How to make your cuts go further

This January, we’re all about making the most out of our meat. From batch cooking to leftovers, here are some of our favourite tips for making your cuts last longer.

Batch Cooking

There’s something rather satisfying about shutting yourself in the kitchen, turning up the radio and immersing yourself in a batch cooking marathon. Take a chilli for example, with a 600g pack of grass-fed beef mince and a few other inexpensive store cupboard ingredients, you’ve got yourself a feast for the week. Divvy up into portions for the freezer and enjoy in wraps, with rice, over a jacket potato or stuffed into peppers - the options are endless.

Homemade Stock Making a homemade stock is a brilliant way of using your chicken carcass once it has been stripped of all the meat. Place your carcass in a large pan with your choice of vegetables (it’s great way of using up any old veg up like broccoli stalks) and some aromatics such as bay leaves and peppercorns. Leave it to simmer on a low heat with the lid on for up to 12 hours. Once cooled, strain the liquid out and divide into portions which you can freeze for another day. Homemade stocks make fantastic bases for soups, risottos, stews and sauces. Not only does it add a rich depth of flavour to your recipes, they are also packed full of vitamins and minerals.

Filler ingredients

There are many inexpensive ingredients that will help make your cuts go further. Try adding lentils or oatmeal to your usual mince dishes to bulk up the volume. This is a healthy option, as it adds fibre to the dish, and it will help you feed an extra mouth or two. Another of our favourite examples to make your smoked fish last longer, such as our smoked mackerel, is to blitz it with some cream cheese, lemon juice and seasoning and you’ve got yourself a homemade smoked mackerel pâté- perfect for sandwich fillers and enjoyed on rye bread as a snack throughout the week.

Pick your cuts wisely

When buying your cuts and planning your recipes for the week, think about which cuts you can get the most value from. Take a large roast chicken, you can make a delicious roast dinner and then use the leftovers for chicken sandwiches, risottos or adding to a chicken & ham pie, and don’t forget to make stock out of the carcass! Buying in bulk is also a great way of cutting costs for those thrifty batch cooking meals, our favourites include our 600g grass-fed beef mince, 1 kg chicken drumsticks and 500g diced stewing steak.

Diversifying your diet

We all know how important it is to have a balanced diet. Different foods offer us different nutrients, so by enjoying a variety of foods (both animal and plant-based) we’re well equipped to be hitting our nutrient requirements. By choosing quality over quantity, we can support high-welfare and sustainable farming that’s better for our animals, our planet (and also our pocket!). We recommend planning recipes for the week that make a little, high-quality meat go a long way. Why not scatter leftover shredded chicken on top of your salads, sprinkle bacon lardons over your soup, or make a hash using cubes of ham. These are great ways of adding flavour and getting that extra hit of protein without using the whole cut in one go.

Don’t forget the leftovers

Leftovers are certainly something that should not be frowned upon, especially when it comes to reducing food waste. Plus, we all know that they often taste even better the second time around. When making a meal the night before, make enough for your lunch the next day — you’ll thank yourself when you whip out a Tupperware full of the deliciousness from the night before, rather than your go-to over-priced meal deal with next to no nutritional value.

So, why not divert from your usual order and think what cuts you can choose to make your shop last longer this January.