Well, August turned out to be a lot more exciting than I had expected. The second week saw us celebrate our birthday, and this year we reached fifteen years. A great achievement for the Meat London team, and our ever enthusiastic customers. Just as we were reminiscing about years gone by, the Glorious 12th arrived and heralded the early morning start of the Grouse season, and because that wasn’t already fun, on the same day, the moon decided to eclipse the sun and we all found our own space to watch a very rare moment. I actually thought it was all quite interesting. Of course, let’s not forget that the youngsters waited patiently for their ‘A’ Level exam results on the 13th , to find out if they had made their university places. Good luck to all of you. I hope you got what you wanted. Our very own Isla May-Spence breezed through, and I hear she is off to Manchester. Well done Isla.
Welcome back
Happy to report that Gessica hasn’t been sitting around dreaming of the beach. She had a lovely wine tasting with our friend Alex from Alliance Wines, and she has come up with a number of good ideas for the autumn, and Gessica being Gessica, she has come up with a fantastic ‘Welcome Back’ offer. For the weekend of 4th, 5th and 6th of September we are offering two wines from the Languedoc estate of Terres Fidèles, meaning ‘faithful’ land or ‘loyal’ to the land. Le Pic Blanc, a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Colombard and Chardonnay and Le Pic Rouge a blend of Merlot, Syrah and Portan. These are two delicious wines, and as we know that the holiday season has drained the bank accounts, we are going to sell the two for £20.00. That’s a lovely offer even by our standards. I trust we have plenty in stock.
An Indian Summer
We are expecting September to remain warm enough to allow for the final throws of Al Fresco summer eating. The butchers have maintained a fantastic display of BBQ goodies throughout, and there is more to come. The old favourites are still a great idea, Spatchcock Chicken, Butterflied Leg of Lamb and the full gambit of well aged Steaks. However, there are a few new ideas, probably too many to remember, but including Cajun Pork Steaks, Bombay Chicken Skewers and Pork Belly Jerk Strips.
If you are planning a late season gathering, always remember that we deliver on a Wednesday and Friday, and we can send out Mail Order boxes from Tuesday to Saturday. So why not let the Team take the leg work out of your event? All details that you need are on our website (www.meatlondon.co.uk) or just phone the shops and tell us what you want.
The ‘d-ribs’ (Butchers back-slang for Birds)
I hope I don’t get into to trouble for sharing a little trade banter with you, but it seems a fun way to announce the Game season. As mentioned above, the Glorious 12th August gave us the start of the season. We have had some beautiful Grouse already, which have been well received. If you wanted to plan a dinner party around Grouse, please consider ordering in advance. As we get into September, we will see some Partridge and, hopefully, some Mallard. It has been surprising how many times we have been asked for Venison in recent weeks, but I choose to only buy game through the game season and, although one can get ‘farmed’ venison all year round, it seems much more fun to wait. Game has become a lot more fashionable in the last year or two, so if it’s not on your regular shopping list, why not think about a change?
The 'Iron' fix
We have seen an increase in requests for offal, often prompted by a visit to the doctor, suggesting the need for an increase in ‘iron’ intake, and with the cooler days not far off, now would be a good time to give yourself a healthy boost. Many people turn their noses up at offal before giving it enough consideration. At the top of the tree, Calves Liver is soft and mild and needs little more than a minute or two in the pan with a little oil and butter, and maybe a slice of delicious bacon. Lambs Liver is less expensive, as are Chicken Livers. Again, Calves Kidneys come at a premium, but one of my own favourites are Lambs Kidneys. I even dedicated page 82 of 'Meat London-The Book’ to a lovely Devilled Kidney recipe.
Ben’s tip of the week is Onglet (Thick Skirt or Hanger Steak). Whilst not strictly offal, it is the muscle from the inside of the vertebrae and is full of healthy iron. Take a deep breath, be brave. Offal is delicious, generally inexpensive and full of goodness. You’ll thank us for this tip.
Whilst I’m not giving up on Summer just yet, Autmn is on the way and there are a lot of great things going on. The kids are going back to school in a few days, and we are looking forward to hearing all of your holiday exploits. I urge you to consider Gessica’s very generous offer, above, and I’m off on my own holiday from the middle of the month. France, here I come!
Happy September
