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MARCH 2013 NEWSLETTER - BEEF APPRECIATION EVENT AT GOURMET GURUS

Hi Everyone

The new year arrived with such force that as I sit here I am shocked that we are staring at March already. There have been a few significant developments at BRAESIDE MEAT MARKET in the first 2 months of this year.

The first exciting news is our meat processing plant we have just started developing in Linbro Park. With the quickly increasing demand for free range, grass fed meat we have outgrown our Parkhurst shop and need dedicated premises for the preparation of our meat. We will be putting together a fully HACCP compliant facility to assist us in handling the growth we are experiencing. We envisage that we should be up and running by end July 2013.

This means that our Parkhurst store will be fully dedicated to all our loyal and ever-growing customers who pop in to buy meat from our incredible farmers. Some of the exciting plans for Parkhurst include monthly dinners with our farmers as well as events with food personalities. Keep reading our newsletters and watch our FACEBOOK page for details.

This month I wanted to address an issue I discussed on radio on 702 last week - namely HORSE MEAT. The biggest problem with the selling of horse meat is the fraud being committed on the public. Horse meat internationally is much cheaper than beef and to pass off this meat as beef and charge beef prices is criminal - literally! In South Africa we have 3 registered and approved horse abattoirs. They play an incredibly important role especially to the horse racing and horse sport industries. As a butcher I refuse to buy horse meat unless I know where the meat comes from though as there are serious health concerns about eating meat from animals that are routinely injected with medicines and steroids - which is a widespread practice in our horse sporting industries. I will only ever buy horse meat if I have been present at the slaughter and can verify that the meat is NOT from the racing, show jumping or any other sporting industry. Truth be told though, there is very little demand for horse meat in SA with most requests coming from Italian and Polish descendants and immigrants.

Horse meat is commonly eaten as one would eat beef. The meat is sweeter than most beef and is similar in taste to grass fed beef. It tends to be more tender and requires less cooking time than similar beef cuts. In South Africa it is commonly eaten in the rural areas in the Free State and Transkei where it is either cooked in a stew with wild spinach or made into a type of biltong.

Lastly we still have a few places left at our BEEF APPRECIATION evening planned for THURSDAY the 28 FEBRUARY 2013. Its being held at GOURMET GURUS in Kyalami where chef Richard Rust will be creating a 4 course meal paired with wines for R225 per head. Richard headed up Woolworths food development team before opening up GOURMET GURUS. His basic food philosophy is "Know your farmer". As such he creates exceptional food using organic, free range and sustainably farmed produce.

Should you wish to be part of this event, deposit your money using your surname as a reference before Wednesday 17h00 into Braeside Meat Market, Standard Bank Account number 001956361.

Regards,

Caroline McCann
011 788 3613
Braeside Meat Market
sales@braesidebutchery.co.za
www.braesidebutchery.co.za

Braeside's November Newsletter

Hi Everyone!

So festive season, sunny skies and braais are upon us!

Silly season started early at BRAESIDE MEAT MARKET. Today we finished making our special dress for a special young Lady. Check out the Sunday Times this weekend to see the details and the full pictures.

Also happening this weekend is our eagerly-anticipated stand at Sanlam Investment's Food, Wine and Design Show at Hyde Park Shopping Centre. We are very proud to be serving up our KOBE-style beef burgers with JACK BLACK artisanal beer. Also available will be our full Christmas meat range at discounted prices. Pop in this weekend Friday 23rd, Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th - show times are Friday 12h00 - 22h00, Saturday 10h00 - 22h00 and Sunday 10h00 - 16h00.

Our Christmas meat range this year consists of:

• TURDUCKEN - deboned chicken in a deboned duck in a deboned turkey stuffed with Turkish apricots & nuts OR carmalised Christmas fruit
• BEEF PRIME RIB - rubbed with mustard, stuffed with our bacon and rosemary
• GAMMONS - prepared using our free range pork (limited quantities) with candied fruit in a traditional glaze OR ginger beer and sage glaze
• PORK ROLLS - deboned pork legs stuffed with fresh apples, herbs and a sprinkling of nuts
• LAMB ROLLS - deboned lamb with yoghurt, garlic, fresh Greek herbs & lemon zest
• KOBE style ROAST - this meat needs nothing more than a visit to the oven for the most memorable Christmas dinner ever! A roasting joint to feed 8 people will cost only R350 and will be the most delicious and special present you could possibly share.

Orders for our Christmas meat range MUST be placed by 15th December 2012!

Braeside Meat Market has received much publicity and attention of late. In the interviews I am permanently reminded that the latest food trend is finding the small producer. For the almost 7 years that I have been promoting grass fed beef and expanding our free range meat, the biggest obstacle has been educating the public. The education on how our animals are treated and the nutritional value of eating "naturally reared" meat has been far easier than the ongoing difficulty in changing perceptions of food costs. The perception is that this meat MUST be significantly more expensive than what large feedlots or supermarket chains sell their meat for. I made the decision when I started that for the home consumer I would never charge more than 10% than what the supermarkets sell their meat for. As it turns out, Braeside Meat Market's prices are mostly less than leading supermarkets' prices for primal cuts. Our farmers have bought in to my philosophy and we are committed to limiting our prices as much as possible. We would rather see a growing number of people eating grass fed and free range meat because its affordable, than have it's consumption seen only as the "rich man's extravagance".

From all of us at BRAESIDE MEAT MARKET may this festive season be spent laughing, living and eating good food! Until we meet at our shop, EAT WELL!

Kindest regards,

Caroline McCann

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Nose-to-tail eating - Wednesday, May 30 2012

“An animal has given its life for us to enjoy the meat. The least we can do is stretch it as far as possible.” So says Andy Fenner of Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants, a Cape Town based outfit dedicated to what they call ‘proper meat’. Nose-to-tail eating is a growing trend, with fine dining chefs now creating dishes with more unusual – and previously undesirable – parts of an animal. The jury’s still out on whether smilies will take off, but cheaper cuts of meat certainly have.

In the beginning 
Andy says it all began with the now-ubiquitous pork belly. “A few years ago suppliers couldn't give those away. Today, they're everywhere and are treated as luxury dishes.” Indeed, a quick look on the menus of La Colombe, Radisson Blue Gautrain Hotel Restaurant, Reuben’s and Bistro Sixteen82  (among many others) reveals this to be quite true.

Bertus Basson of Top 10 restaurant Overture reckons nose-to-tail eating has become more popular because of its price, and because peasant food is more flavoursome and approachable than posh food. “We can thank the recession for that. We caught on that we can have as much fun munching on pigs trotters as we do munching caviar.”

Caroline McCann of Eat In DStv Food Network Produce Award-winning Braeside Butchery also noticed this trend when the credit crunch hit SA. “It’s interesting that as chefs have embraced it, so have the consumers. Chefs know how to take cuts and make them sexy.”

Chefs take the lead
It makes sense that professionals have spearheaded the movement. “If the consumer eats something weird that has been prepped and cooked for them, chances are they’ll love it. And when they realise these things aren't as intimidating as they originally thought, they'll start cooking them at home,” says Andy.

TV cooking shows like MasterChef SA have also encouraged home cooks to try new things, according to Caroline. “Their imagination has been ignited again. The media is helping a lot, and chefs are helping too.”

The menu of Joburg’s DW Eleven-13 changes almost every second week, but items such as brisket, short-rib, neck, trotters, cock’s combs, sweetbreads and lamb’s liver make regular appearances.

The restaurant started to serve some more unusual titbits last year, but much more so since January when their tapas bar, The Grazing Room, opened. Here executive chef Marthinus Fereirra gets to try things that are a little different and – if they’re popular – place them on the main menu. His short rib with homemade barbeque sauce and corn bread is one of these success stories.

While more extreme dishes like the cock’s comb had rather a short life span on the menu, Joburgers have now warmed to sweetbreads, brisket, shoulder cuts and lamb ribs. Pork cheeks, ears and tails are gaining popularity too. The ears you have to cook for very long time to get them tender, before deep-frying to achieve that heavenly crackling-like crunch.    

“If you’re clever as a restaurateur or chef, you try keep these interesting cuts on the menu as long as possible. It’s also a lot cheaper!” Marthinus laughs.

But with some of them you have to work a little harder. “My short-rib and brisket are cured for 24 hours, cold-smoked for four hours and then cooked sous-vide for 24 hours. After this, I pan-fry for colour. The result is beautifully soft and tender meat.”

Short-rib is a hit with Caroline too. “You simply can’t beat it. It offers the best of all worlds – there’s soft, tender meat; enough fat to make it juicy; and the bones release their flavour into the meat. With decent quality, you don’t need to add anything fancy. Just some Kalahari salt and ground pepper and you’re licking your fingers.”

Taking chances 
But how adventurous are consumers? Bertus has a robust approach. “Just put it on the menu! We have taken a lot of chances on ingredients like chicken hearts and, I tell you what, the gamble was worth it. Both my guests and I learned a lot in the process.”

One of the fallacies is that you have to be a talented chef to cook these cuts. “Which is bullshit, of course,” according to Andy. “A lot of them are perfect for just chucking in some dark beer and braising for a few hours. Or as an alternative to a Sunday roast.”

But engaging with customers is important. Caroline asks the customers at her butchery what they’re planning, hoping to be able to offer them an alternative – and often more affordable – cut to satisfy their needs. “Personal interaction is critical, and this is where supermarkets fall flat. There are no blockmen on hand to help guide you in what you could be buying.”

Eating ethically
At Braeside Butchery, Caroline’s philosophy to use as much of an animal as possible is a direct result of relationship with farmers. “I can’t get on the phone and order 100 beef fillets. You don’t grow fillets; you grow cows,” she quips. Therefore, in her efforts to sustain her suppliers and their ethical farming methods, Caroline has come up with ways to sell the more interesting cuts.

This acknowledgement of origin is vital to ethical meat-eating, which in turn supports the nose-to-tail philosophy. And if you keep this connection, says Andy, you’ll appreciate your food more.

“Meat becomes a treat and you eat less of it. It’s ironic, but we want people to eat less meat. Just eat the right kind of meat,” he concludes.

By Linda Scarborough

Photograph by sflovestory

We are about friendly farming, healthy living and free range ways!!!!!!!!

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Telephone: 011 788 3613/011 442 6614 | Email address: sales@braesidebutchery.co.za
Physical Address: 4th Avenue, 10th Street, Parkhurst