I SWORE recently not to capitalise on the credit crisis, as so many writers have, but came to the conclusion that it’s little articles such as this, with their tips and ‘cheats’ that could actually make a wee bit of difference to the money in people’s pockets.
It’s always nice to find a few ways of saving some cash, and the kitchen is an ideal place to start. The level of food waste in this country is scandalous. On average, we waste £450-worth of perfectly good grub per year. Each.
Around 30% of all supermarket-bought food goes home, hangs around for a bit, and then sails into the bin. All that food, plus all that plastic, paper and cardboard. Outrageous, isn’t it?
Simply reading the statistics should be enough to chill the blood. We should reduce our food waste and at the same time attempt to reduce our weekly food budgets.
One way of doing so, as suggested by Jamie Oliver in last month’s rather well-put-together ‘Save Our Bacon’ TV programme, is to embrace the variety of cuts of meat we use, rather than sticking to the safe, predictable pieces, which sadly results in the ludicrous situation of our butchers having to buy in foreign cuts of meat whilst at the same time selling less-fashionable pieces to overseas markets.
What’s more baffling is that the more popular pieces of meat are often the blandest, least tasty cuts from the animal. Fillet of beef, lamb chops, loin of pork are all good cuts of meat, sure, but have far less flavour than the rib-eye steak, the scrag-end of lamb, or the shoulder of pork. The real reason is that the popular cuts simply require less effort on the cook’s behalf, and that’s inexcusable. Put a little effort in! Befriend your local butcher and ask him to recommend something new.
Pot-Roast Brisket Of Beef With Horseradish Cream is a terrific recipe, very British in its roots and cooking methods, but with a nod to the grand bovine cuisine of the Austrians, who certainly know their way around a cow.
Ideally, you should look out for fresh horseradish root, but this recipe makes things a little easier for you. The dish takes a little time to brine, but very little effort for the actual cooking.
It’s one of those you can pop in the oven and forget. And it’ll certainly make you think twice about those twee little flavourless steaks on their polystyrene trays when you’re next browsing the shelves…
Serves 4
The Brine:
600g Maldon salt
500g golden unrefined caster sugar
12 juniper berries, lightly crushed
12 cloves, lightly crushed
2 star anise, lightly crushed
4 fresh bay leaves, bruised
4 litres water
The Beef:
2kg piece of British-reared beef brisket (unrolled), from a good local butcher
3 large mild onions, chopped
2 fat carrots, chopped
2 leeks, chopped
12 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 sprigs thyme
A handful fresh curly parsley
10 black peppercorns
1 litre beef stock (chicken or vegetable stock will do)
250ml red wine
The Horseradish:
1 jar very hot horseradish sauce (not creamed)
A small pot of whipping cream
A pinch of golden unrefined caster sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Freshly-ground black pepper
To make the brine, gently heat all the ingredients in a pan until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Allow to cool, pour into an appropriate plastic container, and then pop the brisket in. Allow it to wallow in the brine, refrigerated, and turning occasionally, for 5 days.
To cook the brisket, take a roasting dish just a wee bit bigger than the brisket when laid flat, and fill with the chopped vegetables, herbs, and peppercorns. Lay the brisket on this, and cover with the stock and wine, topping up with additional stock or water until the brisket is almost covered but not quite. Heat the oven to Gas 5 / 375°F / 190°C. Cover the dish with foil, and cook the brisket for about 3 hours, until it’s just about falling apart.
To make the sauce, whip the cream, add a little sugar, pepper and lemon juice, then fold in as much horseradish as you can bear. Serve with slices of the beef, along with some roast root vegetables or some lovely wilted spinach.
