MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR FT Weekend Magazine MARCH 25/24 2024 Food & Drink Special GOOD MEAT IT'S TIME TO LEARN YOUR, BUTCHER'S LANGUAGEParo je Srey as } / Easter ~ - Six Golden East to the brim with decadent milk [nut praline. EASTER, 3157 MAR. FORTNUMANDMASON.COMMach 23/24 2004 FOOD & DRINK SPECIAL Clad youasked (Questions for your butcher By Patck Caltaith 25. Gems rom six specialist shoos 26. Jargonbuster ‘naw eion of hes mest By Tin Hayward 28. > Steaks inthe game Therace te discover new ets of mest By Lous Amarth 34, Levsbutbetter How to bee up favours while cutting back on most 36. Mighty Recipes for mutton, rabbit and lor tongue the Henderson way a1. JencisRobinson For red meat, think pik RHYMING CUT-LETS Whenit comesto cooking mew vofienina ut, choosing Jeu / These rhymes eipremind youofyour anu rmostofpigorlamborc INTELLECT 7 Tim arora Instagram or Outstagram? ite Cartoon by Amy Huan Callery andy Barker on Britains beaches wit wisbom 14 Robert Shrimsiey ateh your subanetives {Guy atchies back 5 Game {The Questionnaire Kelvin Fletcher, farmer and actor Itatone rewptonby Tar AecdeLetters G Inthename ofthe father by Amonta candy ‘The treatment described bythe thee brave women nterdewed by Antonia Cundy wassystemic ‘ver many years, putin pace bythe now eanonisedJosemarla Excrv,founder of Opts De, and hisales ‘Asa member of the London- based advisory of the Womens Section of Ops Del nthe 96, read Laci instruction tat any member who leltshould ibecomsidered fa traitor). These words andthe treatment of out litlesistes” (the maids), shocked ‘me deeply and eventually edto iy lerving ‘Opus Del, andthe Church that protectsit, needs to confess its Systematic abuses and ies, mest ‘of which have stemmed fom the teachings ofits"sainty” founder, ‘shom the organisation sil lie. Escrvaandisfollowers certainly recruited many talented individuals with hearts of gold partlclarly he assistant nameraries, ‘cureat Opus Det defenders live witha legey the sins thei fathersand, n particular, the sinsof civ Truth and justice demand tha Opus Del pays what owes to allformer members whose wages and pension rights wee overooked, aswel ascompensatlon forthe ‘many hoursef counselling so ‘many ofus have needed, Eileen json, Newstat viaemail wonderful thaerovrng, article by Antonia Cundy. Religious ‘onganisation ike Opus Dei need tobe regulated kecareomes orschooks, Thehistory of abuse that Cundy demonstrates shows they cannot be ft unchecked {the Church wll not intervene, then the state should fan Weight, righion Thispecealonelsworth the price of my subscription. (Please don't take thisas permission toincrease prices Thanks.) ‘Mjsbunny va com Ubercheats Dy Mamita sya Excelent and interesting atic more people were like sami, the ‘work would bea better place. Amlimony ia com Ifahere sno wagerat, snot wage: gigworkerscannot know thet compensation, there's ‘no market or pice discovery for th This snot “capt” itsdigital serfdom. Sami is obviously hero but Fam yettobe convinced the world needs Uber eats tal Pinktre icon Indetonceo surge pricing by tim tarond Not sueif Tim wasengaging is fey mater. Dyna pricing must resin more power consumption {hroaghthe shelving display systems and conte system How docs this hep the planet? J eubbit, iaemait ‘What you do with dynamic pricing Isyouereatea market” And marketsonly work well when bbuyersand sellers have roughly thesame level of accesso Information and can rely choose whichever counterparty they want todo business with, wth mlnial friction. theres asgniicant imbalance, theres no real competition and the market isnot ‘mechanism fr price discovery, buta way tomaximise profit by abusing market power. com x04 vo Fm ‘Thewestcanstil save Ukraine by Simon Kuper despise these warmongers who tellus how to win awa Twitessed awarinthe North of reland while ‘rowingup.ltisshockingand no ‘ne wins nthe end, they st Sound a able and tall: Weld ‘Simon send his loved onestowar? Thereiea better way. PaulDoran, Dbl A marci Tropa el aie ‘TocoNTRIBUTE ‘Youcan comment on out articles online or ai Imagaanelettertt com. Please ince a daytime telephone number and full ‘adress (nt for publication Letters maybe edited. ‘Thanks for thissimultaneously persuasive and damningartile. Surely wecan afford 5 pr czen por yearto defeat Putin in Ukralne? 520Daysof Summer ria Feom Eating with my ox prim apward Sounds ikea delightful evening. ‘Ai agree with the observation about vegan cheese, oo Itisthe ‘ldmate contradiction in terms Left-handed bas player incom, twentto dinner with my ex, would be wearing. ‘Thestyler ia FLcam (0K, yada yada re the fod. What vant to know, what did you tale bout? And bow overall i tg ‘Amblondon rn icom ‘ThoSpanishovelution byjancis Robinson ‘Amexcellent column this week, both interesting and informative, While few ofthese wines any, arelikaly to beavalabe where vet illbe filing this article for iy European tip later this year! Joe (PCA. Donald) va com Cotte shop notebook by Rachel Hendry Philip Seymour Hofman used to tore our shots a expresso o¥er Feewitha splash of mil tink ale of coffe during the day but, ‘ood gd tryngthat once kept | ‘me bing for several hours nt {promptly ashe. Fun times, should ry agai sometime, iy heartcan take it ‘Tactleus ia Feo How do the othe partes ‘ichwasher policies stack up? byRobert sims ‘ThePlald Cymru tine wil go down, Inbistory, Manticore ig com ‘Great stu, Robert. You took my ‘indo al the bad thing oingon inthe world. Thanks Retired accountant via comMR MARVIS13. Feb - 26 May barbican.org.uk Good butchery mainly involves removing meatand dismantlingjoints but ‘whenbonehasto becut, there are two main wwaystogoaboutit. A cleaver is designed inthesame way asanaxe, withaheavy head andathick tough cuttingedae: that resists bending Ittakes years of practice tolandacleaver accurately onceyouve swungitand most of us wll never get that ‘vi asked butts not Dect has alt of flavour but i Some ofthe best cheapcleaverscome from Chinese suppliers often castfromasingle piece of metal both handle and blade. They canevenbe putthrough the dishwasher ets stock agood one for £2278, There aremore expensive Japanese, French and German cleaversavalablebut, asthey ‘usually result inlots ofsmashed up bone and occasional severed fingers Fl save the money and gostraight for bone saw This does a much better. cleaner ob of going through vertebrae tocutchops or Fbones and hasmuch ess ofa messy learning ‘curve. The Fischer-Bargoin household sawisa domestic version, available from ‘Weschentlder.the professional butchery supply house, for £28.50. ~Tim Hayward THEGUIDE GOOD MEATinalotot ou want the tls to absorb a walls good, or even just aight por. it ikea sponge What's pou: Moran explains, while he's ‘wrapping them up, that they are Fist youngchickens. Pus are ‘convenient bid to cook quickly andeasly The meat scot tothe bone ands very Bsvoursome, ICs mil sweet and ener What can Ifeeda very hungry teenager that won't break the bank? sausages or mince would be go Moran sgt. (Chicken i expensive atthe moment because of bird fy, infted feed cost de to dlobalconfctanda staf shortage Aue to Brest) Tom says when Tteomes to keeping you spend down generally he aways suggests something ike rump or topside. I Yyouget them right, youcangt very good roast out other. vouaseeo raw / Hanis what How do you cook big steaks? Morantellsthe man you need to start inthe pan then nish the feakinthe oven. 1 the same with bigsteaksin goneral, others the Ha Walter shuts up shop at 6pm. Inthe ast half-hour, theres 0 time for questions tsamad uth of people buying things for dinner. From Monday to Wednesday, Tom telleme, the ples are aig hit and then they tat to goin for steak ‘more asthe week progresses Tut when the shutters ae YOUR BUTCHER Why are some cre nm || tne cuts tougher? cred sa brineorsmoke)» | | Business continues actos a oncecookabitsthenaham/ | | HG Walter’ wholesale sit otto be confused with | | epen24 hoursaday, justin Think of where a filet sits, behind the bone of the Seoul ecatwartern onde sirloin and rump. It does no work and so is very forbone marrow at gam. Weare tender. Compare that to a shin. Acows lower leg gets continuous work and so isa tough cut. processed canned pork thats Spam the butcher, Danie tell me, that alwaystikes to say yesKOSHER Kesher butchers offer prepared meats that follow Jews dietary laws known skort, eet, amb ana poultry take centrestze, but, Youcanalso find duck and turkey. Youwon't find pork abit or any other non kosher meat Most pees ‘come pre-packed. For example, quartered bots, perfect forthe Taadiional Frida night chicken ‘soup, Lamibcuts are popula, ‘hough nota eg of amb ss forbidden toeat the scitienerve, ‘Bee enthusiasts wl find brisket (plain or pickled), spare and shor ibs, London bri pane bola andribeye steaks, whlle pickled tongues popular with Ashkenaat Joon Kosherbutchersare closed on riay afternoons and Sturdays forshabbat but open on sundays SlviNacamull author of ‘Jewish Flavours aly: “A Femi Cookbook CARIBBEAN AND AFRICAN ‘With recipes that cal fr goat reat, chiken necks, mutton ad Cow foot, dishes islands and African countries ‘ot always served by tadtional rtsh butcher couaters Fora tong me, that ned hasbeen met byysouth Asan-runbuteher. With more wholecarcas butchery happening nthe UK, itis easie to eques particular cut and even ‘certain animal such a oat ‘Though oer, ve had to buy nore than intended, because the butcher felt they may struggle to sellthe rest. Ad, mere recent *pecallstBlack-owmned butchers Ihave opened, Campbells Meats, in the West Midlands (now online butchers inthe UK Malees Thompson, author ‘of Motherland CHINESE ‘he is of goods forsale at ‘vid indiaton of where chinese men ight atthe top pork ‘eth xaos mestot celebrations Then there ae those partstat ae pied forthe intersting favours and texte: ca, tong, tal he ve kidney, stomach lage Intestin ald (or ls) and Bones ior stock): Below pore comes bef oe ofthe reat teat for Chinese Musing ae ‘hore generally ete nl In rately modern times. Pres beef trpe lea favourite ingredient for scalding in Sichuan otpot tet tendons are coo and atin oll ses or mage gettnats when trated for ours There are no chicken teats for setae, nga fet th theienticing “high rap factory chewy ears ‘dco eat andthe Str ene” (mld smother chickens) whicare the ase of radon tacks and any fe os chai Dunlop, author of Inwtaton to Banat The Story ctchineae ood BRAZILIAN The ct Braz is best known for is pcan rump teak without the fatcap taken of which sentra techuresco [barbecue]. One of ry favourite things to buy aa prazilln butchers ts Calabrese sausages. Modeled on allan ausges cto the large alan-ranilan popslation, flavour and contain nlther rusk nor filer. Youre unikely to tind ‘bacon rashes in Brazilian butcher, but tere’ a whole other world of smoked and cured pork to discover knuckle large lardons, belly and bs, which you ‘vac packed bigs ready to drop Ino poof ea (Back bean. ‘Youcan also gta of ofa, ticularly chicken heart ‘nga Blfage euthor of MEZCLA: RecipestoEeite PUNJAB ‘A Punjabi butcher, often slgnposted asa "Dest Butcher speciale incutstllor made for the calsines of northern Indl, Pakistan and Bangladesh as well asdshes fom Nepal, Myanmar and Aighanistan. They are known {or ther outstanding lamb and ‘ton and always take a nse approach - the thickly Cut marrow bones and lamb’ iver being especkally prized by south Asian customers, Chicken it equally prevalent, pre-marinated Ina range of aromatic spice rubs and heady masa pastes, You ‘also find pork, wild boar and venison ~butareunllely to find bec, as come ae considered to be ly by many ofthe religious ‘comamunities that use these cetablshments Punjab butchers tend to have very few items on “splay ~ordersare usualy phoned freshly prepared and then “lected tan allotted lt. Dott beshy about calling Curdoop Loyal author of ‘Second Generation MAGHRERL ‘North Atcan butchers specialise in Maghreb casi, encompassing the radios of Alger These shops are renowned for their erguce™spced lamb sausages ‘ou also ind poultry and beet, ut no pork duet hal restrictions, Maghreb butchers provide petals for mehou! (Garcot grilled mes) incaing Tamb chop, brochettes of ams an chicken marinated in pee, ‘ou willl tind oll, Consider re-ordering cul at =the sna interal organs =o wrap around chopped Iver for delicous led Bulla brochetes. A vst a butcher’ during Ramada, happening now, ecormendd They transfor io ely narkets, offering variety of cakes made by lal women, Bouthoina Ben Salar, chet andhost of Babst de BEST BUYS AT (SPECIALIST BUTCHERS, FROM CARIBBEAN TOKOSHER, CHINESE ‘TOMAGHREBI LAO HONVES GOOD MEAT THEGUIDE26 AGLOSSARY OF ETHICAL MEAT JARGON CLARIFYING THE FUZZY PHRASEOLOGY OF QUALITY MEAT Inrecent years, buyingand cating become complicate 1's not the physical bu uch asthe ethical. We know more about the meat were Many of th place, and as public opinion dey ps the more dvi. be hones tof claims BREEDS LOCAL RARE ANDNATIVE Farmers havea BY TIMHAYWARD ‘hen they carefully contrlled the lines of inheritance to reat icra tive, identifablebreed, ae powerful as brands, certified bybreed soa with pigs and Found the fact that, no mat Tare pigs The termine alocalfarenincambris, and don rvel to Gloucester ast alovely ld of Gloucester 01d Spots ust off the Ax The same goes for rarity: Many member when the Old Spot really saying is that you're beter est buying meat from long-standing British herderather hanimporing her counties. Whatever the breed, the rule stands that if you buy meat that’ been loaly reared, and preferably plional bene. SMALL SCALE/FAMILY FARM ‘These terms are no ql quality. There are rms ‘ut there with appalling standards there are vast farms p {ng excellent meat responsibly: Failiesincludingtoyalenes) own and run some of the largest ag fortrast a butcher who talks to the farmer on your behall, have the best chanThe faci, though, ifm talking to aarmer or butcherabout meats ‘oat ikely to bea smal operation, and probably owned bya fal. LAND STEWARDSHIP istorcaly tts been anuncomfort abletrismthatimanindstealised, trbanlaed secety, we didnt ear fnuch about farmers. Shops are Important ~ the places we buy bread, meat, wine and tea. Bu for a long time, the whole grubby mals, grapes or plants needed to pede those things couldn have ‘concerned ts That has changed. We've grown, tocarevery muchaboutthe damage ‘our consumption does to the et Fonment, and so now the impact ‘on the la ia significant consid tration in purchasing ~ as well as Inreating “a lamb chop. Siddeniy we are hearing grent ‘eal about “regenerative” farm Ing a way of stewarding the land thats designed not just tohavethe lowes eves of long-term damage tothe environment, but to actualy improve the environmental sy tems (si, wate, Blodveraly) on which farmers rely. Crucially, for ‘eat eaters, ths involestivestock, (Grazing isn't just a way to fatten sheep, It's alsoa way to process ram nto fertiliser. This new way ‘of thinking takes Into account out {carsforthecnvironmentwhilepro acing “less but betes” meat RETIRED ANIMALS ‘he rearing of animals for meats asoberingly mathematical process. Everything relles on keeping the Price of inputs, principally foo, as Tow as possible tora given weight of meat sold. Mammals once weaned, ply increase in size and weight roughly until the time they reach Sexual maturity. Once they af6 mature, leling them more does Increastheirmaseslgnlfiantly. The unfortunate concusin, therefor, lethat ost animals reared for mest are most cost-effective if saugh teredascloseaspossibletomatuiy ‘This is why we routinely slaughter cows a 38 months, sheep a sx to "2 months, pgsat veto sx months and chickensat eight tonine weeks. Money spent feding them beyond that point is eflectively wasted, ‘Animals that have another “ob” (oroeding ows, sheep for wl, Taying hens, dairy cows and so fon) ca have long and productive lives during which their meat often achieves a vastly more interest ing favour and texture 0 f your butcher offers you ex dairy” eet a ao-year-eld ex-draught Galician huey” a some cul yaw” mato, you ae looking at something very ‘ferent Something rarer. GRASSFED ‘This fsa term most spectficaly appedtobet, tadisinguishitfrom ‘omled of corn finshed. Her ia the UK, cows havetraditinally been ‘LOWAND SLOW Brit funkaal shank uriersofflavour, aregiventime: ther cookng'soneto savour Forthey have worked soharas muscles, they ‘are tough and ea Soseuson well cook ow andslow /Cuestew razed on pasture where possible for on allage or hay (elfectively preserved grass) in winter In the Us, calves are weaned and then immediately fattened on corn, ‘whlch increases ther ‘Corn fed bets ftir well mar bled and tender, all things we've Ibcen taught toseck ost inmest Its alsoless meaty In favour Jess com ck Mostofthe bee rating Word hs followed the American pattern cofiel preition, japanese Wag theexctingnew cust Koreanbc, {ar more kay to be corn-fed and slaughtered young, conforming to the standards of USDA Prime, ‘Unfortunately, the term fea”, like everything else, is complicated Youcancallananimal grass-fed if it's spent 9 certain ‘Once again, there's no substitate for trusting the farmer or butcher ough this Is where assurance schemes have become incredibly ‘sell, The Pasture Fed Livestock [Assocation hs very strict rules or {ravng livestock solely on growing pastures or hay/sllage harvested From meadows FREE RANGE -Anotherofthoseclaimsthatsounds simple but ends up so mired in ance that any meaning ishardto ‘winkleout-na county ike the UK, © we lack vast open prairies ‘elt, outback or other substantial ‘wilernes al farmed animals are, sive egg production ushered In appalling conditions among “bat ry chickens. Intensive indoor Digrearingsav some vile practices ‘Rearingvealincrates was patholo fealty inhamane. is ao wonder we ‘evlt against the idea of philly restricting animals The claim of ree range” bs most Important to the poultry indus: tay, and a brief seareh online wl find you the fl et of stipulations Dy which they operate: how many square metres pe bird, amber of ‘outdoor hours per day; maximum distance of reost from “popbioe” Its very faraway from "reedon In any sense ofthe word SEASONAL aveyoueverthoughtabout "spring Tame? suggest you don. In most breeds of sheep, lambing occurs at a purticlar Ue: spring. And when {youTredrving through the country Side, you might be lucky enough to see newborn lambs springing about the place. Then you stop ff the supermarket and there 2 pro notlon running for "sprig lam Which, ifyou pause fora second is realy oad, ‘ep. That ight Atha “sprig lamborasactualy slaughtered tthe cendofthewinter After fourmonths biding from the freezing weather Ina barn and being fed straw. I's yea ol Truth spring lamb as fot nothing todo with the “season lity" of the micat it's just «very fd bit of marketing, Infact, any ‘mention of "seasonality" n met is largely marketing, except perhaps fnwldlgame, which, hough tea bbeeaten year round, des sillhave “leas for shooting ORGANIC The UK's environment depart "the product ofa farming system hich avoids the we of manmade {ectlisers,pestckles, growth re latorsand livestock ced adaitves Inthe world of mest and butchery, {his creates some interesting com tradictons In Britain, for meat to sell ay “organic ts Feared on organic feed and be er lied by one ofa small group of fergunisatons. you buy meat in a Supermarket, youl be aware that the stuff with the organte stamp {more expensive, but if you have a decent relationship with your bateher, youll have Been atfered neat trom small producers, who reareththemost humane, sual able procedures andeondition.but feationfsoneway youcantrust tht ‘cat has been well reared, but the absence of the organic tag doesn't THEGUIDE GOOD MEAToN | a i“The “Vegas stip"? Hestantly, he guesses shoulder again, What about the “bonanza cut”? "You've lostme Pine says “Where do these names come from? Where have you ot this informatlon™ {got them inthe course of askingifthereare any steaks lft tobe discovered. When tllpeople Fm ryingto ind ou, most wonder ifm referring tolab-grown meat. After say Tm lok Ing mainly at cows, the response, prety much universally, ‘bemusement. How can you get new cuts from a cow? "sa val polnt. Cows are cows and, bees becoming more ‘consistently sled they havent changed much over the years the anatomy ofthe bovine hasbeen the sme for millenni? John Scanga, chief scentificoficer ofthe North American ‘Meat Divison at Eurofin, a mltinatonal fod testing bust nes, tells me ‘Despite this nothard to finda 2is-century steak From the 20005 tothe mid-2010s, a string of new cuts entered the ‘market. Ths ed wave was spurted less by culinary curloslty than by commercial pressures, and led by figures working atthe Intersection of seadetnla and enterprise, “They call themselves meatheads, of meat scents, and it's thelr if” "ays Tim Bowser, a profesor of food-processenglneering at ‘Oklahoma State Univers." mean they live and breathe it. ‘And so they're dreaming about these things, and we're Just having ordinary thoughts in our heads” nthe mld-19g0s, US meat processors had a problem. Although the prices paid forthe bestkoven steal remained high, those for cuts fom the rump and chuck had fallen rap aly, denting margins all along the supply chain. Often, both sections ended up round into burger meat or renderedto make pet food -a near worst-case scenario for producers econom fly. In response the Beef Checkof programme = funded by reducers and operated by the National Cathe’ Beet Asso: lation, the trade and by groupbehind the "Bee Its Whats forDinnee” adverts that egan inthe US inthe 29905 Iaunched large-scale project to profile the muscular eystemof cows and ‘entity commercially viable cuts that were beng overlooked. ‘The NCBA engaged two meat scientists, Chrs Calkins of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Dw Jonson ofthe University of Florida, t lead the search “think the industry Just gota Calkins, who recently retire from teaching, els ‘me over the phone. Originally from Washington, be moved 19 “Texas to study meat science after leaving high school - there ae flecks ofthe west coast and cowboy country in his accent. ‘they would take an entire chuck or Pleces ofthe chuck and Just make ground bet out oft Calkins, Johnson and thelr team began thelr hunt by travel ting around the US to research anew beet bible. Temporaly attaching themselves to abattoirs, they carved up cows In 27 distinct permutations, based on factors such 35 weight and ‘quality grade, and then Into ples. "Fach one of those was valuated fo eating quality and for tenderness. We measured lou; we measured composition; we measured the pI; We ‘measured vitally everything we could think says Calkins. Tt tookea year to gather all the samples and another year to races the finding By the ime they were finished the team fad profiled more than 5200 aifrent muscle samples. Thett ‘great discovery was anew steak rom the inner shoulder, an tea that “was really not on our radar Calkins says The ci, ‘which would be dubbed the "ation steak nally seemed Unpromlsing, but surprised the selentiss by pumping up Winen cooked. Inthe early os, the NCBA began to promote the flat iron, and it has since proved a success. “I had a guy call me onetime erly on when the at ron was just catching fn, recalls Calkins. "A smal country butcher, I you wil and hh sald: "Are youthe guy that invented that new muscle” And ‘Thad to laugh, because you know, as humans, we dont have the purview of inventing muscle, right?” ‘There¥asimple lesson: novelty tothe butcher mattersmuch lest than tothe customer, "We kind of fle about It fs not ke they're ne ight” says Seana. DENVER STEAK Ast re Barer Soak ae tte chick (om BONANZA CUT nga hth stoounched at Thay ot Nosed, Rena ‘cma ie le Woerne, aan of man 6in and broad set “has bs onthe mind. “short rib has aways been short ri” he tells me over video call, ina Texas Accent fel eblgatry to label draw. "But when you turn into Texas barbecue short bor yal Inika japanese ora Korean-style short ei, all ofa sudden thas sex appeal, right [AL ls core, this the secret ofthe fat iron and its ik Behind the eat, gus, glory and glamour, Inventing a "new steak is just a matter of finding business case anda brand. ‘Woerner, a profesor of animal and food science at Texas Toch Univesity, spent part of his career evangelising for the Denver steak as partof an NCBA education project: The Denver, introduced In 2009, I another chuck ut borm out fof the muscle-profiling programme and named ater the {Colorado stat capital which, among ther things, houses the Deadquarters of the NORA. ‘The Denver steak’s advocates point to its beely favour and unusual tenderness, given Ks position within the hard ‘working shoulder. But these qualities aren't realy the most Important part ofthe equation fora new steak the econonale ability of extraction and then the marketability matter tore, in that oder. ‘Despite early media fanfare, the Denver has struggled to sain traction. You wouldn't expect a butcher working today tohave heard of the cut. Bu that doesn mean people arent ‘eating It Thats because the Denver ean also be called bone: less shore rib, which s hugely popular in barbecuc and some ‘Aslan culsne, Denver steak ia truthfully meaninglseas Anything, right” chuckles former evangsist Woerner. Several novel steaks have stumbled at the fist hurdle ‘Take the bonanza cut, which was named by University of ‘Nevada professor Amiton de Mello. tits launch event in 2016, where fellow university staff and meat industry rep Tesentatives were treated to slces soaked In Mediterranean for south-west syle marinades, It was called a "lamond in the rough But the steak, located atthe intersection of the ‘chuckand rib cage flled to make to the meat mainstream. Likewise the Vegas Strip, which was “invented” In 2015 by Tony Mata, a business consultant who worked on devel ‘oping the fat iron, and academic Jake Nelson. Usually the ‘eveloper of anew steak will work closely with a producer, ‘who wil sponsor the workin the hope of getting st-mover Advantage on marketing whatever “discovered” Instead, the pair worked independently and then tried to getapatent for how the steak was extracted, But thelr appleation was ‘ejected and processors seem uninterested. “twas doomed ‘because it asa bad Idea? says Scanga, snow been nearly adeeade since de Mello aunched the ‘bonanza cut, and it seems the age of new steaks might have ‘eached is end. Industry funded, research-oriented pursuit fot new muscle cuts has relly slowed down,” says Woerner. “put the practical purl of creating products or customers asa result of consumer demand ls ongolig every day. And ‘always wll be.” Calkins says, “I el lke for the most part ‘we've explored that eaeass realy well” "Bu there’ nothing that prevents someone from taking an existing muscle, maybe ‘tng fe ina diferent way, presenting i ina diferent way and putting a diferent name oa it ‘there s hope les inthe influencers. "Nothing creates demand more than a culinary tend,” says Woerner. *Sormabouttoruna whole ib-eyethroughameat grinder” bins atypical Instagram video by Jess Pryles, a Texas: based Australian. Prytes is part of group pethaps best described as "meat influencers, content creators who bas cally jst talk about meat (and the oceastonal egg). she ‘offers Followers ~ about 190,000 on Instagram and 131,500 mn TKTok a range ef reipes, purchasing tips and what can ‘nly be called “food porn” all with a meaty favour. "Tehink ‘whenever you find something you're truly passionate about, [becomes nearly an obsession,” shetellsme over video rom THE GUIDE GOOD MEAT 8THE GUIDE herhome in Austin, Brown har ina loose ponytail and wer fngan AC/DC'T shit, shes framied by two posters. One ss ‘Melbourne, Australi" the other “Smoked Meats {ike many Influencers, Pryles treads the boundaries between advocate, educator and salesperson without inh bition. Some of her videos are sponsored content ors Texas supermarket chain, and she promotes a range of products lunder er own Hardcore Carnivore brand, sos sgem to be ade forthe sheet love of mea ‘Seeking to better understand this meaty sphere of inf ence, Lopen up TIKTOK. On one channel un by Doneastian “butcher, abator, farm and coffee shop” EV Slack & Sons, 2 man brandishing the biggest kalfe I've ever seen demon ‘trates how to make a spider” steak, Working it from the top of hip bone, he refs tothe small payload as “batch ring’ biggest secret T'ealready heard of tlscut alsocalled an “oyster” steak, bt Fm not convinced its such a secre One of the ease Its so rarely seen Is because it gets lot when the carcass Is separated a the abattoir. Tcek headier thrills and soon find myself watching a video by @thebeardedbatchers shoving s man deploying 2 sequence of increasingly sophisticated tols to turn a cow Shin into stubby version of Norse god Thor's hammer. The ‘whole thing sa bit overwhelming ‘Do viewers actually sek out these cuts? “I personally believe that thete’s very Ite conversion,” says Pryles. Link that most oft efor entertatament she says bar becue influencers in particular havea “Columbus” mindset They really want to fel they have found a cut that no one lee knows about ‘til, these channels have taken the traditional role ofthe butcher - asa salesperson, sure, but also as a custodian of the earnivorous knovledge that the modern shopper has lost and repackaged I for mass consumptlon, Pinner, the butcher, ia fan of Peles, and he says some of her videos have cased customers to come in to hie west London shop HOW NOW, HEIFER OR COW? A bifersa bovine who hasnt yet given birth sheneedstohaveacalftoshow her useand breading worth / Onceshe'shadacalfshe'thona cowand muststck nar /a site (or bill who brewds anlkea snipped less sei, steer) roughout my conversations with meat people education repeatedly comes up a8 astleking plnt. “There are plenty fof pleces of com that arent well used” says Bowser. The di ‘tly the industry basi making those its valuable. Todo that, you have to make people care. But why should they, when the existing cus deliver? The influx of new cooking styles is perhaps the biggest driver: again and again, experts mentlon the Importance of new culsines, especially Mexican and Korean, in opening ‘consumers eyes to its of meat that producers overlooked land consumers ignored, The answers werealready there, but Some people werent looking A prime (or nonprime, depend: {ng on the cow) example isthe rise of the bee fata, which ‘Weerner ell nc hae saturated” the demand for skirt teak. MEAT MAKERS seeking normally obscure cuts "Ithink we're justlearningin | WAKMERTINE | ye'cant gt enough fit he says Byperive ae aocty tthe manent bese weve bang, | Shewt ‘Sometimes, economics also provides an answer. The fat fed so mich information,” sys Pyles, ome tes Iron in Calingsteling, benefited frm the timingof the great TEES etliny |__flnanclaleriss, as people became more interested in cheaper ‘ts But Pyles believes there was always a Himit to how far ‘ew steaks alone could move the dial "On the whole, most 4 People's exposure to diferent mea cts ss imited that {hiss already advanced nuclear physts for them, nstead of busc algebra“ thi we ll knw hat th best sek are tthe end of the day she adde.“We'e not about to ncover FA c a beter teak than bse DEM AND ‘where steaks could be ont ound “Yo wan 8 mace {hats been worked ait, but not to mach he sy inser hasan eal’ curios for ne ct Du his SPDERSTEAK west London clentce arent ily to become bonantaenth Gsinckyeecpits | siatany time soon “There wll bes weekend where we st homtowarects | alot of people coming in asking for fat ion and stuf like that, but it doesn't happen very often” a ‘Tim left wondering what I've learnt, New steaks are real, ESERAMESEE but theyre also nots All that really matters fs that you ean find a way to sell them. For the big producers, that work Is “being done tor them by cultural diversification and social tinea ‘apie my voyage of discovery stil ind it hard to understand, physically, where you might finda new steak: At Parsons Nos, Pinner shows me a chuck ‘ection, Whereas the back and rump neatly binds its bounties in thick divisions of ft and bone, the ‘hc is chaos sinuous nex of silver skin ad Tigament. 1s clear, ints complexities, how it became a pace