Butchers' tips

• Red meat is good for you! A piece of red meat is a great source of energy and a 250–300 gram piece of lean beef will satisfy anyone’s recommended daily intake of iron. Iron from red meat is more readily absorbed into the body than iron from plants or milk. Lean red meat also contains zinc, protein, omega 3 and vitamin B12.
  

• Sharpening a knife on the wrong angle on sharpening steel will actually blunt it. You are more likely to give yourself a serious cut from a blunt knife. Always keep your knives sharp.
  

• Adding a knob of butter to white sauce just before serving it will give it a glossy appearance.
  

• Soaking kebab skewers in water before using them prevents them from splintering when you thread the meat on. Soaking the skewers also prevents them from burning when cooking the meat.
  

• The longer meat hangs in carcass form, the more tender it will be.
  

• If you let roasted meat rest for 10 minutes before carving, it will be much easier to carve.
  

• The fat is what keeps the meat moist and tender during cooking.
  

• Meat should be carved across the grain. This is ensures that it is tenderer and easier to cut. It will not be stringy.
  

• When you are following a recipe, you don’t always need to use the most expensive cut of meat.
  

• Back in the days before refrigeration, salt was used to preserve meat.
  

• The French word entrecote is for meat cut from between the rib bones. We know this cut as boneless sirloin or New York steak.
  

• You should only wash a wooden cutting board in cold water.
  

• You should always wash your hands before and after handling raw meat, to avoid spreading harmful bacteria.
  

• To avoid cross contamination, you should never store raw and cooked meat together.