French beef

Another more or less accidental purchase, having gone into the butchers at Manor Green Road, without having ordered anything and without having anything particular in mind. A butcher which I now believe to be supplied by one or two more or less local suppliers, possibly even farms, with a name which I confuse with Appledore, possibly Appledon or Appleton, there being plenty of butchers with this last name up north.

Shoulder of lamb was on special, but spoiled for me by being shrink wrapped and by having had the end of the front leg removed. Both probably not making much real difference, but both rather spoiling the occasion for me. Sadly, a lot of the meat on display was shrink wrapped, perhaps convenient for cuts which one does not sell that much of, but not doing much for me.

Some fencing around. Maybe he could do a piece of rolled shoulder of pork? Which he could, and proceeded into the cold room to get the necessary. While from where I was standing, I could see pheasant hanging up at the back and a couple of beefy somethings just inside the door, one shrink wrapped, the other not.

The other was the present beef, five bones worth. A cut I had seen in fancy butchers in town before, but never sampled. I imagine something to do with sirloin, a cut from which a lot of the meat and fat furthest from the backbone has been cut away and discarded, but for which you are charged anyway. At least, that is how I see it. I settled for three bones worth, still a good deal heavier than I was expecting, at 3.8kg or 8lbs 7oz. Rather dearer than I was expecting too.

Home to have a consultation with the Radiation Cook Book, a cook book not weighed down either with glossy pictures or the personality of some irritating television chef. It suggested just under three hours at 165°C, so into the oven at 09:30 for forks down at 12:30. Thoroughly oiled with rape seed oil, but no other action. No need, for example, for any more string after the fashion of the beef at reference 1.

A further consultation with the Ginger Pig website tells me that the cut is called côte de boeuf. Not very British at all.

Tested the meat at 11:45 at which point it was running clear, but I did not actually turn the oven off until 12:20, putting the plated the meat back into the oven, rather than leaving it out, with BH's current preference being for resting in the cool of the kitchen, albeit under a cloth, rather than in the warmth of the oven.

Juices run off into the gravy, which was then used to rinse out the roasting dish, thus acquiring some goodness therefrom, and then back on a ring to warm it back up again. Despite involving neither flour nor roux, not a bad sauce for the boiled vegetables, snapped above. At least so I was told by the gravy lovers.

Served with some of Waitrose's Fleurie, which has served well over the past few weeks.

The situation at the end of the first shift. Verdict, not bad and very easy to carve - although carving not really an issue with our fine blue-steel kitchen knife, a knife which takes a very good edge. Still moist which was good. But a little bland. I wondered about whether one would do better to cook it for a shorter time at a higher temperature, giving browner outside and redder inside? But I don't suppose we shall ever know, as I thought that our usual forerib, with the full complement of bones, was cheaper, looked and tasted better.

For dessert, a spot of mincemeat and apple pie. Which we have come to much prefer to neat mincemeat, which we find a bit strong. Maybe Sainsbury's will be marking the stuff right down after Christmas, as they have done in the past.

Taken cold on day two, with boiled vegetables. It did well. Snapped at the end of the proceedings.

Still just about up an running a couple of days later. BH had been into DIY as I had been away. We often wonder whether we don't like cold roast meat as well as hot. I certainly remember a paternal aunt who preferred her roast pork cold, this on the occasion of a Sunday afternoon high tea involving same.

For the last outing, turned into beef broth. That is to say boil up the bone with some pearl barley. Add some other stuff. Add the chopped meat very near the end. Maigret just visible top right. I forget why BH was missing, possibly some Christmas outing or other.

After the broth. Grazed away in fairly short order. Just under a week since kick-off, so we got a fair run out of it. A sort of binary run, with a half of what there was being done on each occasion.

PS 1: a little later: Fleurie now topped up, taking one of the few slots left between now and Christmas. The website still says 2014, but we will see what turns up.

The shop in Street View.

The display in Yelp. If a fair sample of the real display, promising.

PS 2: Thursday: now pinned the name down to Appleford. Which does not appear to have a website but which may be related to J. G. Appleford, the butcher of nearby Ashtead, snapped above. To be more precise, of 82 The Street. Maybe it makes sense to have two butchers, reasonably close together, sense in the sense of helping with staffing, stocking, buying and so forth.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/09/new-beef.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/08/stuffing.html. The arrival of the first batch of Fleurie.