“Amongst all of the run-of-the-mill requests and enquiries in the butcher’s shop, we do get asked some more unusual things. Some are very straightforward, but others need a bit more thought.
Quite regularly, we get people looking for fillet steaks for use in stews. No matter how amazing a stew you want to make — even if it’s for a special occasion — fillet is simply the wrong cut for this type of cooking. We’ll always try and steer these customers towards those cuts of meat that will work better with slower cooking; when it comes to beef, these are chuck, shin, cheek, brisket or short ribs.
We do get quite a few requests for more exotic meats, such as kangaroo or bison. Luckily we do have a supplier for meats like this, so we can always order it in for you. Just ask!
We also love to see people ordering offal, as we believe it’s both smart and ethical to use as much of the animal as possible. We often get people looking for sweetbreads, liver, kidneys and things like that. If you are looking for a particular type of offal, I’d advise giving us a quick phone call before you come in, as sometimes it may take us a day or two to get it in for you. The only offal we don’t carry is tripe; for this, I would direct people to the inner city butchers that still stock it.
We also see a lot of customers coming in looking for bones, whether to make bone broth or to give to their dogs. Plenty of customers ask for lambs’ hearts for their teenagers to dissect in science class, and we usually don’t charge for these. It’s been a while since anyone has come in for lambs’ hearts for cooking, although stuffing and roasting them would have been standard until relatively recently.
At Christmas, we get a lot of turkey-related queries, which are always welcomed — we want to make sure your Christmas dinner is as delicious as possible. The one request we’re not delighted with is when people buy their turkeys elsewhere, then bring them in to our shop and ask us to bone and roll them. We will usually oblige, however, if we’re not too busy. One odd question that is asked surprisingly often is whether it’s safe to keep the turkey in the attic, garage or other supposedly cold place, to save space in the fridge. Our answer to this is absolutely not — you need to keep the turkey in the fridge to avoid the risk of food poisoning.
Similarly, at all times of the year, we get a lot of people asking whether they can keep a piece of meat in the car while they go on a road trip. A proper freezer box or cooler bag filled with ice packs is paramount for something like this.
On one occasion, we sold a whole cooked chicken to a lady. She later rang us to complain that she was attempting to carve the chicken, but that there was no meat on it — it was all bone. After some confusion, I figured out that she was holding the chicken upside down on her chopping board. I think she was embarrassed, as she hung up immediately. I will say, don’t feel uncomfortable asking your butcher about anything, as we’ve heard (almost!) all of the questions before.”
This column was originally published in Easy Food magazine. For recipe inspiration, visit www.easyfood.ie.