Frequently asked questions

Our meat is very seasonal and when it is ready, it goes to the butcher. Moreover, we prefer our cattle to have dined on rich grass over the whole summer and autumn rather than less nutritious grass from late autumn to early spring. The meat is then the highest nutrient quality it can be. Therefore, all our meat cuts are packed by the local butcher and frozen.

The safest method is to place the meat in the fridge 10-24 hrs ahead. So after your dinner, take a meat package out of your freezer and put into the fridge. Always place your meat package in a bowl in the fridge so that the meat juices cannot drip over any other food item. Let it defrost on the bottom shelf and it will be safe and ready to prepare for your next day’s dinner. Or you can cook it up to 2 days later. Note that all vacuum-packaged meat needs a thorough rinse in cold tap water before cooking.

Yes. You may gently defrost it in your microwave using the defrost program. Just keep an eye on it and check every 5-10 min and turn it over. You may need to break it apart to speed the process up (in case of stewing meat or stir-fry mince). Follow you microwave manufacturer’s instructions for large pieces of meat, such as roasts.

I tend to microwave defrost by about ¾ of a way, rinse the meat in cold water and let it stand whilst I prepare the rest of the dinner – vegetables, potatoes, etc. After the meat stood for 15-30 min it is usually perfectly thawed and ready to use. I rinse it finally, pat dry and cook. Be particularly careful thawing your steaks in a microwave so that they don’t start cooking…

If you have a bit more time before your dinner time you can use the cold water method. Place the meat packet in a freezer plastic bag, tie up tightly and place in a bowl of cold tap water. Change the tap water in the bowl every 30 min or so. It should take about 1-2 hrs, depending on the size of your meat.

Always cook your microwave or cold water defrosted meat immediately when defrosted, do not leave it for another day.

Yes. Since our butchers use vacuum packaging, it tends to suck out some juices out of the meat. Just rinse the meat well under cold water, pat dry with a paper towel and it’s ready to use. In case of stir-fry strips and stewing cubes best to place them in a bowl and run cold water over them until the water clears. You do not need to rinse mince as it has not been vacuum-packed.

No. Browning of the meat (when it does not look red or pink) is caused because of oxidation when the pigments change. In fact, particularly mince meat is prone to it, since the oxygen gets depleted very quickly inside of the mince pile before it is packed. Our butchers don’t use protective gases that would prevent browning of the meat.