I mentioned in a recent article that due to the growing lack of trust in processed meat products I had decided to book in to Allens of Mayfair for their “Beginner’s Butchery Master Class”. Let me share my experience with you.
What an amazing place Allens is, it’s the oldest butchers shop in London, and despite its position in busy Mayfair you get the feel you are in a village shop. Although not many village shops have people popping in to pick up a bag of mince in their chauffeur driven Rolls Royce!
At the time it was full of half plucked turkeys (see pic), all hanging up and ready for Easter. A great array of meat products from basics like bacon to luxuries including foie gras lined up along side each other. It’s like an Aladdin’s cave for carnivores!
In the centre of the shop is a chopping block is as big as I have ever seen and it really adds to the charm of the place. Apparently at around 25 years old it is still only on its first side…you turn it over and get another 25-35 years! On this they prepare the meat that you are buying right in front of you, which is a rare treat to see.
Our esteemed tutor for the day was Terry, a butcher of many, many year’s experience. As he introduced himself and talked about what we would be doing, he expertly trimmed a leg of lamb and tied it up with sprigs of rosemary. Turning a lump of meat into something that looked truly special…and I just know he could do this blindfolded.
That’s essentially what a butcher does, take a basic piece of meat and transform it into something that not only looks good, but will cook better. It sounds easy right? Well when you watch the elegant knife work Terry and his colleagues display with such speed and precision, I can tell you easy it is not.
Terry described himself as a “real” butcher, saying if you brought in a bullock he could take it apart down to every cut of meat. Now that is something I would like to watch!
There were two of us in the class so the tutorage was very personal. Standing around the mighty chopping block in our white coats, gloves and a single chainmail over glove to protect from the super sharp knives, we were ready to start.
We worked through the following over approximately two hours
Whole chicken
Here we take a chicken down to its components, breasts (supreme of chicken), legs, drumsticks, wings, just leaving the carcass (for wonderful stock). Take a look in your local supermarket and check the kilo price of whole chicken vs. chicken breasts and you will see why this is an essential skill to learn.
Feather blade steak
A lesson in how to trim and cut through large pieces of boneless meat without it looking like you have hacked through it with a penknife…sounds much easier than it really is.
Ox tail
This really shows you how to follow the pattern of the bone and be able to pick the places where your knife will glide straight through. I was disappointed we didn’t get the use the weighty, razor-sharp chopper on this 😉
Lamb rack
A bit of flair with this one as you French trim the rack, turning it into something that looks far more impressive than the product you started with, proving a little time and effort adds a lot of value for you.
We got to take all of this beautiful meat back home with us, and my freezer is currently groaning with my handy work. Luckily they give you recipes to match the various cuts, so my friends and family are in for a treat or two over the coming weeks!
Having such a knowledgeable and experienced teacher made this so enjoyable, and hearing the fantastic banter between the staff displayed the love and passion that goes into everything they do.
However Terry talked about how the industry is in decline, with slaughter houses preparing the meat into basic cuts for delivery, with chefs finishing off on site. He also mentioned the sad lack of young people willing to take up the trade.
If it happens, I think the cutting out the butchers’ noble art is a terrible shame. Another ancient artisan tradition disappearing…I suppose it’s a sign of the times.
I had a wonderful time and came out with new knowledge and skills. I would highly recommend taking if not this course (if you can’t make it to London) then one run by a proper butchers near you. You don’t just get to learn fantastic methods which can save you money, but you will be supporting a local business and the butchery industry as a whole.
Allens of Mayfair, 117 Mount St, London, W1K 3LA. Tel: 0844 880 2460
Have you ever been on a course like this before? Or are you planning to do something similar? Please share 🙂
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Hi Michael, This was great and you get to take home the meat you cut to. I live near a little town called Elcho this is where my kids went to school anyways they have a grocery store there and the butcher has to be in his 70’s. There is a big window in the back of the store where you can watch the butcher working. It is pretty cool to watch to he does some amazing things with his knife, and yes he has a big butchers block in the middle of the floor. This is where I buy all my meat of course it is a little more expensive but you get what you pay for Right? Great post Thanks for sharing.. Chery 🙂
Sounds like my kind of store 🙂 It so important that such traditional places don’t disappear. I feel that we should all be supporting our local foodie businesses, and with them yes you get what you pay for.
I am a veggie by choice but all for quality food ending up on plates and the art of food not being lost to processed, breaded funny shapes ending up on plates…so salute you for going for it and sharing this as where I live, as you know I cannot remember where a butcher actually exists…well locally anyway and that is a big big shame!
Yes it’s a sad fact that butchers shops have almost disappeared from the high street over recent years, much like their veggie equivalent the greengrocer…
This is a terrific skill and I never even knew you could get lessons! A family member was a butcher and various family members used to buy a cow or a lamb and he’d cut it up and portion it for them. When he died 10 years ago the family buying meat together stopped. No one else had his skills 🙁
Father’s day is coming up soon… I may send the husband 🙂
It’s a great thing to give as a gift, and he’ll be picking up skills that will last a lifetime 🙂
Thanks for this Michael, I DEFINITELY need to go and check Allens out! (when I glanced quickly at the title I thought it said Aliens of Mayfair – but that would have been a very different post lol !!!)
Haha! Aliens of Mayfair would be a great name for a punk band 😉
Michael…
I could not read your blog as I usually read all blogs… I was feeling so sorry for those poor and innocent animals that had to pay with their life to make people happy while eating their meat…
I become vegan many years a go.. I was eating meat before that and eat a lot of it… so please do not think that I am anything special.. I just cannot do it anymore and mostly because of the compassion that I have for all the animals… the poor and innocent one who come to this world for only one purpose.. get eaten by humans who are supposed to be intelligent beings.
I wish you great health and hope that you cut down on eating meat just so some animals can be saved.
Thanks on their behalf.
nickc
Nick, I understand and respect your opinion. We are all lucky to have the freedom to make our own choices and follow our hearts and minds. Good health to you too!
Very interesting post, Michael! I’ve never been inside a butcher shop the way I felt like I was while reading this. 🙂 Such lessons are out of the question for me, because I’m a long way from an instructor, but it’s good to know this is not yet a lost art.
Willena
Thank you very much, shame you are too far from a butchers shop that runs a class. But If you ever do get the chance I highly recommend it 🙂
This is fascinating Michael……I believe your right ….The era of the traditional “Butcher”shop has all but ended…..Here in Kentucky, many deer hunters have their deer processed at small shops that jump up during deer season…..Then they disappear again….My family have always done our own processing, but we don’t really know what we are doing…..we just cut it up the best we can and freeze it……I think I may have to look into a Butcher course, like Allens of Mayfair…….Thanks Michael…..Smokey
Smokey, I was lucky enough to have fresh deer in Florida a few years back, shot over the border in South Carolina and absolutely delicious! They did the same thing, cutting it up at home and freezing it. Learning those butchers skills also means you would lose less meat from the carcass by more accurately cutting.
Mayfair Restaurants have their own great specialty in foods, thanks for post.