Choosing and cooking cheaper cuts of meat
Many restaurants caught on early that old-fashioned cuts of meat, such as shoulder, neck and shin, cost less than the swanky fast-cook fillets and sirloins, but still deliver glorious flavour... And it's a trend that more of us would like to be able reproduce at home.
The key is in understanding that the meat is taken from areas of the animal's anatomy that work harder, hence they contain more sinew and therefore require longer cooking. But any old cheap cut of meat will not do. In our woman&home test kitchen, we did a side-by-side test of a recipe using stewing steak. We bought a bog-standard pack of pre-cut meat, and meat from one of our favourite butchers. There was hardly any difference in price and we cooked the exact same recipe, same method, same cooking time. No surprise to us, the butcher's meat version turned out darker in colour and richer in flavour.
If you no longer have a good local butcher, it's worth buying online or travelling a bit further and buying more and freezing it to justify petrol or delivery charges.
Cheaper cuts such as shin and shoulder will be fattier, so it's worth cooking them in advance then chilling, which makes it easier to spoon off the fat before reheating. They will always taste better, anyway, if cooked the day before serving. Here's which cut does what!
BEEF
Silverside and topside - Roast rare or use for pot roasts
Mince - Burgers, ragus and meatballs
Shin - Slow casseroling
Chuck - Pies and casseroles
PORK
Belly - Slow roasting
Collar or neck end - Often made into mince but also used for casseroling
Shoulder - Slow cooking and casseroling
LAMB
Neck - Slow cooking and casseroling
Shanks - These need slow cooking
Scrag end - Usually made into mince
Breast - Boned, rolled and slow roasted; trimmed and used for kebabs, or minced
