lets get back to basics... starting with the butcher

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Just ordered a whole lamb from the abbotoir that we take our pigs too,

we are picking it up tomorrow, and it works out at £6.60kg

which she said, if its a large lamb it will weigh approx 24kgs

a whole lamb will be £158

Just looked at mr T's website and lamb ranges from £8 - £14 per kg

guess what we will be having for sunday roast:rotfl:

The lambs were bught at the local livestock market, and slaughtered locally too.:T:T

frugal_shopper_2

ferretkeeper wrote: »

Have you thought about getting a live lamb and taking it to slaughter yourself? Possibly cheaper and seeing as you've done it with pigs, no drama for you. Plus you can keep it on your grass and feed it what you want for a few weeks, make sure it's the size you want too.

I'm waiting for a couple of my sheep to lamb soon, so won't have any meat for quite a while, was thinking about doing that myself...

Store lambs are averaging £15 each at my nearest livestock market (although one batch did go for a record £60 each a couple of days ago) obviously they will need fattening up but for the few people who do have the space & experience to look after them them it could end up being far more cost effective to buy store lambs & finish them rather than buying from a butcher.

Michelle63x

I buy my meat from a local farm and my shopping list this week includes liver, kidneys and an ox heart. Never cooked heart before but am going to give it a go. Its very cheap - about £1 per heart so hopefully I will do it justice!
I find that buying from the farm I get real quality (its all rare breed stuff and although not organic is pretty darned close) and I eat much less as it seems to be very filling. That along with my veg box gives me plenty for the week. Im trying to bake my own bread too so I wont have to buy that supermarket stuff anymore :T

suki1964

frugal_shopper wrote: »

Store lambs are averaging £15 each at my nearest livestock market (although one batch did go for a record £60 each a couple of days ago) obviously they will need fattening up but for the few people who do have the space & experience to look after them them it could end up being far more cost effective to buy store lambs & finish them rather than buying from a butcher.

Was just talking about this yesterday. Seems a fat lamb is fetching £85 + ATM here in Ni so around £130 to buy from the abattoir

COOLTRIKERCHICK

We did think about buying some live lambs, but its not really cost effective,

for us to go to our local-ish livestock market, it will cost us £20 fuel, more or less a day off work.

The movement restriction put onto the smallholding etc.

Then the fuel to go to the abboitoir twice ( drop off and then pick up) £30.

The price of the kill and cut????

can't wait to have our lamb this afternoon.

Did ask him if he had oxtail ( he also got his own stall in swansea market) but he had sent them down to the stall, he said that they have become very popular now.

So will go to my my local butcher and ask him.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

Maybe MSE needs to be reorientated back into the skills of butchery. Not in being an actual butcher or be able to butcher cuts for Masterchef but merely in learning how to recognise the respective parts of respective animals: beef, pork, chicken,duck etc.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

I think the pervasiveness of Supermarkets and easy ability to buy meat in a packet has separated divorced people from the more primitive and primal aspects of meat buying.
A renaissance is needed IMHO.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

Why would online Butchers be the LAST resort? why shouldn't it be the first?
I think if you find Butchers, whether online or offline or online and offline! you should go for it.
My best bets online are Riverford
http://www.riverford.co.uk/sacrewell/veg_fruit_meat_boxes/#meat and the excellently wonderful and bloody fabulous
Farmison
http://www.farmison.com/butcher/beef both of whom sell beautiful meat at not too unreasonable price.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Charcuterie-French-Pork-Cookery-Grigson/dp/1902304888
This is the book that introduced me to Chou Farcie or Pork sausage mixture in cabbage leaves amongst other things.
As far a fat is concerned every good meat dish needs a certain amount of marbling for tenderness and flavour. This is why I wince when I see Good Food Magazine go on about LEAN meat etc because the flavour has gone out of it.
The above book is just an example of a cookbook that is fully into the appreciation of meat whatever it is.
From a gourmet/budget gourmet/foodie perspective you can learn how to lower fat levels for health without compromising on that all important taste.

nigelpm

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver wrote: »

I think the pervasiveness of Supermarkets and easy ability to buy meat in a packet has separated divorced people from the more primitive and primal aspects of meat buying.
A renaissance is needed IMHO.

Why should people need to know this?

The whole point of progress is that people don't need to know how to do everything. Generally people accept that it's more efficient for everyone to be skilled in different areas.

I have no interest in buying an animal, killing it and eating it. I'd much rather pay a premium and let someone else do it for me.