Jamie says, “Even though supermarkets have really upped their game over the last few years and now stock some beautiful cuts of beef, supporting great British butchers is still a wonderful thing to do. Not only are they usually incredibly knowledgeable (and full of great cooking tips), they’ll have the special cuts and aged meats the supermarkets don’t stock and they can also cut the steak or joint to any size you wish”. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BUYING YOUR BEEF FROM A BUTCHER?In addition to the reasons Jamie mentions above, unlike in supermarkets, beef you buy from the butcher has been ‘aged’ before it is sold to customers. Despite what you might have always thought, really fresh beef isn’t actually that nice to eat: it doesn’t have much flavour and can also be quite tough and chewy. HOW DO BUTCHERS AGE THEIR BEEF?Ageing or ‘hanging’ literally means leaving a side of beef to hang on a hook in a big fridge for a certain number of days. This allows the fibres of the meat to break down a little, giving it a softer texture and much better flavour. Hanging meat also helps to get rid of excess moisture, which helps it to get a lovely crust when fried or roasted. So when you see ‘21-day aged’ or ‘28-day aged’ steak on a menu, this means it has been hung for 21 or 28 days to make it tender and absolutely delicious.

The fridge temperature and humidity levels are carefully monitored so the ageing of the meat can be kept under control (so don’t try this at home!). Butchers usually hang beef in halves or quarters, or sometimes if they just want to hang all the steak and roasting cuts, they hang the back and leg in one piece. Most butchers don’t hang the front half of the cow because it’s for stewing or mincing and it doesn’t need to be tenderised. IS IT ONLY BEEF THAT’S AGED LIKE THIS? Other animals can be aged as well. Hanging times vary depending on the size and breed of the animal, but the general times are a week for lamb and venison, two weeks for pork and three or four weeks for beef. There is no need for poultry to be aged because it’s tasty and tender enough as it is.

© Jamie Oliver. Illustrations by Peter Hamilton.

JAMIESHOMECOOKINGSKILLS.COM

A good butcher will sell their meat when they think it’s at its best. Once meat has been hung to whatever stage the butcher wants, and any hard bits are trimmed off the edges, it’s cut into joints, chops and steaks to sell to customers. WHY DON’T SUPERMARKETS DO THIS?Supermarkets don’t generally age the meat they sell because meat tends to turn slightly brown as it ages. This doesn’t bother a butcher because they’ll cut their steaks freshly every day, but a supermarket needs a steak to last for 7 or 8 days in a pack on a shelf without discolouring. There’s nothing wrong with discoloured meat, but people expect beef to be red so it puts them off if it looks a little brown. Some supermarkets have now started selling aged steaks by putting them in vacuum-sealed bags. This prevents them from changing colour over time.

© Jamie Oliver. Illustrations by Peter Hamilton.

JAMIESHOMECOOKINGSKILLS.COM