Butchery Class with EBLEX and Henry Herbert

Butchery Class at the L’atelier des Chefs

Last year, I was invited to an afternoon butchery demo and meat tasting by EBLEX.  This year they have re-launched their Quality Standard Mark Scheme, so to spread the word a group of journalists and a very few food bloggers were invited by EBLEX to an evening of butchery masterclass at the L’atelier des Chefs by Henry Herbert, from the Baker Brothers fame.  The scheme was updated due to the high standard of meat quality and to remain a genuine higher quality product the Quality Standard Mark Scheme specifications needed to be strengthened. As beef and lamb becomes more expensive, it is even more important that consumers’ expectations on eating quality are not compromised. We were also told that the Quality Standard Mark Scheme for beef and lamb provides one of the highest levels of independently inspected quality assurance for meat in the United Kingdom. The standards contain combined guarantees of food safety, animal welfare, care for the environment and enhanced eating quality.

 

The EBLEX Quality Standard Mark Scheme was launched in October 2004 to stimulate the market conditions in England. Following extensive trade consultation and research the EBLEX board has decided to strengthen the scheme specifications for Quality Standard Mark beef and lamb to improve efficiency and add value in the supply chain.

The new specifications cover animal age, carcase classifications, maturation and, where appropriate, further specifications during the processing of the
product.The scheme has gone from strength to strength. All major multiple retailers are members of the scheme, major processors, wholesalers, catering butchers and approximately 1800 independent retailers.

 Quality Standard mark helps consumers identify quality meat at point of purchase
Standards and specifications of the scheme cover

• Farm assurance
• Animal welfare
• Animal age and gender
• Seasonality
• Care for the environment
• Quality assurance
• Carcase classifications
• Maturation regimes
• Food safety
• Eating quality

Scheme Benefits

• Enhanced eating quality
• Assured from farm to point of purchase, providing total product integrity
• Independently inspected
• Consumer confidence, encouraging a purchasing preference
• Better returns through the supply chain
• Improving carcase yield and value
• Provenance
• Consumer marketing campaigns
• Trade marketing support
• Point of sale and consumer literature

 

Product
assurances and specifications Beef and Lamb:

 

Henry Herbert has just launched with Quality Standard beef and lamb, a Master Butchery campaign. The aim is to demystify  and educate  butcher shopping experience and pass butchery tips and hints to the nation’s cooks. Master butchery class can be found here
After the introduction Henry confidently started the butchery masterclass with a insight into his background, moving on to butcher a massive piece of beef and a 1/4 carcase of lamb.  After that we were handed over a whole leg of lamb to butcher ourselves over the guidance of Henry and the EBLEX team.
butchery class

 

 

Whole leg of lamb butchered by me: de-boned, butterflied, lamb shank prepared
After the butchery class, we had an excellent lamb diner with wine. The  good atmosphere and the very welcoming hosts made the event a nice and positive experience. Each one of us were given our butchered lamb to take home and this is what I made with mine.
Roasted butterfly lamb with tomato and mint salad
marinade the lamb:  rosemary, thyme, garlic, white pepper, 2 tsp of lime juice, 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1 thumb size of grated ginger. Leave to marinate in the fridge overnight.
Next day start the gravy:
for the gravy: lamb bones, 1/2 cup of red wine, 1 bulb of garlic, 2 tspsoon of grated ginger, rosemary, thyme, 2 bay leaves, 2 carrots, 2 onions, spring onions, water to cover. let is simmer and cook in low heat for 3 hours.

The lamb:  sear the lamb both sides in a big pan

 

Place the lamb in a oven proof dish, add red white about 2 cups and cover with foil

 

 

Place in the oven at 180C for 45 mins  if you like a bit pink in the middle and 10 mins without the foil to crisp the outside fat or 1 hour if you like well done and 10 mins to crisp the outside fat.

 

The Tomato and Mint salad:
Olive oil, handful of mint, 3 medium tomatoes diced, 1/2 lemon ( juice and zest), 1 red onion diced, 1 tsp of coriander, salt & pepper. Mix all in serve in a bowl.

The meal
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