Starting a blog about food and cooking has particular interest at this time. Exactly when there are many pushes on to increase animal welfare and to encourage ethical sourcing of food, we find ourselves in what has just been described (probably exaggerated) as "the worst recession for 100 years", by one of our front bench government politicians. This seems to cause an immediate dilemma, and one from which there is no escaping. Simply put, nasty meat is cheap! Shoehorning thousands of chickens into a darkened factory shed, giving them minimal space, and a controlled unnatural diet, is undoubtedly cheaper than treating them as if they were actually living creatures. Similarly with pigs - and who could not treat a pig as a living creature if one was to actually spend time with them?
So, the question is, how do we reconcile the question of animal welfare with the desire to eat meat on a regular basis? Personally, I think the question everyone should ask themselves is "How often do I really want to eat meat?" Now, I love meat and I'm certainly no vegetarian. However, I do recognise that meat is a special thing and it should be a special thing. After all, in order for me to eat meat, animals have to give up their lives! This is not a trivial matter. In fact it leads me to two things, and I try to stick to these as much as possible. Firstly, I do not assume that every meal needs to have meat in it - I can quite happily eat vegetarian meals three or four times in a week, and leave the meat meal for the weekend. Secondly, if I'm going to eat an animal, I'm not going to waste any of it. Now, I'm not a self sufficient smallholder, and I don't actually raise any animals, so this is a choice of what I buy rather than a necessity. But, think on this. For every bullock that is slaughtered to give a rib roast, a fillet, a sirloin, it also gives a liver, shins, skirt, brisket, oxtail, tongue, etc. If we take into account all of the animal, rather than simply those parts that are cling-wrapped and displayed in supermarkets - trying to avoid any resemblance with them being from actual animals - then we can see that meat can be affordable. Here are two ways with the forgotten cuts of beef that are easy, cheap, and should really turn you on to using more than the obvious roasts and steaks.
Beef in Beer
This one really does what it says on the tin!
454g (1lb) stewing beef - eg skirt, shin
Large onion
3 carrots
3 sticks celery
Dried mixed herbs
Beer - I prefer stout, or something dark, but others can work
Salt and pepper
Plain flour
Cooking oil (vegetable or sunflower)
If the beef is not already diced, cut it into rough cubes, about 2cm. Dust with flour and season well with salt and pepper. (The easiest way to do this is put the flour in a plastic bag, put the meat in, close the top of the bag and shake it gently). Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan and brown the meat all over. Transfer to a casserole dish. Chop the vegetables and add them to the same frying pan to brown all over. Transfer to the casserole dish. Pour in enough beer to cover everything, add a pinch of dried herbs and put in a low oven - around 120 - 130°C, or gas 2 - 3. Leave it to cook slowly for around 3 hours - during which time you could go shopping, catch up on EastEnders omnibus, go to the gym, walk the dog, mow the lawns, do the washing - all sorts. Slow cooking doesn't actually take up a lot of your time! This will give you a lovely well flavoured stew, that will easily serve four hungry people with a bit of mash and an additional vegetable such as spring cabbage.
Easy Beef Curry
454g beef as above
Frozen spinach
Cup mushrooms
Large onion
Garlic - your own choice as to how much. I often use 4 - 5 cloves in a spicy curry!
Curry powder (your preference - they're not all hot!)
Garam masala
Salt and pepper
Cooking oil
Brown the beef as above, but without the flour. Remove into a casserole dish. Slice the onion (and garlic if using) and cook in oil - add 3 - 4 tablespoons curry powder. This might seem a lot, but genuine Indian curries really do use a lot of spice. Cook until the onion is starting to soften and you can smell the spices, but try not to let them "catch" on the pan. Transfer to the casserole dish. Add enough water to cover. Cook in a low oven as before for around 2 - 2½ hours. Add frozen spinach, chopped mushrooms and 2 - 3 teaspoons garam masala. Cook for a further 20 - 30 minutes. Serve with rice.
Do try these. They're easy - they're very forgiving of a few minutes different cooking time here or there. They're very tasty and they'll have you eating cheaper cuts and meat and feeling good about it. Remember, there's more to meat than that little pack you pick up at the supermarket. There's a life! Make sure it was a good life by buying meat from free-range sources. Your butcher or farm shop may be a better choice than going straight to a supermarket (and you may find that they're actually cheaper for many cuts). Mainly, do that life proud by making something memorable from it - not just that little slab of protein at every meal!
Get cooking.
