Rupert Bates Spring 2021
During National Butchers Week we are highlighting butchers with a love of barbecue. These butchers know all about meat over fire. Today at we profile Hill House Farm near Dorking in Surrey, and Corry’s Butchers from Stockport, Cheshire.
Who is your favourite BBQ butcher? Tell us by tagging them with hashtag #BBQButcher on our social channels. We’re here all week!
HILL HOUSE FARM
Hill House Farm, based online, opens its first butchery counter later this month at Chessington Garden Centre in Chessington, Surrey.
Ian Jones was in the hotel and travel industry before founding Hill House Farm with his father Gareth and family.
“We wanted to create a food and farming business equally committed to outstanding produce and flavours, along with sustainability and a commitment to the environment,” says Ian Jones.
Hill House Farm, near Dorking, is a ‘low impact farmer’ and all its pigs, sheep and beef are designated rare breeds. “Because the animals grow slower there is greater depth of flavour and texture in the meat that you won’t ever find with intensively reared hybrid breed animals,” says Jones.
His go-to BBQ meat is a pork shoulder; what he calls a ‘spare rib roast.’ “It’s the best cut of pork with incredible marbling and flavour all the way through the joint. It is perfect for low and slow cooking and ideal for using plenty of wood smoke on too.”
Hill House Farm sells its own pulled pork rub. Jones advises covering the meat with the rub the night before and cooking low and slow with oak smoking chunks on an indirect heat for 10 to 12 hours. Jones loves using smoking planks – crafted from the offcuts of a huge oak that fell in his woods.
“Plank smoking is simple, but effective, transforming the meat, keeping it moist and adding bags of smoky flavours.”
www.hill-house-farm.com
Instagram: @hillhousefarmdorking
CORRY’S BUTCHERS
Neil Corry is a second-generation butcher and together with his wife Jan they run Corry’s Butchers at Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire, combining Neil’s knowledge of what cuts of meat to use with Jan’s innovative recipes, including plenty for live fire cooking.
“We have a varied and cosmopolitan customer base, with many European and South American customers giving us the opportunity to sell a wide variety of cuts of meat,” says Jan Corry.
“Quality is key, but to be successful it is important to marry quality with service. When customers come into our shop, we feel it is important that their shopping experience is a pleasurable one. Good knowledge of cuts of meat and cooking advice help the customer have confidence in their butcher.”
When it comes to BBQ, a single bone rib of beef or a Picanha rump, are the most popular in the shop, as well as several house specialities.
“Our Diamond award-winning Tandoori lamb chops using our own made Tandoori marinade, Souvlaki chicken, again using our own marinade and our 2014 BBQ Supreme Champion Sardinian Italian style sausage are all especially popular.”
When it comes to a home cooked barbecue, the Corrys will often go for a good, simple piece of meat with just salt.
“We feel the combination of seasoned meat, caramelisation from cooking over fire with the slightly charred edges can’t be beaten.
So, for us it has to be a bone rib of beef or our favourite Lamb chops with homemade mint chilli dip,” says Jan Corry.
Twitter: @corry_jan
Instagram: @butchersmate
For further information:
BBQ magazine: Rupert Bates. rupert@thebbqmag.com
#bbq365
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