Buying Good Beef

Posted on 26. Feb, 2009 by Justin in Cooking

All my friends know I’m extremely picky when it comes to the quality of my food but when it comes to beef I go to extremes. Last week I bought what I hope is going to be a fantastic piece of beef. I’ve taken a picture so you can see what I’m talking about.

This cut is called “Wing Rib” and I have several reasons why I think this will make an exceptionally tasty meal.

1.       Marbled Fat – you will see from the photo that the meat is what I call marbled with fat. A piece of meat with no fat is likely to be dry and tasteless when cooked. I personally like to eat the fat on meat but even if you don’t always pick a piece of beef with plenty of fat as it will pay dividends when cooked. Don’t forget that any fat (dripping) that comes out of the meat can be collected and later used to make roast potatoes.

2.       Dark Colour – you will also see that this meat is not bright red but is slightly darker. This is because it has been matured by the butcher which will increase the flavour. Beef can be matured for up to 21 days and the longer it’s matured the better it gets. In the supermarket you will see a lot of the beef will be bright red and this signifies it hasn’t been matured so the taste will be poor. You can also see that my piece of beef is not swimming in blood like a lot of supermarket meat. This is a sign that the animal was not stressed when slaughter and has been treated with respect until its final moments. I happen to know that the butcher where I bought this meat actually has an abattoir on site and the animal only had to travel a few miles from the farm.

3.       Cost – your all thinking so how much does a piece of beef like this cost. I’m very lucky that I’ve got a fantastic local butcher so only paid £12 for the cut. Let us consider a few hard facts; the supermarket is cost driven and even the best ones out there are still looking to keep the shareholders happy. By supporting a local butcher you get better quality, value for money and you know where your food has come from. If you’ve ever looked at supermarket packaging you will see a lot of the meat we buy comes from abroad where quality control and standards could be poor. Meat from a local farm down the road should benefit from better quality and lower transport costs.

If you are looking for a cheap meal try asking your butcher about some of the cheaper cuts of beef. By getting to know you butcher he will in most cases recommend what to buy and how to cook it. In my view some of the cheaper cuts are often the tastiest. 

Tags: aged meat, beef, butcher, good beef, local produce, marbled fat, matured beef, well hung, wing rib