Posted on Monday, October 5th, 2015 by Pat Whelan in Foodie Articles, Good Food | No Comments »
The last time I checked, most human adults were in possession of a decent enough brain. The brain, that vital organ that sits between our ears, helps us survive, work and raise our young without doing them too much damage. It is our ability to assess and make choices using the brain that largely separates us from the animal kingdom. However, when it comes to food we have been so bullied, harassed and harangued about food that we have practically given up all rights to decision making about our own health.
This is often evidenced in the month of September with the return to school and routine and the ongoing modern dilemma of what to put in a lunchbox. Parents look with horror at 30 weeks of trying to come up with interesting and varied lunchboxes for their children when the school or healthy eating campaign has limited the choice to tortilla wraps, a bag of raisins and a Clementine! Okay, I exaggerate slightly but the rules these days can be quite restrictive and all are trotted out in the name of health.
I wish to challenge the assumption and ask who kidnapped our good friend ‘balance’ and where are they hiding him. Release him now so that we can return to some sanity on the subject of healthy eating. Besides the school lunch issue, it’s all beginning to get out of hand. Did you know that moves are afoot to ban advertising cheese and butter to children? This isn’t the first time I’ve said it, in fact I wrote an entire column on the subject some months ago, but butter is not the enemy. Are children up and down the country tucking into pounds of butter with a spoon these days? Are they foraging in the fridge and eating blocks of cheese out of their hands? Of course this kind of behaviour wouldn’t be good for you. Equally though, limiting your diet to bowls of ‘healthy’ muesli will also cause deficiencies. Balance, balance, balance!
As a purveyor of meat I personally don’t like the taste of fast food outlet burgers but even I know the odd one, if that’s what you like, is not going to kill you. The junk food label has become a wieldy and lofty behemoth that is confusing everyone. What is junk food? In my book junk food is food that is of a very poor nutritional quality that the body effectively ‘junks’ as there is nothing to be taken from it. Is that a reason not to eat it? No, it’s a reason not to eat it all the time. It’s a little like saying that we should only watch the television if it is an informative documentary and frivolous movies should be outlawed. These days so many things are shoved under the umbrella of junk food. Everything from fast food to chocolate is pushed in under there as food contraband. Chocolate is not the enemy either. It is perhaps the amount of chocolate or the quality of chocolate you are consuming that is the problem. Chocolate in moderation is fine. A square or two of plain Dairymilk can transport you back years in an instant and conjure memories that are always pleasant. Should you allow this transportation three times a day? Of course not, that would be out of balance. How about a packet of crisps? Is Mr Tayto really an evil villain out to make the children of the world obese? Again we need to clearly define the words ‘treat’ and ‘snack’ in order to make these decisions. Instead we allow the food police with their strict policies and little regard for our taste buds or pleasure to dictate the rules.
I am sickened at the amount of information put out their everyday that scaremongers, overrides common sense and is pulling the wool over the eyes of the public. Study after study which provides endless column inches in press releases for the papers is often printed as scientific fact. If you bother to scratch the scientific surface you will find that the ‘scientists’ have been paid for their work by a company or body with a vested interest. The ‘to spread or not to spread real butter’ debate is always a great example of this. In isolation of course there is ‘fat’ in butter, but when you look at it as part of a balanced diet then it fits in perfectly. Cheese is the same. Nobody should restrict themselves to a cheese only diet, but enjoying cheese as part of a balanced diet is not a problem. I get particularly angry when they start to advertise chemically produced, dairy product substitutes or lookalikes and brand them a healthy alternative. Don’t get me started.
I also have a huge problem with the idea of just rolling out information, facts and figures. It is a form of food dictatorship through which we learn nothing only other people’s discoveries and assertions that we all regurgitate to each other as fact. “But I read it in the paper the other day, it must be true!”
We can be sheep and given that we live in an image conscious world and one that is scared to death over obesity the last thing we should do is continue to swallow the lines from the white coated, bespectacled crowd without questioning and checking out their facts thoroughly. We need some common sense around food, but the problem is that common sense is often not very common. Let’s get back to basics. Real food for real humans as close to its natural state as possible. Living in Tipperary you have little excuse not to eat well. We have fantastic cheese makers and other dairy producers, meat, vegetable, fruit and herb growers along with a host of other artisan food producers. Find them, support them and cherish them because food is also about enjoyment and pleasure as well as nutrition. In Tipp we can combine them all. Let’s get interested in food and where it comes from and how it’s made. Armed with that kind of knowledge we can run the oppressing Food Police out of Dodge in no time!
I welcome your feedback to [email protected]
Tags: Avoca Butcher, Back to school, children school food, Food Articles, Good Food, James Whelan Butchers, lunchbox
Posted on Monday, September 21st, 2015 by Pat Whelan in Foodie Articles, Good Food, Press | No Comments »
Really enjoyed talking to Ray D’Arcy on RTE Radio 1. What strikes me with every conversation, is how nostalgic people are when talking about Beef Dripping.
If we asked you to think of the most luxurious, most delicious, finest food imaginable, what would come to mind? Caviar, smoked salmon or maybe some dripping?
On Monday night James Whelan Butchers won the Supreme Champion award for the best food product in the UK and Ireland and Pat Whelan of James Whelan butchers tells Ray more…
Listen to the show (Starts around 3mins)
Tags: Golden Fork Award 2015, Pat Whelan, Ray D'Arcy Show, RTE Radio 1, Supreme Champion GT 2015
Posted on Monday, September 21st, 2015 by Pat Whelan in Foodie Articles, Good Food, Press | No Comments »
Had the great pleasure recently of talking to Bobby Kerr on his Saturday Newstalk radio show, Down to Business. We talked about Beef Dripping and family business in general. I’ve put up this link should you be interested in listening to the show.
Tags: Bobby Kerr, Down to Business, Family Business, Golden Fork Award 2015, James Whelan Butchers, Newstalk, Pat Whelan, Supreme Champion GT 2015
Posted on Monday, September 21st, 2015 by Pat Whelan in Foodie Articles, Good Food | No Comments »
The winners have been announced for this year’s Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards with James Whelan Butchers celebrating their Gold Award win – beating more than 1,000 products in 85 categories.
The Dry Cure Rack of Bacon won the ultimate award but three other producers won Gold awards too: The Gold Small Producer award went to Meere’s Square White Pudding from Meere’s Pork Products; The Gold Value Q Winner went to Dunnes Stores My Family Favourites 4 Irish Beef Quarter Pounders from Kepak and the Gold Christmas Q award went to Dunnes Stores Simply Better Stuffed Fresh Irish Turkey Breast Joint from Hogan’s Farm.
Wildberry Bakery’s Orange and Almond Cake won the prestigious Small Producer of the Year award sponsored by Tesco Ireland, and judged by a team from the company. In addition to the award, Tesco Ireland will provide them with a prize of €2,500 and a place on the next Tesco Taste Bud supplier development programme run in partnership with Bord Bia.
Wildberry Bakery will receive mentoring from the Taste Bud team and participate in a seven-month programme of workshops helping the company to secure, grow and maintain a listing with Tesco.
The winners were announced by Irish celebrity Chef and proprietor of restaurant L’Ecrivain Derry Clarke, on 16th September at the Round Room, Mansion House, in Dublin.
Over 350 food and drink products were shortlisted in 85 categories. The awards were open to all food and drink retailers, producers and manufacturers across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The Exiles Irish Gin was awarded The Irish Quality Drink Award Gold from Avalon Group Inc.
These prestigious accolades, now in their third year, set out to recognise excellence in food and drink product development from a wide variety of companies across Ireland.
The awards repeated last year’s trade-media partnership with Retail News magazine, and consumer-media partnership with Easy Food magazine.
The awards themselves are organised into two distinct sections: Quality Food Awards – products for the multiple and independent grocery retail market and Quality Drink Awards – alcoholic drinks for the retail sector.
Organised by Metropolis Business Media, group events manager Lara Newton comments: “This has been the most exciting year for all of us here at the Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards – we have been absolutely amazed at the incredibly high standard of both the food and drink put forward this year. It has been a difficult job for our teams of expert judges but we are very proud of all our winners and finalists and hope their success will help them grow their business and reward their dedication and hard work.”
Headline sponsor for the awards is innovative packaging company Graphic Packaging International.
The awards are also sponsored by the Coeliac Society of Ireland, who played an important role during the stringent judging process of the ‘Free From’ categories, Dairymaid, Invest Northern Ireland and Tesco.
A selection of shortlisted and winning products will be showcased at the Food & Hospitality Ireland exhibition on September 16th-17th in Dublin.
Full details about the awards are available at irish.qualityfoodawards.com. Make sure you stay up to date with the latest news and competitions via the IQFA Facebook page at www.facebook.com/IrishQualityFoodAwards and on Twitter @IrishQFAs, #IQFA.
Tags: Avoca Butcher, Dry Cure Rack of Bacon, Gold Q Award 2015, Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards, James Whelan Butchers, Tipperary Food
Posted on Tuesday, August 25th, 2015 by Pat Whelan in Foodie Articles, Good Food | No Comments »
The 2015 Tipperary Food Producers “Long table Dinner” attracted more than 170 people last Wednesday night. The beautiful, idyllic Coolbawn Quay was the location for this wonderful night of culinary delights. In keeping with the Long Table Dinner custom, only food from Tipperary was served at the sumptuous traditional feast. Fresh, seasonal produce from over 30 food producers from all over county was used. The creative menu read like a journey around Tipperary. The menu combined the very best artisan food resulting in an astounding feast for all the senses with each dish looking every bit as good as it tasted.
Commenting on the success of the event, Pat Whelan, Chairperson of the Tipperary Food Producers Network said ” we are absolutely thrilled with the evening, the quality and taste of the food produced here in Tipperary is exceptional and events such as the Long Table Dinner will make more people aware of the quality artisan food we have on our doorstep in Tipperary. This event is a great opportunity for the producers to get together with customers and celebrate all that is unique in Tipperary”.
The Tipperary Food Producers Network comprises of over 30 businesses and is in existence since 2008, it is an outstanding example of community working together, the Network collaborates and works very closely with the local agencies and is hugely grateful for the ongoing support it receives from Tipperary County Council, Local Enterprise Office, South Tipperary Development Company and North Tipperary Leader Partnership. Mr. Whelan goes on to add “it is through this close collaboration and support that Tipperary continues to develop such a strong vibrant food landscape and we have ambitious plans to develop food as a key pillar of growth for the local economy into the future”.
The Tipperary Food Producers Network directly employs over 220 people in Co Tipperary. For more information see www.tipperaryfoodproducers.com
Tags: Coolbawn Quay, James Whelan Butchers, Local Enterprise Office, Long Table Dinner 2015, LTD 2015, North Tipperary Leader Partnership, Pat Whelan, South Tipperary Development Company, TFPN, Tipperary County Council, Tipperary Food, Tipperary Food Producers, Tipperary Food Producers Network
Posted on Thursday, August 20th, 2015 by Pat Whelan in Foodie Articles, Good Food | No Comments »
Following the success of last year, James Whelan Butchers Beef Dripping has replicated last year’s success with another 3 Star Great Taste Award and inclusion in the 2015 Top 50 foods in the UK and Ireland.Of 10,000 entries to the Great Taste Awards, just 130 were awarded the highest and most coveted rating, 3 Stars and James Whelan Butchers Beef Dripping has now been further selected as a 2015 Top 50 Food and shortlisted for a Great Taste Golden Fork Award.
Produced in Clonmel, Tipperary by Pat Whelan, a fifth generation butcher the Beef Dripping evoked a great deal of nostalgia from the judges, who enjoyed it’s meaty flavour and the balance of sweet and savouriness, calling it “A pure distillation of bovine goodness“.
Beef Dripping is made from the suet of grass fed Angus and Hereford beef. Rendered down and clarifed into a pure fat, James Whelan Butchers Beef Dripping is simply packaged in white wax paper and stays fresh for up to six months, when stored in a cool dark place.
Seeing the upsurge of interest in heritage foods and traditional ingredients, Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers was inspired to create his own Beef Dripping. With the very best of beef available to him and within months he soon perfected a product that he was proud to share with is customers. “It’s the taste of my childhood” said Pat Whelan. “Our Beef Dripping is nutrient rich, high in omega-3 acids, clean, pure and carries great flavour, whether for frying a steak, roasting potatoes, or simply slathered onto good bread.”
The Great Taste Awards, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, is the benchmark for speciality food and drink. Judged by over 400 of the most demanding palates belonging to food critics, chefs, cooks, members of the Women’s Institute, producers and a host of food writers and journalists, Great Taste is widely acknowledged as the most respected food accreditation.
The Beef Dripping, priced €3.99, is available to buy online at www.JamesWhelanButchers.com or from James Whelan Butchers at Clonmel, Tipperary, Avoca Food Market, Monkstown, Avoca Rathcoole or Avoca Kilmacanogue.
The Golden Fork Award winners will be announced in London on September 8th. See #Top50Foods @GuildofFineFood
Tags: 2015 Top 50 Foods, angus, Beef Dripping, clarified rendered fat, Golden Fork Award, Great Taste Award 3 stars, Great Taste Awards 2015, Hereford, James Whelan Butchers, Suet, traditional ingredients
Posted on Tuesday, July 21st, 2015 by Pat Whelan in Foodie Articles, Good Food | No Comments »
Tipperary Food Producers shoot for the stars at Coolbawn Quay; Perfect Ingredients for an evening on Lough Derg
The Tipperary Food Producers Network is once again hos
ting a Long Table Dinner, set this year in the idyllic surrounds of Coolbawn Quay on the shores of Lough Derg, Co Tipperary. The banquet promises to broaden the imagination as well as the palate of food lovers from all over Ireland on Wednesday August 19th.
A charming boutique resort, bordered by forests and lush rolling green fields, Coolbawn Quay is built in the style of a traditional Irish village and has a sense of timeless tranquillity but with all the comforts of contemporary life.
Entertainment on the evening will be provided by singer Sharon Crosbie in her own inimitable style of haunting jazz.
Tipperary Food Producers Network Chairman Mr. Pat Whelan commented that “The Long Table Dinner is a great opportunity for us all to showcase the very best of our produce to a local and national audience. It will be a feast for all the senses – not just the taste buds.”
Over the last year Tipperary Food Producers Network members really have reached the stars having won sixteen Great Taste Awards. Often described as the food Oscars, this world-famous competition, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, is the acknowledged benchmark for specialty food and drink products. Building on this success, the Long Table Dinner will showcase the vast range of quality artisan food produced within the county. The evening will be a virtual culinary tour of Tipperary with a special menu of products sourced exclusively from the 29 members of the Tipperary Food Producers Network. More information on the members can be found at www.tipperaryfoodproducers.com.
This year the Long Table Dinner is part of ‘A Taste of Lough Derg’ series of food events that are taking place around the Lakelands Lough Derg Region from June until September and more details of these events are available online at www.atasteofloughderg.ie.
Tickets for this 
year’s event cost €75 and are available at James Whelan Butchers, Oakville Shopping Centre, Clonmel on (052) 6182477 OR directly from Coolbawn Quay on (067) 28158.
Ticket holders are asked to be at Coolbawn Quay by 7.00pm sharp as the meal will commence at 7.30 p.m. Tickets are required for entry to the long table dinner event.
Tags: A Taste of Lough Derg, Coolbawn Quay, Long Table Dinner 2015, Pat Whelan, showcase, Tipperary Food, Tipperary Food Producers
Posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2015 by Pat Whelan in Foodie Articles, Good Food | No Comments »
Thanks to a combination of the recent spell of good weather, a lovely customer and a leg of lamb, I enjoyed a truly great barbecue experience. I know I’ve mentioned barbecuing quite a bit recently, but one of the hallmarks of the traditional Irish barbecue is that we tend to play it safe and cook individual items like steaks, burgers, sausages or kebabs. Far too few of us are brave enough to try and barbecue an entire joint of meat for the whole family to enjoy, but if you stick with me this week I might just encourage you to take the plunge. If you follow the instructions I can promise you a culinary triumph.
Perhaps my favourite thing about working in the shop is that I get to meet so many people. As the years have gone by many of my customers have become friends, mainly through the bond of our shared love of food. People who have an interest and a genuine love of good food are also usually quite generous souls. To be honest, the food hobby practically demands it. We can’t help our selves; we love to share recipes, techniques, different food combinations, interesting ingredients or ingredients used in interesting ways. Listen in on food conversations and you’ll hear lots of, “have you tried…..”, “the secret is……”, “I find that…..”; always with wonderful gems and nuggets tacked on that not only improve your own cooking and eating but little tips and tweaks that can revolutionise an entire dish. Food is all about sharing, nurturing and giving. Unlike say fashion, sport or investments which often rely on covetousness or at least withholding information in order to be successful, people who like to cook generally like to cook for other people. Recently a very good friend of mind received a wonderful gift of a Kitchen Aid food mixer; the Rolls Royce of baking equipment if ever there was one! Since she acquired it we are all enjoying batches of cup cakes, lemon slices and decadent chocolate cakes. That’s just the nature of food lovers; generous to a fault.
Because of this generosity and compulsion to share, I was the lucky recipient of a wonderful recipe for barbecued butterflied leg of lamb by one of my customers. It was one of those recipes that just sounded good even on paper, so naturally I couldn’t wait to try it. Butterflied leg of lamb is something that has become very trendy and fashionable recently. I’m quite the purist when it comes to leg of lamb. I like it cooked on the bone with traditional additions such as rosemary and garlic, however cooking it on a barbecue is another matter entirely and so this method is super. Put simply, to butterfly a leg of lamb you just get your butcher to remove the bone and that way you end up with a large piece of meat that you can lay flat onto the barbecue. By the way, butterflied leg of lamb works just as well in the oven.
If you’ve been following this column for the past few weeks you should be an expert in barbecuing by now. One of the main points I’ve been making about great barbecue food is that it often depends on the sauces and marinades used in conjunction with the meats. Like most things in life, good success depends on preparation and barbecuing is no different. Fortunately many good butchers do a range of ready prepared barbecue foods these days, but the recipe I have for you this week gives you the chance to do it yourself.
The advantage with most marinades is that they need to be prepared a good 24 hours in advance to achieve optimum flavour. At least if you are having friends over to share this, all the work and the mess can be sorted the day before, leaving you plenty of time to just barbecue and enjoy. Just in case you don’t have a small army to feed and there may just be two of you, there is nothing to stop you using the marinade recipe below to liven up some simple lamb chops before grilling. Just adjust the quantities of the paste ingredients accordingly or make up a full batch and put half in a clean jar to keep for another time. (Or give to a friend or neighbour like a real food lover would!)
Butterflied Leg of Lamb
- 1 Butterflied leg of lamb (8-9lbs)
- 1 medium onion (coarsely chopped)
- 1 piece fresh ginger 3 inches x 1 inch long, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 7 gloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
- 6 fl oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tblsp ground coriander & ground cumin
- 1 teasp garam masala & ground turmeric
- ¼ teasp ground mace, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground pepper & ground cloves.
- 8 fl oz Olive oil
- 2-2 ½ teasp salt
- Spring Onion to garnish
Whizz the onion, ginger, garlic and 4 tablespoons of lemon juice together to make a paste. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Take the meat and cut off all the fat and tissue. Stab the meat repeatedly with the point of a sharp knife, creating little holes. Rub the paste into the meat and make sure it goes into the holes. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Turn it over several times during that period. Barbecue when ready.
We hope you enjoyed reading this post by Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers. Pat is a 5th generation butcher, cook book author and the director of James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Food Market Monkstown and Avoca Rathcoole. Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from James Whelan Butchers
Tags: Avoca Irish Butcher, BBQ Butterflied Lamb, Butterfly Lamb, Irish Barbecue, James Whelan Butchers, Leg of lamb, marinades, Pat Whelan, sauces, sharing food, The Nationalist
Posted on Wednesday, June 10th, 2015 by Pat Whelan in Foodie Articles, Good Food | No Comments »
Plenty of things alert us to the fact that summer has arrived but perhaps the roadside strawberry sellers are the biggest giveaway. There is something wonderfully summery about fruit purveyors lounging in worn deckchairs with heads buried in dog eared books alongside their makeshift trailer shops. Their languid reading is interrupted every now and again when a car pulls up and the strawberry exchange for money takes place. I love to hear my own kids shout “stop” if we see someone with a plastic table overflowing with strawberries and it warms my heart that their cries for fruit are still just as loud as they are when they see the golden arches. From a father’s point of view I rarely refuse the shout for strawberries but often choose to ignore the pleas for a cheeseburger. As takeaway food goes, strawberries are possibly the perfect choice and with Wimbledon approaching the annual spotlight will shine upon the age old tradition of strawberries and cream. As lovely as the strawberry is though, it always strikes me that we neglect the other berries because of it. The raspberry gets a bit of a look in but we largely fail to take advantage of all the other wonderful fruits available at this time of year and the diverse things you can do with them besides just smothering them with cream. There’s the entire family of berries to consider along with the peaches, nectarines, plums and other stone fruits. 
It really is worth making the most of these months when fresh homegrown produce is available to buy. Berries are full of goodness and antioxidants and are a tasty, healthy option. We have plenty grown locally in the Irish countryside and most are in season now. Sadly we are so used to seeing summer fruits available year round in the supermarkets that we mistakenly assume that the berries we buy in November are similar to those we have now and therefore take the produce very much for granted at this time of year. Nothing could be further from the truth. Usually the off season types tend to be more acidic, forced and nowhere near as sweet and juicy as you will get naturally in the summer.
The other common problem with summer fruit is our lack of imagination. They are often relegated to dessert and we might think it sophisticated if mentioned as a starter ingredient and some are even suspicious if they are used in a warm main course dish. We’re just very unadventurous when it comes down to it. I’ve been totally inspired while watching chefs on TV tossing berries in salads, grilling them and even putting them in hot gravies along with popping them in drinks or using them for all sorts of exotic desserts. I’ve enjoyed pears poached with blue cheese and baked lamb chops with warmed plums. The possibilities are endless.
I personally love berries at breakfast time. Little bursts of summer first thing in the morning are thoroughly uplifting. Strawberries, raspberries, fresh cherries and even blueberries work really well with breakfast drop scones or pancakes. They are delicious when made into compote and served with muesli and Greek yoghurt. I love this as it takes that gravelly, dusty taste away from the muesli that I’m told is good for me! Berry compote is very simple to make and keeping a jar on hand is a great summer standby. As a rough rule of thumb use approximately 1 tablespoon of caster sugar for every 100g of berries and a generous squeeze of lemon juice. Just pop all the ingredients in a pot and heat gently until the berries begin to soften and release their juice. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until you have a runny, jammy mixture. You can serve it warm or cold and it will keep in a lidded container in the fridge for up to a week. Some people use a little corn flour to thicken it up, others add wine or ginger for an added taste kick and I have a friend who substitutes honey for the sugar to save on calories. Try your own variation and personalise it any way you like. Compote can also be used as a desert garnish. If I’m having a particularly healthy morning I’ll pour cranberry juice into the 
blender and then throw in some berries and blitz. If the fruit has been in the fridge overnight it makes a great cold thick juice drink. You could put a banana through it to make it into a proper smoothie if you wanted to. Blackcurrants, gooseberries and blackberries are also great summer fruits and shouldn’t be forgotten.
When buying berries look closely for soft or moldy fruit as this can quickly contaminate the whole lot. Berries are highly perishable and should not be exposed to sunlight or kept at room temperature. If stored in the fridge unwashed and loosely packed with the damaged berries discarded, they should keep for 2 to 4 days. If you have grown your own then freezing berries is a good way to preserve them for use in baked dishes. Blueberries tend to be a little tougher if washed before freezing, and whole blackberries should be frozen spread out individually and then transferred to an airtight freezer container. Strawberries may be frozen sliced, with or without sugar. Adding sugar will help preserve the color but remember when using pre-sweetened berries, reduce the amount of sugar or sweetener called for in any given recipe.
You will have to shop around to get good value but markets and farm gates are usually less expensive and if you can find a ‘pick your own’ farm it’s a great way to spend some family time. We are very fortunate in South Tipperary to have ‘The Apple Farm’ which has a great range of Apple Juices & Soft Fruits. There is always a great welcome at the Apple Farm for all the Family with lots to do including – feeding the Donkey! I wish you a ‘berry’ good week.
We hope you enjoyed reading this post by Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers. Pat is a 5th generation butcher, cook book author and the director of James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Handweavers Rathcoole and Kilmacanogue, Dunnes Stores Cornelscourt, Rathmines and Swords in Dublin. Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from James Whelan Butchers
Tags: antioxidants, Avoca Irish Butcher, berries, blueberries, cherries, compote, countryside, dessert, Foodie Article, Good Food, greek yoghurt, healthy, Irish Food, James Whelan Butchers, main course, muesli, pancakes, Pat Whelan, raspberries, strawberries, Summer 2015, summer fruit, tasty, The Nationalist, Tipperary Butcher, warm fruit
Posted on Friday, May 29th, 2015 by Pat Whelan in Foodie Articles, Good Food | No Comments »
One of the greatest secrets to excellent food is the old and familiar adage, “keep it simple!” If you are really clever you will also have twigged that sometimes the ingredients of any dish can do the talking for you. A good quality, flavoursome piece of meat and the freshest vegetables you can find are often all you need to have them cheering in the aisles and marvelling at your culinary skills. The difficulty is that somewhere along the line simplicity was traded for the smoke and mirrors antics of the professional and celebrity chef. The idea that some things can never be reproduced in a domestic kitchen to any great degree of competency is, in my opinion, nonsense.
Now before I insult all my good friends in the industry, I don’t deny the talent, craft, skill and dedication of the professional, but it depends on an entirely different set of criteria to that of your average family cook. My thesis is that while Joe and Josephine Blogs will always marvel at the labour intensive ‘handmade, truffle filled, star shaped ravioli with a little butter and mushroom jus’ on their occasional visit to a restaurant, it doesn’t mean that the rest of the time at home means bland food hell. We eat every day! 
What we sometimes need is a sense of adventure; a desire to try something new but not necessarily anything too complicated. For example at this time of year why not cook a rack of lamb? This is something that is often seen as only perfected by the professional. I disagree. The key to this is buying the best lamb you can get your hands on and then following the traditional rules of cooking it. With a little preparation, the meat itself and the oven do all the work! The same theory applies to the accompaniments. Two excellently chosen sides will trump quantity or variety any day.
So why are people so afraid of rack of lamb? I suppose it is considered a luxurious dish, probably stemming from the fact that it is the most tender part of the lamb and therefore considered quite exclusive. It also has a regal look about it and that’s why sometimes you see those little ‘chef hats’ covering the ribs. Preparing the rack involves cleaning the fat of those ‘sticky out’ bones, (this technique is called ‘frenching’) however, if you go to a good butcher they will do that for you. I would suggest three to four cutlets per person. 
Take your time when preparing the lamb. I like to coat it in a little oil mixture that I make using olive oil, chopped fresh rosemary, two garlic cloves (chopped) and a pinch of mustard powder. I lightly coat the rack with this mixture and then I heat some oil in an oven proof pan and sear the meat. Do not put the meat into the pan until it is good and hot and then be very careful not to let it burn. It will only take approximately 2 minutes on each side to sear. Do not leave it go past 3 minutes or you could be in trouble. Once it is seared, wipe any excess fat from the meat, cover the bone tips with a little tinfoil to stop them going black during cooking and put the meat, bone side down onto an oven proof dish ready for the preheated oven. You could, if you wanted to, roll the whole piece in breadcrumbs at this point, but that is optional.
Usually you are trying to achieve a nice brown colour on the outside with a little pink still in the centre of each cutlet. Have the oven preheated and then the general rule of thumb is 20 minutes for rare and 25 minutes for medium rare; the latter being my preference. Once again I make the comment about owning a meat thermometer. It is a foolproof way of checking if the meat is cooked through and no kitchen should be without one.
Like any meat it should be left to rest for 10 to 20 minutes before carving and if you want a real sense of theatre then do so at the table! This is not for the fainthearted and I prefer to cut and plate up out of sight, that way you can wipe away any drips before you present it to a guest.
At James Whelan Butchers we take particular pride in our naturally reared, wholesome Tipperary lamb with its deep red colour and remarkably sweet, grass fed taste. Prepare to wow your guests with this sophisticated roast that makes for beautiful presentation and is easy to carve, making it a perennial dinner party favourite. There are several spring lamb recipes and serving ideas on our website so do check that out also and don’t let anyone tell you that a perfect rack of lamb is only achievable in a restaurant. Try it out this weekend and see if home cooking a rack of lamb is not only delicious but tremendous value as well.
We hope you enjoyed reading this post by Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers. Pat is a 5th generation butcher, cook book author and the director of James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Food Market Monkstown and Avoca Rathcoole. Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from James Whelan Butchers
Tags: Avoca Irish Butcher, frenching, Irish Lamb, James Whelan Butchers, lamb cutlet, Pat Whelan, Rack of Lamb, resting meat, The Nationalist, Tipperary lamb
Posted on Wednesday, May 20th, 2015 by Pat Whelan in Foodie Articles, Good Food | No Comments »
Given that I work with meat, I suppose it is hardly surprising that the subject of food comes up in my conversations a great deal. I’m often asked for advice about cuts, preparation and cooking and while some will just indulge and join me in a nice chat about things that taste great, the other common issue is diet and weight. What I probably find most amusing are the different schools of thought on the subject. You have the ‘lean meat, fat is evil’ brigade, the ‘no carb’ bunnies, the point counting sisters and brothers, the “how many calories?” worry warts, the vegetable only zealots; the list is endless. Basically everyone is headed for that same utopian slim dream, but there seem to be many routes to it.
There seems to be one thing that most of these diets and their self proclaimed healthy eating devotees have in common and that is the general rule that junk food was conjured in the bowels of hell in order to make us all fat. The spiritually enlightened wouldn’t dream of defiling their temple with anything but lean chicken, a stick of celery and a lettuce leaf! If the quality of the chicken, celery and lettuce is good I can appreciate that it is a nice snack combination, but the difficulty is I can’t live on just that. We naturally crave, or should I say ‘need’ variety. It’s what makes life and food the wonderful thing that it is. Sadly we have taken the junk food umbrella and crammed more and more foods under it. Chinese food often gets swept into the mix as high calorie junk food and the creamier dishes of Indian cuisine are also given the evil eye by the virtuous.
Because of these generalisations we tend to avoid whole cultures and we miss out on interesting tastes, new experiences and a chance to introduce new things to our own diet. Traditionally, food in both China and India 
is seen as health giving. In the household kitchens real people feeding their families try and create vibrant, fresh, light and tasty meals. This is especially true of China. While some western Chinese restaurants have chosen the route of too much, salt, MSG, sugar and trans fats, an authentic taste of China is good for you. The same can be said of Indian food. Obviously the creamy korma and tikka sauces are rich, but if we look to aromatic chicken or beef baked slowly in a clay oven we get a different picture. Even in restaurants the average Indian mixed grill is lean, protein rich and full of health giving spices.
When it comes to Asian food we have enough ingredients at our disposal these days to come pretty close to an authentic home cooked meal from these foreign lands. Chinese food should be fresh and fragrant. There are many layers of taste in Chinese food and we should be able to taste each note. Traditional Chinese food was never meant to be coated in batter, deep fried and concealed by a viscous, luminous sauce.
What I like best about Asian food is that it offers us alternatives for accompaniments. There is a great range of rice available from wild and long grain, brown rice to the more aromatic and soft Pilau or Thai Jasmine rice. Noodles can be thin light strands such as glass noodles or thick fat udon noodles and a myriad of types in between. (By the way glass noodles are naturally gluten free and so are perfect for coeliacs.) I also like the way real style Asian cooking makes use of nuts; from the cashew to the peanut the taste is great.
We always keep a variety of noodles and rice in the store cupboard as I think they are fantastic for making up dishes with leftovers. If we have some left over chicken, adding in some vegetables, herbs and chilies and serving cold on a bed of glass noodles really stretches the meat. The other great thing about noodles is that they bulk out a soup to make it really feel like a meal. I recently saw a beef noodle soup recipe on the television and I have put it on my list of ‘must makes’ over the summer.
To be fair it is hard for us to know what exactly healthy Chinese or Indian food actually is, as we haven’t grown up with it. However it is only a matter of learning the basics and adapting them to our own taste. The aim isn’t to open an authentic Asian restaurant to satisfy Asian people; the goal is to provide rich variety in the food we feed our own families. It is about what we like and being comfortable using the myriad of wonderful foods available to us. Indeed it seems crazy to cook the same few dishes over and over again when we have so many choices at our disposal. Not only do we have choices but we have an abundance of free knowledge; the library, the internet and the television are full of great food ideas that won’t cost us a penny to learn.
So back to my dieting friends and those on the eternal quest for the supermodel body, my message to you is that your journey towards your goal is a noble one and I wish you great success, but please stop with the deprivation and sweeping statements about real food groups and food cultures. Real food was given to us for fuel, but also for enjoyment. We can enjoy all good things and still lose and maintain weight if we can just get the balance right. I encourage you to explore all that Asia has to offer in natural and good spices, rice and noodles; we are blessed to have it at our fingertips. Combine that with your choice of local home grown vegetables and meat and, without a doubt, you’ll have them all screaming for more.
We hope you enjoyed reading this post by Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers. Pat is a 5th generation butcher, cook book author and the director of James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Food Market Monkstown and Avoca Rathcoole. Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from James Whelan Butchers
Tags: Asian cuisine, Asian food, beef noodle soup, brown rice, glass noodles, healthy eating, James Whelan Butchers, long grain rice, noodles, Pat Whelan, pilau rice, rice, thai jasmine rice, The Nationalist
Posted on Monday, May 11th, 2015 by Pat Whelan in Beef Recipes, Recipes | No Comments »
The bone marrow gives a rich beefiness to this pizza — you might not manage a whole one on your own, so is perhaps best shared between two as a starter, or cut into small pieces as part of an antipasti offering. The Irish-made pizza bases sold under the Pizza da Piero brand are excellent and the mozzarella produced by Toby Simmonds and John Lynch in Co. Cork — with the help of their herd of buffalo, of course — is a genuinely innovative Irish product that stands up to comparison with the best buffalo mozzarella from Italy.
Bone Marrow Pizza Recipe – Printer Friendly Download
Ingredients
- olive oil or rapeseed oil
- 2 shallots, finely sliced
- 3 large cloves garlic, finely sliced
- 1 pizza base
- 1/2 ball Toons Bridge Irish mozzarella or other buffalo mozzarella
- 50 g bone marrow, chopped
- 3 tablespoons finely grated hard cheese –
- Hegarty’s, Desmond, Coolea, Cratloe Hills or Parmesan
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- small handful of caper berries
Makes 1 pizza
To Cook
Preheat the oven to its highest setting. In a small frying pan, heat a tablespoon of oil and gently fry the shallots and garlic until soft and golden. Tear the mozzarella into small pieces and dot evenly over the surface of the pizza. Add the shallots and garlic, with their oil, and distribute evenly over the pizza. Add the chopped bone marrow and finally sprinkle with the hard cheese.
Place on a heated oven tray or pizza stone in the preheated oven until bubbling and starting to brown. Sprinkle the pizza with a little finely chopped parsley and scatter the caper berries over the top.
Tags: Avoca Irish Butcher, Beef Recipes, bone marrow, Bone Marrow Pizza, buffalo mozzarella, Coolea cheese, Cratloe Hills cheese, Desmond Cheese, Hegarty's cheese, James Whelan Butchers, parmesan cheese, Pat Whelan, pizza, Summer recipe, The Irish Beef Book, Toons Bridge Irish mozzarella
