I have to say, at a crucial, meaty point in this article, that I’m a devout vegetarian. The idea of sausages, pork pies and other offerings fills my mouth with saliva – I’m an ethical vegetarian who, previous to the day I decided it just wasn’t right to eat animals, relished a ham sandwich like nothing else. So my quest to find somewhere to supply the mouths of Shoreditchian’s with turkey and goose on Christmas Day was difficult. Mainly because butchers and sellers-of-meat nowadays have to answer so many questions – but don’t seem to like you asking them. Where is their meat from, what grade is it, is it organic, how much is itand to be honest we all should be asking those questions, you should know where the pig is from that you’re ready to eat without a second thought.
I went to a fancy butcher the other day who admitted his chicken was poor quality because people wouldn’t want to pay for organic. That’s awful. Instead of moaning how expensive meat is and then buying bulk offer bad meat in supermarkets/butchers with blinkers on, please save up and buy a really good bit of meat. I’ve got the perfect place for you. It’s slightly outside of Shoreditch but its serves the best meat you’ll find. Not only do they tell you exactly where your chosen meat is from, but how it’s been reared and how to cook it.
Their website tells you exactly when your store is open, what birds and meat is on offer, what extras they’ve got in store for Christmas and has VIDEOS on how to cook and carve each bit of meat. You can have Goose, Turkey, Gammon, Cockerel, a whole array of stuffing and bacon as well as juicy sausages and pates. If you want a Christmas meal that tastes like the heartiest, best meal you’ve ever made, where you can wolf down vast quantities of goose covered in steaming hot gravy safe in the knowledge that the goose had a goddamn great life – then slap my thigh and call me sally – GO to The Ginger Pig.
‘Our Christmas poultry is reared by the Botterills on Lings View Farm, in the heart of the Belvoir Estate. The birds completely free range and fed a natural diet of home-grown wheat and vegetable protein, and are never given any growth promotors to speed up the rate at which they reach maturity. After slaughter, they are carefully dry-plucked and then hung for 7-14 days for to give great flavour and succulence. The Botterills showcase all of the elements of good animal husbandry, to continue to produce the best, tastiest birds we’ve ever tried. Try one for yourself and see.
Support your local shops and have a very Merry Xmas.
http://www.thegingerpig.co.uk/
99 Lauriston Road
Hackney
London
E9 7HJ
