Tag Archives: Farmer’s Choice

Great British Beef Week 2013

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Jo | Leave a comment

Hands up, is roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings is one of your favourite dinners? It is one of mine! When you buy your beef for your roast dinner, do you check to see if the beef you are buying is British? If you do not, then you should. As the recent horsemeat scandal has showed us, there can be issues in quality and you cannot always be always be 100% sure in what you are actually getting.

Most importantly though, we should buy British beef to support our British farmers and independent butchers who want to ensure we get the best from our beef. One example of an independent butcher who takes their beef seriously is Farmer’s Choice, who offers free range 21 day aged beef from the glens of Scotland direct to your front door.

This week, (21st-27th April) is Great British Beef Week; set to coincide with St Georges Day is the annual celebration of the British beef industry. Set up by Ladies in Beef, the yearly event promotes the versatility of beef and how to include it as part of a balanced diet. The event is supported both locally and nationally, with the supermarkets, farm shops and independent butchers all involved.

Why not get involved with Great British Beef Week and make sure that one of your meals this week is made using British beef as the prime ingredient. You can do much more than just roast beef too. It can be used in stir-fries, chilli, stew, pies and if the weather is warm enough this weekend, you can use it for burgers on the BBQ.

There is a cut of beef suitable for your every need. The fore rib and the sirloin are best used for roasting, along with the silverside and topside while the slightly cheaper rump can be used for grilling or frying. If you are after something different, why not make stew using the oxtail. The slow cooking really brings out flavour and makes an excellent filling for ravioli too.

I am sure that everyone has a family favourite recipe (mine is either bolognaise or chilli con carne) that they cook nearly every week with beef, so why not make sure that this week and every other week after, that you buy British beef and support our farmers and independent butchers. I am sure they appreciate it!

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From Farm to Plate

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Jo | Leave a comment

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So what’s the latest in the on-going horsemeat saga? Well now we’re learning that European meat suppliers have been taking advantage of a loophole in the UK law that allows them to put banned, low-quality meat into our sausages. Although not actually horsemeat, this ‘mechanically recovered residue’ is another case of a covered up supply and manufacture chain that means we have no idea what’s actually in our meat products.

This should be something we consider everyday – when we buy burgers from the supermarket, when we’re planning our meals, when we’re cooking beef in the kitchen, and when we serve our children sausages for their tea. It’s true that the horsemeat scandal has become tiresome with a new ‘story’ everyday, but at least it has highlighted how we need to think more about where our meat comes from. It’s now more important than ever to really try to buy British, from local, free range farms where you will know exactly where the meat you’re putting on your fork came from.

I know this is harder if you’re on a tight budget, or if you’re not aware of any local farms or butchers near you, but it’s not impossible to find reasonably-priced, British, traceable meat that will taste good and leave you with a clear conscience. There are some great meat suppliers out there that deliver to you and are completely transparent about where their meat comes from.

One such company is Farmer’s Choice Free Range. They are based in Fareham, Hampshire but deliver their 100% free range meat and sustainably caught fish all across the UK. They sell a large range of delicious meat that is sourced straight from their partner farms. You don’t have to worry about the meat coming from foreign factories where who-knows-what could have found its way into your meal, Farmer’s Choice tell their customers all about the British, free range farms they work with. You can read all about their partner farms on their site – where the farm is based, what breed of animals are farmed, who works there and what products are produced from the meat.

Farmer’s Choice believe in farm to plate – complete traceability for all of their free range meat. Their trusted butchers prepare the meat once it is delivered from the farm and then it is sent straight out to you – no mess, no fuss, no horsemeat contamination!

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Valentine’s Day Dinner Ideas from Farmers Choice

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Jo | Leave a comment

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Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and I am sure, that just like me, you struggle with what to get your partner every year! I get bored with buying the usual socks, chocolates, wine or flowers. This year, I am going to do something different and cook my husband a feast for Valentine’s Day, cutting out the hassle of finding a babysitter or eating at a full, busy and noisy restaurant which can kill the romance mood.

You can find lots of Valentine’s Day dinner recipes; however our favourite is steak, chips and béarnaise sauce. It is very simple to make but hard to get everything perfect so practice beforehand to make sure it is right. Béarnaise sauce can be a bit fiddly especially if you have not made it before. My husband’s favourite is prawns; however I am not really a fan. For a seafood starter which we will both like, we enjoy scallops served simply in the shell and a dipping sauce or scallops served with pancetta and peas.

For pudding, the tradition seems to be chocolate so a chocolate fondant would be lovely. Impressive to look at but can be hard to get right so for something less stressful, how about a big slab of chocolate brownie to share between two. If you want to avoid chocolate altogether, how about a refreshing lemon tart or a crème brulee. Whatever you cook this Valentines, cook it with love and your effort will show on the plate when you give it to your loved one.

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Planning your Christmas Dinner With Farmer’s Choice

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Jo | Leave a comment

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Christmas will be with us before you know it and I am sure that like me, you are already what, how and when you are making your Christmas dinner and over the festive season in general. For me, preparation is the key and I get as much done as I can the day before. Fortunately, Farmer's Choice have everything you need for the perfect free range Christmas dinner and it can all be delivered to your door, so you do not even have to go to the shops and battle your way round the supermarket trying to get all the Christmas food you need

My vague Christmas dinner plan is as follows:

23rd December: buy vegetables and other general items needed for the Christmas season

Christmas Eve:

collect meat from butchers,
peel and chop potatoes, carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts and leave in a saucepan full of cold water with a lid,
make Yorkshire pudding batter,
start making gravy using giblets, chicken stock and vegetables.

Christmas Day:

cook turkey,
parboil and roast the potatoes and parsnips,
make pigs in blankets and stuffing,
put all vegetables in steamer,
cook the pigs in blankets, stuffing and Yorkshire puddings,
finish off gravy with turkey juices and thicken if required,
carve turkey,
eat dinner
finally sit down and relax with a glass of wine or six!!

I am sure I have probably forgotten something but this is my plan at the moment. What are your Christmas dinner plans? Any tips that you would like to share that helps make cooking the Christmas dinner easier?

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Christmas Dinner Ideas from Farmers Choice

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Jo | Leave a comment

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Christmas is only 54 days away and at this time of year, my thoughts turn to who am I inviting to Christmas dinner and what I am going to cook. Fortunately, Farmers Choice have lots of Christmas dinner ideas to sort this out for you. You could go for the traditional turkey but then the questions come about how you would like it prepared; crown, boned and rolled, just the turkey breast or whole. I always cook a whole free range turkey at Christmas but do fancy a change this year. I could have duck, goose, a three bird roast or even a whole salmon from Farmers Choice and if I ordered one of their hampers, I would have enough meat to see me through the festive season and beyond.

Although, I say I would like to change my Christmas dinner this year with a different type of meat, I am my Nan and my in-laws would probably argue with me and say they just want turkey. I have a couple of weeks before I order the meat to change their minds. Wish me Luck!

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Indoor BBQ Fun with Farmer’s Choice Free Range Meat

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Jo | Leave a comment

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This summer has not been brilliant for BBQ’s. I think we have managed one the entire summer which is a shame as my family and I love nothing more than firing up the BBQ and cooking some good quality meat, opening a few beers and having a good laugh together. If September is warm and dry, then we may be able to squeeze another one or two in if we are lucky.

However, even if the weather is not very good, you can still cook up some BBQ classics indoors with the aid of a griddle pan or a grill and some good quality free range meat that is delivered straight to your door from Farmer’s Choice. Why not try sausages marinated in honey and mustard to liven up your hot dogs or garlic and herb chicken thighs and if you want to try something different, Farmer’s Choice sell Rosẻ Veal Escalope’s which cook quickly on the BBQ/griddle pan and are sure to go down a storm with your friends. Even if you are not feeling creative, a good quality free range sausage or burger cooked to perfection will still show your friends who is master of the BBQ. Don’t worry about the weather, just invite your friends round, eat some free range meat cooked on the BBQ and have a great time!

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