Pigs’ trotters are back on the menu

FORGET fillet steak and pork chops... sales of pigs’ trotters are soaring thanks to a revival of oldfashioned cheaper cuts of meat.

The nation’s appetite for pork cheeks, shanks and beef brisket has also grown.

Supermarkets have been increasingly stocking ranges of so-called ‘forgotten’ cuts, while celebrity chefs have encouraged shoppers to think about using recipes that were popular in more austere times.

Michel Roux Jr and the restaurant Hawksmoor both even have recipes for a whole pig’s head.

Trotters – which are still popular in France, China and southern US states – were commonly eaten in the UK until the 1950s.

But after decades of being out of fashion, Waitrose has now seen sales of trotters jump by more than a third – 36 per cent – from last year. Sales of pork cheeks and shanks are up by 30 per cent and beef brisket rose by 20 per cent.

The store introduced forgotten meat cuts nine years ago in the wake of the financial crisis.

Since then other supermarkets have brought out their own ranges of cuts, including beef skirt, ox cheek and offal. Trotters are usually simmered for two to three hours in a stock until the meat falls away from the bone. Boiled trotters can be coated in butter and breadcrumbs and then baked for 20 minutes. They can also be deep-fried or barbecued.

They are generally sold from a fresh meat counter at £1.99 per kilo, which means one, typically weighing 440g, would cost 88p.

But they are not just a bargain. Advocates of the revival of 1950s recipes argue the food tastes better. Trotters have even been hailed as a health food as they are rich in collagen, the protein responsible for skin and muscle tone.

Waitrose said a survey found shoppers are increasingly looking for cheaper cuts that don’t compromise on taste or quality. Recipes on their website for forgotten cuts of meat have also been more popular, with searches for Sichuan smoked pig cheeks with plum ketchup up by 33 per cent on last year, slow-cooked pig cheeks with pea tops and seared scallops up by 140 per cent and American-style roast beef brisket up by 350 per cent.

Waitrose buyer Andy Boulton said: ‘Our customers now buy thousands of these once forgotten cuts each week.

‘Many chefs and restaurants are championing the cuts. The growing use of them in the mainstream is giving shoppers more confidence about trying recipes using these cuts at home. We have a policy to buy the whole animal from farmers, so the growing trend is great to ensure we make the best use of every cut.’