Mary Portas Does Not Horse Around

I have always loved Mary Portas for her devotion to the British high street's independent shops and no-nonsense attitude when it comes to giving business advice, so it was great to see her recent article in the Telegraph reviewing The Ginger Pig butchers shop in London. Not only does Mary give the shop the recognition it deserves, she makes some brilliant observations regarding the traditional quality butcher in general. 

Unsurprisingly, the high street guru sees the horse meat scandal as a great opportunity for Britain's butchers... Yet she also states how important it is for butchers to "play your trump card" and really step up to show consumers what they have to offer. What is wonderful is that Mary notices that the supermarkets aren't always cheaper than traditional butchers although glitzy offers may make it seem so, and that any extra expense one might pay is more than worth it for the experience offered... 

"I am not saying that traditional butchers are always cheaper, but it is certainly true that we must get out of the mindset that prepackaged, mass produced meat is much less expensive [...] What you would certainly miss out on is a fabulous butcher who went out of his way [...] An experience like this is priceless." Mary Portas 

We strive to offer a service that supermarkets simply cannot match and in a time when supermarket is domination is threatening our high streets, I hope not only butchers but all independent retailers will take Mary's advice to really take such opportunities to show the British public the wonderful alternative services they have to offer. Read the full article here. 

Gok Wan's Chinese Belly Pork

Eager to follow the success of Gok Wan's easy recipe for Peking duck, I thought I'd try his recipe for belly pork. Bored of slow-cooking recipes that leave me with flavourless pork, this recipe only took 2.5 hours and made some of the most tender pork I have ever eaten. The main cooking is done by simmering the pork in a large pan for nearly two hours with garlic cloves, ginger, spring onions, a teaspoon of chinese five spice, shaoxing wine and enough water to cover the meat. The thought of boiling meat can be a turn off but the smells that fill the kitchen are divine and it makes the meat surprisingly tender.

 After this initial cooking, you then place the meat in a baking tray and brush with a glaze of soy sauce and honey, and place in an oven (preheated to 215C) for 20-30 minutes until golden and caramelised. Serve with chinese greens and rice to balance out the sticky rich flavour of the meat. NB. Gok uses star anise but for me chinese five spice works just as well and is often more readily available. You could use this cooking method for cooking belly pork in all styles of cuisine, for example we sell some delicious Cottage Delight barbecue sauces that would work well in place of the soy sauce and honey glaze. For the full original recipe click here.

Breakfast at Andrew's

Saturday morning at Andrew's butchers always sees customers coming in specially for their weekend fry-up essentials: local free-range Gate Farm eggs, Suffolk bacon that is cut on site, and our own made, award-winning Original Pork Sausages using the finest free-range pork from Dingley Dell Farm in Suffolk. We also sell two types of black pudding for those who want it. Here's a picture of the simple but indulgent breakfast I cooked my brother before his day of work at the butchers: scrambled egg and fried bacon on toast.