Beef is a castrated male bovine, but in butchery generally includes the meat of all large cattle, heifer, cow, steer, bullock, steer. Among the best origins, one will find beef from Limousin, Normandy, Charolais or Parthenay, but also Chalosse (Aquitaine) and Salers (Auvergne), which are rarer. A good quality beef will be bright red and shiny, its consistency firm and elastic, its smell sweet. The fat is rather white or slightly yellow, forming a more or less tight network, the meat can be marbled or marbled. Beef provides "noble" pieces, for quick cooking, the most expensive, and second and third category pieces, rather used for slow cooking as carbonades. Among the best are steaks, chateaubriands and tournedos, entrecote, prime rib and roasts. Lesser quality dishes include braised meat, stews, bourguignons and pot-au-feu, for which you can choose pieces such as chuck, scoter, shank and collar. Discover original food and wine pairings with beef.
Christmas, famously, is not about religion any more. But as a Decanter reader, you’ll also know that it’s not about giving, family or food either. No, it’s about drink. The one time of year when we get to open the good stuff without anyone questioning what we’re doing. And of course, there’s no shortage of advice as to what form those bottles should take. Every year, hacks in newspapers, magazines and websites tell us how to make the big day go with a bang. But these don’t correspond with the re ...
My father worked in the wholesale supply of fruit and vegetables. He would often come home with a box of the day’s best produce, and so I became interested in what was in season. Both my parents often worked late, so cooking dinner to help take some weight off them inspired me to want to learn more. My first kitchen job at age 14 was at a Greek restaurant in Southampton, and it inspired my love for foods of the eastern Mediterranean. Today, I’m lucky to be able to obtain the best produce from ‘O ...
Tongue firmly in cheek, I sometimes define ‘wine consultant’ as ‘someone lacking employment who will work for whoever pays them’. Although meant in jest, the implied question is valid: just what does a wine consultant do? More importantly, in this age, when every assistant in a retail shop styles him- or herself a sales consultant, who would hire one? The short answer is this: a wine consultant is someone who advises wine lovers about their passion. He or she advises buyers on what to buy (and a ...
