Book Part: The Meat – Grid Iron Meat

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Skilled butchery preparing a beef forequarter

The Meat

Choose well. Cook with confidence.

Native breeds like Belted Galloway, Gloucester Old Spot, or Ryeland sheep are shaped by the land they come from. They graze in small pastures, hedgerows, moorland and lowland meadows. Their diets are seasonal. Their pace is natural. And in return, they give us meat with depth, fat that carries flavour, and cuts that roast or braise into something unforgettable. This kind of meat is not bred for yield alone. It’s bred for quality, character, and compatibility with its environment. When cooked properly, it rewards you with something that feels rooted and real — not generic or mass-produced.

Tomapork: Single Bone or Double Bone - Which Should You Choose?

Discover the difference between single and double bone Tomapork chops. Learn how to cook, rest and carve these rare breed pork cuts for the best results.

Why a Good Butcher Still Matters

A good butcher does more than prepare meat. From understanding the differences between cuts to helping customers cook with confidence, skilled butchery still has an important place in the modern kitchen.

Thick Cut Rump: Why It Makes a Great Sharing Steak

A thick-cut rump sharing steak gives you time to build a good crust while keeping control of the centre. Cook it whole, rest it properly and carve across the grain.

Bone-In Pork Belly: Why Leave the Ribs Attached?

Skin on and ribs still attached, bone-in pork belly makes a generous slow roast. Here is why the cut works, how to get crisp crackling and how to carve it.

Chuck Roast for Sunday Lunch: Six Ways to Cook It

Discover six ways to cook native breed beef chuck for Sunday lunch, from traditional slow roasting and rich pot roasts to Ninja Foodi cooking, smoking and sous vide.

Mutton Shoulder: Why Slow Cooking Suits It So Well

Mutton shoulder rewards patience. Its deeper flavour and shoulder structure suit a long, gentle cook, with simple seasoning and enough resting time before carving.

Pork Tenderloin: How to Cook It Without Overcooking It

Pork tenderloin is naturally tender and quick to cook. Here’s how to roast it whole, use it as medallions or strips, and avoid drying it out.

Pork Shoulder: How to Slow-Roast It for Tender Meat and Crisp Crackling

Pork shoulder rewards a slower approach. Here’s how to get tender meat, crisp crackling and the best from a boned-and-rolled shoulder roast.

Lamb Shoulder: Why Slow Cooking Suits It So Well

Lamb shoulder has more natural fat and connective tissue than leg, which is exactly why it becomes so succulent when given time. Here’s how to cook it, rest it and make the most of it.

Mutton Leg: How to Slow-Roast It for Deep Autumn Flavour

Mutton leg has a deeper, more developed flavour than lamb and rewards a slower approach. Here’s how to cook it well, rest it properly and make the most of a traditional autumn roasting joint.

Pork Loin: How to Roast, Rest and Carve It Well

Rare-breed pork loin is at its best when the natural fat is allowed to protect the meat as it roasts. Here’s how to choose the right size, cook it accurately, rest it properly and carve it well.

Braising Steak: Why Chuck Rewards Slow Cooking

Chuck steak is made for patient cooking. Brown it well, add moisture and give the connective tissue enough time to soften, and this hardworking beef cut becomes tender, deeply savoury and ideal for autumn casseroles, braises and stews.

Yorkshire Lamb Saddle: How to Roast, Rest and Carve It Well

Lamb saddle is one of the neatest roasting joints in the butchery: tender loin and fillet meat, boned and rolled into an even joint that is straightforward to cook, rest and carve. Here is what the cut actually is and how to get the best from it.

Yorkshire Mutton Shoulder: One of the Best Slow-Cooking Joints You Can Buy

If you enjoy meat with real depth of flavour, mutton shoulder deserves far more attention than it usually gets. It has everything a proper slow-cooking joint should have: character, enough fat to keep the meat succulent, and the kind of full savoury flavour that rewards time and patience.

Outside Skirt: big beef flavour, cooked fast

Outside Skirt is one of the most characterful of the butcher’s steaks: long, thin, deeply beefy and particularly good cooked over fierce heat. The technique is simple — cook it fast, keep it pink, rest it properly and slice thinly across the grain.

Flat Iron: the steak that deserves to be better known

Flat Iron is one of the most rewarding of the butcher’s cuts: deeply beefy, surprisingly tender and generally better value than the familiar prime steaks. Cut from the featherblade in the shoulder, it needs little more than a very hot pan, a good rest and careful slicing across the grain.

A Guide to Chicken Thighs

Chicken thighs are one of the most versatile cuts of chicken: full of flavour, naturally juicy and forgiving to cook. In this guide, we look at the difference between bone-in and boneless thighs, the best ways to cook them, how to build simple marinades, and the flavours and side dishes that work particularly well with this underrated cut.

Fillet Steak, Centre-Cut Fillet, Chateaubriand or Whole Fillet: Which Should You Choose?

Beef fillet is prized for its tenderness and fine texture, but choosing between fillet steaks, centre-cut fillet, chateaubriand and a whole fillet is not always straightforward. They all come from the same exceptionally tender muscle, yet the way each is prepared makes it better suited to a particular style of cooking and serving.

Skirt, Bavette or Onglet: Which Beef Cut Should You Choose?

Outside skirt, bavette, onglet and traditional beef skirt are all richly flavoured cuts, but each has its own texture, character and ideal cooking method. This guide compares them side by side, helping you choose the right cut for a quick steak supper, barbecue centrepiece or slow-cooked dish.

Bone-In vs Boned and Rolled vs Butterflied Leg of Lamb: Which Should You Choose?

Three preparations of leg of lamb, compared for roasting, barbecuing, carving and feeding a crowd.

Pork Collar vs Boston Butt vs Boneless Pork Shoulder: Which Should You Choose?

Three shoulder cuts, three different strengths — for roasting, smoking, pulling and carving.

Collagen-Rich Cuts of Meat: Why They Matter, and Why They Deserve a Place on the Table

This feature looks at the cuts naturally high in collagen, what happens to them during cooking, and why they’re so valuable both nutritionally and in the kitchen.

How to Buy Good Meat

Buying good meat starts with asking the right questions — not just about the cut, but about the animal, the farmer, and the journey from field to butcher block. In an age of pre-packed trays and barcoded anonymity, making a conscious choice to buy better meat is one of the simplest, most powerful ways to support proper farming and better flavour.

How We Prepare and Age Our Beef Before It Even Reaches Your Pan

Before a single flame is lit or a skillet gets hot, the character of beef has already been shaped by a series of quiet decisions — choices made over time, with tradition, flavour, and respect for the animal in mind. This section is less about process and more about principles: what we believe makes beef worth cooking.