Visited the local butcher today, now need ideas.

chrisfreelander54

So as the title states I've been to my local butchers for the 1st time today, to see what cheap cuts were available as well as what cheap cuts I could buy in the future.

I came away with 1x lambs neck and 1x oxtail for £5.95, not sure if this is a good deal or not as I've never bought these cuts before.

I was thinking of oxtail soup, but wondered what else I could make with the oxtail or the lambs neck.

Please could you point me in the direction of some exciting and low cost recipes.

I thinking of using our slow cooker as I'm off today and tomorrow, and thought it would be nice for me to have a nice meal prepared for when the wife gets in from work, at the same time as having time to do other things.

meritaten

neck of lamb is a traditional cut for making the Welsh stew known as Cawl (pronounce it Cowl).


its easy to make as the rest of the ingredients can be in whatever quantity you have. but, its traditional to use


one or two leeks
an onion
Carrots


you can also add parsnips, swede or turnips.


you start by browning the neck of lamb (its jointed for you I should think) in a little oil or lard, then add your peeled and chopped veg. pour in cold water to above the veg. add salt and pepper. you can add dried herbs now too - I like mixed herbs but Thyme is good as is Oregano.
now bring up to the boil and then turn down to a simmer. simmer for at LEAST four hours but you could transfer to a slow cooker and leave it all day or night or to a casserole dish in put in a slow oven.
I prefer to make it the day before I want it as it tastes better with keeping.

meritaten

chris - you could make a lamb Tagine with neck of lamb, in fact any recipe which uses either shoulder or stewing lamb. neck of lamb tastes better in my opinion because it contains the bones (warn guests btw) which enriches the dish.


and I forgot to say if I want to add potatoes I usually put them an hour before the stew is cooked - some potatoes will get too mushy if you put them in before that. oh and almost any root veg is ok - Welsh housewives just used what they had available so Cawl tended to vary a lot even in the same household!

suki1964

I made this many moons ago using tinned beans and it was delicious, very filling and really stretched a cheap cut even further. Just make sure you do trim the fat

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/main-ingredient/oxtail/oxtail-braised-in-guinness-with-cannellini-beans.html

madvixen

Oxtail makes an amazing curry while lambs neck is fabulous in stews. Try the BBC Food website, they have some fabulous recipes for both

Maitane

Both cuts make fabulous curry, oxtail stew is also padded out in a delicious way with pearl barley or lentils.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I'd brown the oxtail, then bung it in a slow cooker with onion, carrots, thyme, spring onion, a little allspice, turmeric, cumin and a whole scotch bonnet (any sad looking peppers in the fridge and a potato would help bulk it out), add boiling water and leave it to cook on high until the carrots/spuds are nearly tender, then turn it down and leave it. Serve with rice.

It's very rich, spicy and warming. And a whole tail will make tons (halve and freeze).

Maitane

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

I'd brown the oxtail, then bung it in a slow cooker with onion, carrots, thyme, spring onion, a little allspice, turmeric, cumin and a whole scotch bonnet (any sad looking peppers in the fridge and a potato would help bulk it out), add boiling water and leave it to cook on high until the carrots/spuds are nearly tender, then turn it down and leave it. Serve with rice.

It's very rich, spicy and warming. And a whole tail will make tons (halve and freeze).

You're not Caribbean are you Jojo? That sounds like what my uncle would cook and serve with either festival or Johnnycakes.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Nope, but I've lived in a very diverse place all my life. To give you an idea how diverse, every lunchtime I get kids pestering me in my office because they know I have a stash of chilli flakes in the cupboard and it's the only way they can tolerate school dinners and I've been promised rice and peas/jollof rice, depending on the particular kids, if I let them get away with something or share my lunches when I bring in the rare leftovers I have at home.

I can also make some pretty good East African, Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Greek and Japanese meals when I have the ingredients: leftovers days see teenagers like the bisto kids hovering outside, too. It's certainly easier to make something out of nothing when I'm not constrained to 'British' food.

Maitane

I cooked that Jojo because I had oxtail in the freezer, chucked in coconut milk and left it in the slow cooker. It was gorgeous!