ask your butcher…

Turkey mince is such a versatile meat but in Ireland we are not used to cooking with it and so avoid it which is a shame as it is very reasonably priced and an excellent source of protein!

You can substitute turkey in almost any other mince recipe, but do remember turkey does not have the same depth of flavour as beef, lamb or  pork so be generous with your spices, herbs and seasoning. Here are two easy recipes which we cook at home. Hope you enjoy!

It is not a term I have heard before but I guess it is that when the gammon is in a state of transformation.

The door has been closed and it is on the journey to becoming a ham….but it is not quite there yet!

You are not alone in your uncertainty on how to cook Spiced Beef! … Please visit How to Cook Spiced Beef to view our step by step guidelines … Happy Cooking!

Turkey Mince can be used as an alternative to beef or pork mince. It is generally very lean and doesn’t have the flavour that beef and pork has. However, the use of spices and herbs will compensate for this. It is an excellent alternative for people who want to cut down on fat in their diet. Go to the following link for recipe ideas for Turkey Mince. http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/turkey_meatballs_in_16570

Spiced Beef is a traditional Christmas dish, and it is literally a way to spice up an everyday dish for the festive season. Spiced Beef is the same as Silverside Corned Beef but with a coating of spices applied to it. The spices are a combination of nutmeg, sugar, black pepper and all spice. It is cooked the same way as Corned Beef.

Most people like to have their turkey for 2 days, Christmas Day and St.Stephens Day, therefore you should buy between a 7kg to 8kg turkey

If you like your steak well done the best way to cook it is to brown on a hot pan on both sides, then lower the temperature, cover with a lid or plate and it will cook more slowly and stay moist.

See our video on how to cook a steak http://www.mcloughlinbutchers.ie/recipes

Put the Roast in a dish, add stock and cover with a lid. This will keep the joint moist and you can use the stock to make a very flavoursome gravy.

Alternatively, you can wrap the roast well in tin foil and this keeps it moist. It’s important not to overcook the joint as this will make it dry up. For any joint cooked in the oven we would recommend you buy a thermometer (only around €5) and use this to check if the meat is cooked. When the joint reaches 75 degrees celcius it is cooked!
Go to the following link to see our video on cooking a roast http://www.mcloughlinbutchers.ie/recipes

A lot of chefs in Ireland today are from the continent where they have had grams and kilograms since Napoleons time so ounces and pounds mean nothing to them. Come to think of it a lot of Irish chefs in Ireland today are under 30 so they never learnt pounds and ounces in school either!

However restaurants still refer to 8oz steaks or 12oz steaks. You will seldom see a 227gr fillet steak or a 340gr ribeye steak. So an easy rule of thumb for conversion is to multiply the ounces by 30 and shave off a bit! (1 ounce = 28.38gr)

So an 8 ounce steak should weigh 240gr minus a little bit = 227gr.

Dry Aged Beef that has been hung in the cold room by the butcher while still on the bone for an extended period of time. The meat is usually hung for 2 – 4 weeks in a special cold room. This improves the flavour and tenderness of the meat, much the same way as a wine maker will store his wine in casks for an extended period of time, six months, one year, two years, in order to improve the texture and flavour. Usually the full carcasse would be hung for 5-7 days but only the primals that will be used for steaks will be aged for longer.

This is a costly exercise because the meat requires a lot of space for free air circulation and it must be kept in refrigerated cold rooms that are costly to run. Also the meat tends to dry out somewhat so it loses weight.