as you get into these things, join Facebook groups, forums, watch youtube etc you start to get more ambitious and want to try more unusual things, it becomes more than just food, its a new hobby at this point and as a result what you become prepared to spend raises accordingly.
I'm not alone, there is a big scene of other middle-aged twits like me all into this, mostly with money to spend - I can't help but feel the UK livestock industry is missing out here
YET (and here is the point of this thread) Top quality meat, particularly the unusual (expensive) cuts are very hard to get? why is this? I read constantly on here that British grass fed beef is "better" but where is it when I come to try to buy it ?
The first stop was the village butcher in a village a few miles away (my village has no shops anymore sadly) It's all very traditional looking and surely worth a premium over the supermarkets ? ............. but no, I've come to learn the meat is nothing special, no real provenance and pre-cut from wholesalers just being retailed. Ther first time I asked for a Picanha for example they hadn't got a clue what I was on about, I had to google it for them and what I got, in the end, wasn't really done properly.
I tried another local butcher (a bit further away but of BIG local reputation, I ordered Brisket and it turned up rolled ! I asked for "packer cut" they had no idea what I was on about despite the internet and a million youtube video's about cooking such cuts
Jacobs ladder, beef short rib, 4 rib, Tomahawks etc all command premium prices but are really hard to get until you discover the gems that do butcher their own carcasses like Tori nad Bens Fram shop etc Grass-fed Longhorn with quality and provenance worth paying for proving that these places do exist and do know how to provide what customers like me want and reap the premium price rewards to match, why are they so "hidden" though? why not the normal rather than the exception ?
Tori & Bens Farm Shop – Derbyshire Farm Shop & Deli
toriandbensfarm.co.uk
One place I have found you can get the unusual and better cuts is Costco ..................... but it's more often than not USDA and imported! I don't want to buy that but have done as it's so much easier
My question is why is this rare? what are not more livestock farms not butchering retailing direct? surely the internet has made it easier than ever before to cut out the middlemen who from what I see are doing a very poor job of butchering and retailing your products?
You were asked a similar question in another thread about direct selling and no farm assurance.My point is though for you livestock producers - why are not more of you not butchering and retailing direct, online at a premium?
why are the good places the exception?