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Whole animals, cut here · two named farms · order Thursday, collect Saturday
You don't have to know what to ask for. Tell us the meal and how many.
Almost nobody avoids a butcher because of the price. They avoid it because standing at a counter not knowing whether you want brisket or silverside is uncomfortable, and "just ask us" doesn't fix that. So this page is a translation — the sentence you'd actually say, and the thing to ask for. Bring the sentence and we'll do the cutting.
2Farms, both named on the board
28 daysMinimum hanging time on beef
0Questions that are too basic
1Day's notice for anything big
Put your own four in, and keep the third one however you word it. It's the number that decides whether somebody comes in the first time.
The words, translated
What you'd say on the left, what to ask for on the right. Write your own version with your own cuts — it is the most useful thing a butcher can put on a website and almost none of them do.
"A joint for six, in the oven all afternoon" — Rolled brisket, or a piece of chuck, about 1.8kg. Three hours at a low heat and neither can be rushed — which is exactly why they're cheap and why they taste of more
"Something quick for two on a Tuesday" — Two pork loin steaks, two boned chicken thighs, or rump cut thick. Ten minutes each and no planning the day before
"A proper roast and I don't want to worry" — A chicken. If it's an occasion, a rib of beef — but the chicken is the one nobody has ever ruined
"A stew that's better on the second day" — Shin, or ox cheek if we have it. Three hours, and it is the best value in the shop by a distance
"Something for the barbecue that isn't burgers" — Chicken thighs, a butterflied leg of lamb, or pork shoulder steaks. All three forgive a hot grill in a way that steak simply does not
"No idea — it's for my mother-in-law" — Say precisely that. It is the most useful sentence anybody says at a counter and it gets the best advice in the shop
"Something quick for two on a Tuesday" — Two pork loin steaks, two boned chicken thighs, or rump cut thick. Ten minutes each and no planning the day before
"A proper roast and I don't want to worry" — A chicken. If it's an occasion, a rib of beef — but the chicken is the one nobody has ever ruined
"A stew that's better on the second day" — Shin, or ox cheek if we have it. Three hours, and it is the best value in the shop by a distance
"Something for the barbecue that isn't burgers" — Chicken thighs, a butterflied leg of lamb, or pork shoulder steaks. All three forgive a hot grill in a way that steak simply does not
"No idea — it's for my mother-in-law" — Say precisely that. It is the most useful sentence anybody says at a counter and it gets the best advice in the shop
What happens at the counter
Nothing here is pre-cut and wrapped — It's cut when you ask for it, which is the whole reason the queue moves at the speed it does. That's a feature and it is also genuinely slower
Ask for it thicker, thinner or trimmed differently — It costs nothing and it is the entire advantage of a counter. Two centimetres of rump is a different meal from one centimetre of the same rump
Ask what's good today — There is always one thing somebody is pleased about. It's a better question than what's cheapest and it gets a much longer answer
Bones and trimmings are free if you ask — For stock, or for a dog. They go in the bin otherwise, so nobody minds and most people never think to ask
There's no minimum — One chop is a perfectly reasonable thing to buy. Nobody thinks anything of it and nobody ever has
The queue is part of it — Saturday morning is twenty minutes. A weekday afternoon is nobody at all, and that's when you'll get the long conversation if you want one
Ask for it thicker, thinner or trimmed differently — It costs nothing and it is the entire advantage of a counter. Two centimetres of rump is a different meal from one centimetre of the same rump
Ask what's good today — There is always one thing somebody is pleased about. It's a better question than what's cheapest and it gets a much longer answer
Bones and trimmings are free if you ask — For stock, or for a dog. They go in the bin otherwise, so nobody minds and most people never think to ask
There's no minimum — One chop is a perfectly reasonable thing to buy. Nobody thinks anything of it and nobody ever has
The queue is part of it — Saturday morning is twenty minutes. A weekday afternoon is nobody at all, and that's when you'll get the long conversation if you want one
The cheap cuts are the good ones
Shin, cheek, brisket, belly, neck — The five that cost a third of the famous ones and taste of considerably more. Every one of them wants time and nothing else at all
Time is the ingredient, not skill — Three hours at a low temperature. There's no technique to get wrong, and a slow cooker does it while you're out of the house
Mince is not one thing — Ask what's in it and what the fat content is. Twenty per cent makes a better burger and five per cent makes a better bolognese, and they are not interchangeable
Thighs beat breasts, and it isn't close — More flavour, half the price, and almost impossible to dry out. The breast is popular because it is easy to portion, not because it is better
A whole chicken is three meals — Roast it, sandwich it, then stock. Buying the same bird in pieces costs about double and throws the carcass away
The expensive cuts are for occasions — Fillet is tender and doesn't taste of much. Nobody in this trade eats it on a Wednesday and we'd rather sell you shin
Time is the ingredient, not skill — Three hours at a low temperature. There's no technique to get wrong, and a slow cooker does it while you're out of the house
Mince is not one thing — Ask what's in it and what the fat content is. Twenty per cent makes a better burger and five per cent makes a better bolognese, and they are not interchangeable
Thighs beat breasts, and it isn't close — More flavour, half the price, and almost impossible to dry out. The breast is popular because it is easy to portion, not because it is better
A whole chicken is three meals — Roast it, sandwich it, then stock. Buying the same bird in pieces costs about double and throws the carcass away
The expensive cuts are for occasions — Fillet is tender and doesn't taste of much. Nobody in this trade eats it on a Wednesday and we'd rather sell you shin
How much do I need?
The other question people are too embarrassed to ask, and the one that causes most of the waste.
A boneless joint: 175g a person — Then add a bit if you want cold meat on Monday, which most people do and few people plan for
On the bone: 300g a person — The bone is a third of the weight and all of the flavour. Same meal, bigger number on the scale
Steak: one each, and thickness matters more than area — A thick 225g steak eats better than a thin 300g one and costs less. This is the single best piece of advice in this section
Stew: 200g a person, and make double — It freezes perfectly and it is better reheated. There is no version of stew where making the right amount is the correct decision
A chicken feeds four with something left — 1.8kg is the useful size. Bigger birds are better value and worse cooked, because the outside is done long before the middle
Sausages: three each, and buy six extra — They get eaten cold from the fridge. Every household knows this and no recipe accounts for it
On the bone: 300g a person — The bone is a third of the weight and all of the flavour. Same meal, bigger number on the scale
Steak: one each, and thickness matters more than area — A thick 225g steak eats better than a thin 300g one and costs less. This is the single best piece of advice in this section
Stew: 200g a person, and make double — It freezes perfectly and it is better reheated. There is no version of stew where making the right amount is the correct decision
A chicken feeds four with something left — 1.8kg is the useful size. Bigger birds are better value and worse cooked, because the outside is done long before the middle
Sausages: three each, and buy six extra — They get eaten cold from the fridge. Every household knows this and no recipe accounts for it
A quarter of an animal
Cheaper per kilo, and a bigger commitment than most people expect.
What you actually get — Roughly 40kg, cut and labelled how you ask. Roughly a tenth of it is steak and the rest is everything else an animal is made of
Freezer space, honestly — A full drawer of a chest freezer, or most of an upright. Measure before you order rather than after it arrives
You don't choose the proportions — An animal is mostly not steak. If that's disappointing, a box is the wrong purchase and we'd rather say so now
The price per kilo is the whole argument — About a third less than buying the same cuts across a year. That's the deal, and it only works if you eat the mince as well
Freezer space, honestly — A full drawer of a chest freezer, or most of an upright. Measure before you order rather than after it arrives
You don't choose the proportions — An animal is mostly not steak. If that's disappointing, a box is the wrong purchase and we'd rather say so now
The price per kilo is the whole argument — About a third less than buying the same cuts across a year. That's the deal, and it only works if you eat the mince as well
Or just a Sunday joint
Which is what most people do, and there's nothing lesser about it.
Once a week is a perfectly good relationship — Most of the counter is people buying one thing. Nobody is being upsold to a box
No order needed for the ordinary things — Chops, mince, sausages, chicken, the usual joints — all there on a Saturday without a word in advance
We'll cut a joint to a number of people — Say six and we'll take it off the rib at six. That's a thirty-second job and it means nothing is wasted
Order ahead for big and awkward — A whole shoulder, a crown, anything for twenty people, or a cut we don't usually have out. A day is plenty
No order needed for the ordinary things — Chops, mince, sausages, chicken, the usual joints — all there on a Saturday without a word in advance
We'll cut a joint to a number of people — Say six and we'll take it off the rib at six. That's a thirty-second job and it means nothing is wasted
Order ahead for big and awkward — A whole shoulder, a crown, anything for twenty people, or a cut we don't usually have out. A day is plenty
Ordering ahead, and the deadlines
Ordering ahead, and the deadlines
- Mon, Aug 31 · 5:27 AMBox orders for the next animal
One beef and one pig a month, split between whoever has ordered. Names go on a list and the list closes when it's full rather than on a date.
- Sat, Oct 3 · 5:27 AMSpring lamb starts📍 Both farms
It arrives when it arrives — a fortnight either way depending on the weather in February. Ask rather than assume, because the first week is always the busiest.
- Fri, Nov 13 · 4:27 AMChristmas order deadline
Turkeys, crowns, rib joints and gammons, all by this date and no later. It sounds early and every year somebody finds out why it isn't.
- Thu, Dec 3 · 4:27 AMClosed for a week after Christmas
Announced a month ahead, on the door and here. Buy for the week before rather than discovering the shutters down.
These roll forward with the template — Put your real dates in before publishing, and put the Christmas one up in October where people will see it
Ordering is a phone call or the form — Not an app and not an account. We'll read it back to you, which catches about one order in twenty
Nothing is paid for in advance — You pay when you collect. A deposit on a box is the one exception and it's said plainly at the time
Ordering is a phone call or the form — Not an app and not an account. We'll read it back to you, which catches about one order in twenty
Nothing is paid for in advance — You pay when you collect. A deposit on a box is the one exception and it's said plainly at the time
What's on the counter
Rolled brisket
The joint this page keeps recommending. Three hours, feeds six, and costs about half what a rib does. Ordered for collection rather than posted.
Order for collectionDry-aged rib of beef
Twenty-eight days minimum, cut to the number of people you say. The occasion joint, and worth the difference on the two days a year you want it.
Order for collectionSausages, plain
Pork, salt, pepper, a little rusk, and nothing else worth naming. Made here on a Wednesday. The plain ones outsell every flavoured version three to one.
Order for collectionQuarter-beef box
About 40kg, cut and labelled to your list, once a month. A deposit at ordering and the rest on collection — say yes to the mince or the sums don't work.
Ask about a boxEverything here is collected from the shop — nothing is paid for or posted from this page. Swap these for your own and put the farm name on each one.
Ask, or place an order
Orders by Thursday for a Saturday collection. Questions any time, including the ones that feel too basic to ask at a counter with a queue behind you.
Ask, or place an order
"No — tell me" is the answer this whole page was written for, and it gets a longer reply than any of the others.
Live preview — every color, word and block is editable after you pick it.