Kitchen ‘cooktchery’

Working with some of the United Kingdom’s finest farmers during her time working as a meat retailer gave Miranda Ballard an appreciation for wellfarmed meat. She believes a modern meat cook does not need to be detached from the handling of meat so shares

COOKTCHERY is a term I use for cutting meat at home. Essentially it is butchery for cooking, rather than retail.

Skilled and trained butchery is a beautiful thing to watch — the effortless flow and controlled pace of an experienced butcher cutting down some meat is utterly mesmerising. It is, however, a craft for a profession and it has been developed for two main reasons: the commercial value of using the maximum amount of meat on a carcass and achieving the best presentation to appeal to customers.

However, cutting a piece or joint of meat in your own home isn’t the same as cutting it for retail. You don’t need to worry about the cumulative cost of a few grams of meat going to waste on 1000 carcasses in a month, for example, and you don’t need to worry that it’s looking perfect for retail. You’re simply going to cook it.

So let’s start doing a bit of cutting ourselves in our own kitchens. We already do this when we trim a bit of rind on bacon or remove the skin on chicken breasts, for example. If it’s any interest to you to take it a step further, you’ll see that’s it really easy, very satisfying and

(to suit our modern lives and budgets), much better value than prepackaged cuts.

And you won’t be surprised to hear me say again, if you start with ‘‘good meat’’ you simply can’t go wrong. Butchery for the purpose of cooking is wonderfully easy, I promise.

Cooktchery tips

Here are a few cooking hints and tips that will help you become a successful and confident cooktcher!

Rolling with twine

The stronger the twine or string, the easier and better. Red and white (or blue and white) butcher’s twine is best.

Simply explained, you need to tie the meat back together after you’ve boned it. You can make individual ties: cut a piece of twine, wrap it under the meat, tie it on top tightly with a double knot, then trim the ends. And repeat. If you’re doing this, it’s easiest to start in the middle of the piece of meat to hold the centre together (the first knot is always the hardest), then do the next one to the right and to the left, and then back to the right, et cetera.

However, the other way to tie, which I find easier, can be used if you don’t need to cut the meat down to a smaller size.

Tie the first piece of twine at one end (I tend to go left to right), tie it tightly with a double knot. Then run the twine around the outside of the cut of meat 2cm along. Next you need to bring it back over the top, but use your finger to pull back the join of the twine that’s attached to the previous knot and thread the end between the twine and the meat — this creates a lever so that you can pull it tighter and with the tension from turning the meat away from you, it’ll hold the string long enough for you to repeat the process at intervals along the stretch of the meat.

Tunnel boning

As the name suggests, this is tunnelling out a bone. It is, for example, how you could get the bone out of a pork leg without having to cut a line down the middle to reach the bone and open out the meat. It’s only recommended if you’re going to slow cook the piece of meat. This is because, by tunnelling in from either end with a knife until the bone can be twisted out, you get a neat and tidy result but you haven’t had access to the sinews and tissue inside, so you won’t have trimmed it back to lean muscle. Therefore a fast, dry roast will mean that the ‘‘chewy’’ bits inside don’t have a chance to dissolve and tenderise.

Sharpening your knife

My favourite method of sharpening a knife is by using a ‘‘steel’’ (a handled, long rod of metal). A sharp knife makes everything easier. A butcher will have their steel by them (or connected to their belt) and will do three quick sharpens every 1015 slices of meat. It becomes a habit and keeps the knife razorsharp. I hold the steel with the tip down and the weight of my arm holding the handle in place and then run the blade of the knife either

side of the steel, just a few times. The best advice I can give you is to keep playing with it. Wait until it sounds right and feels satisfying. Have a lemon nearby, as that’s great for testing for sharpness (and cheaper than slashing up a piece of meat). If you pinch your thumbnail on the blade edge too, you’ll hear a click on a ridge one way and feel a rounded curve on the other side. There is a dominant side to your knife — don’t worry about this too much, but if you do two strokes on the soft side and one on the ridge side, you’ll have a sharp knife in three strokes. Handcutting and cubing

Cubing is very simple. The longer you’re going to cook the meat, the less you need to trim it, as the tissue and proteins will break down in the liquid (for example in a cassoulet or stew). However, if you’re using diced meat for a shorter or dry cooking process (for example in a stirfry), trim off all the fats and sinew so that you just have lean meat, as the strips or cubes of meat won’t have long enough to tenderise.

Mincing/grinding seems like something that needs a mincer/ grinder but it really isn’t more complicated than finely dicing an onion, for example. Just keep slicing it until it’s in really small pieces. You’ll get to experience a wonderfully different texture and flavour with handcut mince in dishes like spaghetti Bolognese or chilli con carne. If you’re cutting it for burgers, meatballs or meatloaf, try to go even more fine so that it binds together well.