A Trip to the Butcher
Today, Bob and I walked down to Martindales, one of the local Butcher's. Since this is our last night in Ryde, I wanted to grill a proper send off meal. The women wanted Salmon...but the men? It was all about the beef.
Martindales is nothing like the meat counter at Meijer. First of all, the annoying, forward and constantly complaining woman found at Meijer was no where to be seen. Second, if you picture a butcher shop out of 1930's America...I know for some of you, that is something you would never consider...but at at least Mike is with me...that is what you get. It is very small and most of the meet is hanging for inspection. Very, very cool. The front window was a meat eaters dream: planks of gammon, steaks, chickens and New Zealand leg of lamb hanging from up above, precariously by their tendons.
When I think of the favorable steak...I always go rib-eye. However, after a quick look at what was on display, I noticed there were none to be found. When in England, I always find myself studying the beef charts, because some cuts are named differently over here. By the time we reached the counter, we learned there was a good reason we could not find any rib-eye on the island: economics. The proprietor, gave us a good lesson on beef. In terms of rib-eye, there was little demand for rib-eye as steak and an even smaller supply. He described the problems of cattle being imported from other parts of Europe and then fed on English soil for a few weeks and then labeled "English Beef". We also got a long talk about organic beef. It is obvious that the butcher fights the Tesco's and Sainsbury's (Read: Meijer & Kroger) for customers and that perhaps the move to natural beef on a wholesale scale is a little slower over here than compared with the states.
The long and short of it is, no one likes to grill rib-eyes and if they do, it is really, really expensive and if they do...they almost always have the bone removed! Sacrilege!
Bob did learn that if he wants a pork shoulder, he can stop on by and get one...with the bone in. Almost everyone has it boneless. However, Bob was quick to announce that he had an American grill (at this point, I started to take off my hoodie to reveal my Weber T-shirt...just kidding) and that he wanted to prepare the shoulder correctly!
It was really an interesting experience and beef civics lesson. I was going to ask for a tour of the freezer, but the butcher was a little too talkative and I was afraid we would never leave.
So, what did we get? Strip steaks...cut just for us. Strip steaks are referred to as sirloin, which was nice to get cleared up. The butcher took the entire side of beef and sliced off three one inch sirloins. Bob wondered why they were so big. I told him that he heard my American accent and knew he had to serve to excess. It was great.
Martindales is nothing like the meat counter at Meijer. First of all, the annoying, forward and constantly complaining woman found at Meijer was no where to be seen. Second, if you picture a butcher shop out of 1930's America...I know for some of you, that is something you would never consider...but at at least Mike is with me...that is what you get. It is very small and most of the meet is hanging for inspection. Very, very cool. The front window was a meat eaters dream: planks of gammon, steaks, chickens and New Zealand leg of lamb hanging from up above, precariously by their tendons.
When I think of the favorable steak...I always go rib-eye. However, after a quick look at what was on display, I noticed there were none to be found. When in England, I always find myself studying the beef charts, because some cuts are named differently over here. By the time we reached the counter, we learned there was a good reason we could not find any rib-eye on the island: economics. The proprietor, gave us a good lesson on beef. In terms of rib-eye, there was little demand for rib-eye as steak and an even smaller supply. He described the problems of cattle being imported from other parts of Europe and then fed on English soil for a few weeks and then labeled "English Beef". We also got a long talk about organic beef. It is obvious that the butcher fights the Tesco's and Sainsbury's (Read: Meijer & Kroger) for customers and that perhaps the move to natural beef on a wholesale scale is a little slower over here than compared with the states.
The long and short of it is, no one likes to grill rib-eyes and if they do, it is really, really expensive and if they do...they almost always have the bone removed! Sacrilege!
Bob did learn that if he wants a pork shoulder, he can stop on by and get one...with the bone in. Almost everyone has it boneless. However, Bob was quick to announce that he had an American grill (at this point, I started to take off my hoodie to reveal my Weber T-shirt...just kidding) and that he wanted to prepare the shoulder correctly!
It was really an interesting experience and beef civics lesson. I was going to ask for a tour of the freezer, but the butcher was a little too talkative and I was afraid we would never leave.
So, what did we get? Strip steaks...cut just for us. Strip steaks are referred to as sirloin, which was nice to get cleared up. The butcher took the entire side of beef and sliced off three one inch sirloins. Bob wondered why they were so big. I told him that he heard my American accent and knew he had to serve to excess. It was great.
Mike Lang
