Cow, Piggy, Shawn the Sheep, Bambi - we do like out meat, us Britons. And so we should too! Mind you, with the rather tasteless offerings available not just in supermarkets, but in many high street butchers too, I wonder whether we do like meat at all. (And I include the supposed 21 day old rip-off stuff)

A few years ago I spent a couple of days with a very nice Irish friend in Dublin. Her father is a butcher, and since I had promised to cook a meal while I was there it seemed right to buy from the man himself. We turned up and I was introduced.

I am cooking singed, mostly raw fillet tonight and I wand some nice fillet. Okay, he said. As black as possible I added. I though he was going to burst into tears. He rushed into the back and produced this very large quarter of Irish cow - very well hung. And in the middle, coddled in glorious creamy fat was a black line of the precious fillet. Needless to say this was pure heaven.

So here, with a nod to the best ingredients, is what to do with it once you have caught it!

Tags: beef lamb pork
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