What do our national dishes such as cottage pie, stew, steak and kidney pie and the Sunday roast have in common?  The traditional integral ingredient is British beef.  After years of misleading suggestions that beef is too expensive and unhealthy it is time for us to set the record straight.  And it is time for the nation to fall in love with British beef again.  Beef is the metaphorical lion of the British dish.  Henry Fielding wrote When mighty Roast Beef was the Englishman's food, it ennobled our brains and enriched our blood.  Beef is so versatile and can be used, legitimately, in many different guises.  It tastes utterly delicious whether it is roasted, boiled, salted, stewed, minced, barbecued, used in a pie or served as a steak.

With beef's culinary versatility comes a reflective scale of cost.  Fillet steak is far more expensive than good quality lean British mince.  But considering the quality of British beef, both are value for money.  As with all things cost-related, the secret to keeping within budget is knowing exactly what you are buying.  If you want to cook a roast, consider the leaner silverside.  Buy more than you need and then you can make another meal with the leftovers.  If you are making a casserole, chuck is a fabulous cut.  The second invaluable golden rule for cooking on a budget is to shop around.  Take some time one Saturday and peruse a farmers market, some supermarkets, a local butcher, even online until you find one or two establishments that you feel offer good value for money and good quality British beef.  Never be afraid to ask your butcher where the beef comes from.  If you are buying from the supermarket aisle then always look for the red tractor Assured Food Standards logo and the Quality Standard mark.  

If you have room in your freezer, a cost effective way of buying British beef is to order a meat box either through your local butcher or direct from the farmer.  The Blackface Meat Company, for example, offers a Galloway beef larder box containing 1 kg braising joint, 2 x 500g stewing steak, 4 x 500g packs of diced beef and 4 x 500g lean mince for £53.00.  On first glance this seems a lot of money but if you break it down you would struggle to pay less for the same amount of meat from any supermarket.  From those cuts of meat you could make 6 beefburgers, 12 meatballs, one cottage pie - to feed up to 10, a large - or two small -  beefsteak kidney and oyster pie to feed 12, a vast stew and a casserole.  Spread this out over a dish a week and that is seven weeks of guaranteed red meat and all its nutrients in your diet.  Broken down there is potentially over 68 portions of food in this meat box, so you are looking at less than a £1.00 a head. 

When the BSE crisis occured in 1996,  British beef had some seriously bad press and as a consequence fell a little out of flavour with the nation.  The ban on exporting British beef, imposed in 1996 to prevent the spread of mad cow disease finally ended in May 2006.  Ironically, Britain's beef industry is now the envy of the world.  The breeding from livestock and genetics from our native breeds are much sought after by farmers in other countries.  No growth-promoting hormones are fed to beef cattle in the UK and any antibiotics are administered only under veterinary direction.  Britain's cattle passport system means that each animal can be uniquely traced to its dam (mother) and place of birth.

British beef has had to endure mixed messages as to whether red meat is good or bad for you.  To clarify...earlier this year, the British Nutrition Foundation reported that red meat consumed in healthy amounts does not lead to an increased risk of heart disease.  A joint of lean red meat, such as silverside, has less fat in it than a cheese salad and provides high levels of nutrients such as iron, monounsaturated fats, vitamins such as B12, niacin, B6, and trace minerals such as phosphorus and zinc.  The World Cancer Research Fund also acknowledges that a moderate intake of lean red meat has no negative health effects, though they urge that consumption be kept to 500g cooked weight per week and that processed meat should be avoided.  Therein lies the crux of the issue. It is our responsibility to moderate what we eat, to be aware of portion sizes and to ensure that our diet is balanced. If you have a big lunch, have a light supper and vice versa.  A grilled piece of steak has far less calories than four pieces of buttered toast!

This Sunday why not enjoy roast British beef for lunch.   Consume the leftovers from the joint in a salad, or shred the meat and make the base of a Cottage Pie, which you can then freeze and eat another day.   What better way to celebrate British Food Fortnight?

If you are not buying directly from a farmer here are some tips to ensure your beef is British [click here]
For a fantastic diagram and summary of beef cuts including a few traditional beef dishes [click here]
For a wide array of British beef recipes [click here]

Good roasting joints are: Sirloin, on or off the bone - the premier roasting joint; rib, on or off the bone - a perfect Sunday roast joint and Yorkshire Puddings can be made with the fat; topside - a very traditional roasting joint; silverside - a very lean roasting joint. 
Good steak cuts are: Fillet - this is one of the more expensive steak cuts, used for Chateaubriand; fillet tail end - tender and narrow cut perfect for grilling or frying; rib eye - a large steak taken from the fore-rib; sirloin - careful not to overcook it; rump - perfect for frying or grilling; feather - toughens as it cools so serve hot; minute - cook for no longer than 30 seconds on each side.  Perfect for a sandwich.
Slow-cook cuts are: Braising steak - currently out of fashion but delicious when cooked for long enough; chuck steak - perfect for stews and casseroles; brisket - ideal for a very slow roast or pot roast; skirt - this is the cut that is traditionally used in Cornish pasties; shin - cooked for 4 hours this will produce a very rich gravy; oxtail - cooked for long enough, the meat will just fall off the bone.

This month, The Sauce makes British Beef Casserole…

The Sauce

British Beef Casserole

• What ingredients did you use and how readily available were they?
  2kg braising steak cut into cubes - £12.00 from local butcher
  2 tablespoons of olive oil from store cupboard
  4 onions from the garden, honestly
  2 carrots also from the garden
  2 tablespoons flour from the store cupboard
  200 ml local ale - £1.79, from the supermarket
  1 litre beef stock - using stock cube from store cupboard


• What was the sum total cost of this meal?
  £13.79


• How many people did it actually feed?
  Six people with plenty left over


• How long did it take and how easy was it?
  Using a large casserole pot over a medium heat on the hob I fried the beef in batches.  I then fried the onion and carrot before returning the beef to the pan and stirring in the flour.  I then seasoned the meat, covered with the ale and then once it started boiling, I poured in the stock.  I brought it to the boil and then left it to simmer for about 4 hours with the on.  I slightly dreaded the prospect of making the casserole.  For some reason, perhaps because it feeds so many, I thought it would be a real hassle to make. Actually it is really enjoyable, very easy and not that time consuming at all.


• What did you do with the leftovers?
  It fed 6 for supper and then two of us had it for lunch over the following two days.


• What did you and your guests think of the meal?
  Delicious.  The beef was so tender and succulent and it just tasted so wholesome.


• Would you cook it again?
  This is going to be the mainstay dish of the autumn.

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