James Whelan Butchers: Name this Beauty!

Posted on Friday, June 3rd, 2011 by Pat Whelan in Good Food | 9 Comments »

Wagyu CalfThis beautiful specimen of Irish Wagyu calf was born on our farm in Garrentemple in late May and has already become as somewhat of a celebrity in the bovine world. This Wagyu calf recently featured in an article written by Claire Murphy of the Evening Herald in which she outlines our innovations in Wagyu breeding. He has become the face of our first Wagyu herd and we are asking you to name him! The winning entry will receive two tickets to the Totally Tipperary Food Festival taking place in the majestic grounds of Cloughjordan House on 25th June and a copy of Pat Whelan’s book, “An Irish Butcher Shop”.

Entering couldn’t be easier. RT our competition tweets (@Pat_Whelan/@JWButchers) and simply enter your name suggestions in the comments below. Get naming that beauty and best of luck!”

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

James Whelan Butchers: Spicing it Up a Bit

Posted on Wednesday, June 1st, 2011 by Pat Whelan in Foodie Articles | 3 Comments »

Reading an article in the paper recently I found myself nodding in agreement at the sentiment expressed about rude, angry celebrity chefs on television. However I suppose to the viewing public a calm, happy kitchen with a jolly chef makes for a rather dull television experience. I personally enjoy watching the less exciting cookery shows as I always hope to learn something or be inspired to try something new. I can’t be bothered with Hell’s Kitchen type efforts. I see no point in the voyeuristic and ritualistic humiliation of humans by an out of control chef. It’s only food after all.

Shows like Hell’s Kitchen would never have been devised in the first place if it wasn’t for the huge growth in our interest in food. It’s no longer just the domain of the gourmet, but everyone is a stakeholder these days (or perhaps a “steak holder”). Our access to ingredients and our knowledge of the world has made for a literal taste explosion and we are all benefiting. Cookery books have long since shaken off their dull, domestic, science text book looks and have become much sought after with celebrity chefs as prolific as novelists. Although their appeal is a little like women’s shoes; they look lovely, women have to have them but only seem to wear one or two pairs all the time; an eternal mystery to men. Cookery books are about as close as I come to understanding the shoe phenomenon. I was looking at my own collection recently and realised that there are really only two that I consult all the time. The rest I dip in an out of occasionally.

Whether we like the calmer shows or the more frenetic or if we despise all forms of cookery television and the idea of the celebrity chef entirely, we have to credit them with opening up the world of food and the taste experience. Starting with the arrogance of the pioneering, wine swigging Keith Floyd to the gentler presentation style of Rachel Allen today, TV chefs have taken us to culinary places we would never have gone to on our own. Herbs and spices are a good example. Growing up in the 70s and 80s I was blissfully ignorant of the world of exotic spices. Our kitchen boasted a very smart wooden spice rack complete with little glass bottles of dried herbs and spices but I would hazard a guess that there were only about three actually used. The mixed herbs and oregano were relatively popular and at the spice end the paprika pepper got an outing every now and again in a goulash or as a garnish on a prawn cocktail or an egg mayonnaise. My granny used to grow fresh parsley and mint in her garden and that was added to various dishes, but that was the extent of my exposure. Then again I did grow up in the 70s and early 80s when we, as a nation, welcomed the ‘new’ idea of dried food in plastic containers that you poured boiling water on to reconstitute! Looking back it is surprising just how well the Knorr Quick Lunch took off. Fortunately my mother didn’t abandon her apron and embrace convenience but she rarely experimented with hot aromatic spices.

These days the food landscape is constantly changing and herbs and spices no longer live out their lives in little glass jars in wooden spice racks. Instead they are actually used in foods to create new and interesting dishes. Also this new found recreational activity of cooking could also be helpful to our general health. Spices became a form of currency that sent intrepid adventurers onto unknown oceans to find new places, people, and trade routes. The Spice Route to China sucked in Marco Polo and brought the spice trade to Europe. Christopher Columbus set out to find the way to the source of spices and found the New World. The British Raj occupied India to gain its wealth, its spice and tea trade. In some countries spices are sacred, considered aphrodisiacs and are filled with health giving anti oxidants.

The use of herbs and spices in cooking offers the chance to prepare exotic, gourmet dishes, bringing a touch of the Orient here, but it is also a great way to add flavour while cutting calories. Herbs and spices can also be used as a substitute for salt and they can dress up inexpensive meats. A little mustard in place of mayonnaise also cuts the calories. Whole herbs and spices last much longer than crushed or ground forms and tend to have stronger, fresher flavours. Growing herbs is easy and can be done on any kitchen windowsill. Generally speaking crushed and ground forms don’t necessarily ‘go off’ but they do lose their potency after about three to four months.

Definitions of herbs and spices vary somewhat but can be identified as follows: Herbs are leaves of low-growing shrubs; parsley, chives, marjoram, thyme, basil, caraway, dill, oregano, rosemary, savory, sage and celery leaves. These can be used fresh or dried. Dried forms may be whole, crushed, or ground. Spices come from the bark (cinnamon), root (ginger, onion, and garlic), buds (cloves, saffron), seeds (yellow mustard, poppy, and sesame), berry (black pepper), or the fruit (allspice, paprika) of tropical plants and trees.

The health benefits of ginger for example have been known for almost 2,000 years. It is a natural anti-inflammatory which means it could be good for heart disease, Alzheimer’s and arthritis. Tumeric is very respected in India as a potent anti-inflammatory and known to be helpful in fighting bowel diseases including Crohn’s disease and colitis. Parsley is reported to have an ability to fight cancer. Animal studies have shown that it can inhibit tumor formation, particularly in the lungs. Parsley is also a rich source of antioxidants and heart-protective nutrients including vitamin C, beta-carotene and folic acid. This is just the tip of the iceberg

Herbs and spices are now readily available in any good supermarket and there is immense information available in books and online. Apparently in this climate we’re all doing more cooking at home. It’s not rocket science at all it just calls for a spirit of adventure and a decent recipe to start. While there is no doubt that your taste buds will enjoy the experience, it could be good for your overall health as well. I welcome your feedback to [email protected]

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

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James Whelan Butchers: CityDeal Offer Extended to 31st August

Posted on Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 by Pat Whelan in Good Food | No Comments »

Groupon CityDeal Offer Extended to 31st AugustThis week we have enjoyed huge success with our City Deal partners promoting our products. We have offered 52% discount on all our products delivered to you anywhere in Ireland. This promotion was sent to 600,000 people on Monday morning and the response has been phenomenal. In order for us to deal with this response and maintain our very high standards we have decided to extend the closing date for redemption of this offer by 62 days to the 31st August. This gives you a greater opportunity to experience the wonderful products we create here with our team of butchers in Clonmel and it also gives us a chance to breath! If you have bought a City Deal voucher for James Whelan Butchers, you will also receive an email from City Deal advising you of this independently. We look forward to serving and sharing with you some of our wonderful products that we create by hand everyday. Please bear with us and understand that each order is dealt with individually and thus takes time. We thank you for your understanding and look forward to serving you again in the future.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I buy multiple vouchers?

Yes, you can buy multiple vouchers but only one voucher can be applied per order. Delivery costs €10 per order under €100 and orders over €100 receive free delivery.

What days of the week do you deliver?

We deliver Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Saturday delivery costs €15 regardless of €100 spend. As you can imagine, days are filling up very quickly so order in plenty of time. The website automatically shows the available dates for delivery.

Can I give a specific time for delivery?

We deliver between 9am-5pm daily. You can track and trace your order online by entering your order number and email address that you used to place your order. You can have your order delivered to work and home. With traffic and other conditions it is impossible to determine an exact time for delivery, however if you would like further information you can locate your local depot and contact them directly using DPD’s Depot Finder.

Best Wishes

Pat Whelan

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

James Whelan Butchers: Ox Tongue

Posted on Wednesday, May 25th, 2011 by Pat Whelan in Foodie Articles | No Comments »

 

I’m often amused and sometimes confused by the way meat and other foods become fashionable and then fall off the radar.  I suppose we expect trends in other areas so why should food be any different?  Growing up in a butcher’s household all parts of all animals were explored as possible meals and so all types of meat were always ‘in’.  Offal was certainly not off limits and kidneys, liver, hearts, sweetbreads, tripe and tongue were as common in the kitchen as steak and roast beef throughout my childhood.  Liver and onions were often served for tea and we were always reminded of just how nutritious and iron rich it was.  In fact offal, while very tasty, is generally quite nutritious.  The caveat is of course that if the animal isn’t healthy or well fed then the meat it produces will be inferior, but for the purposes of this column we are only talking about well reared beasts.

As a very small child cooked tongue intrigued me because by the time it got to the plate it bore no resemblance at all to the massive organ that sat inside the mouths of the cows on the farm or even the large, long ox tongues sold to customers in the shop.  I can understand how some people would be put off by the visual aesthetic of the ox tongue as it is not the prettiest cut of meat. Then one day I discovered a large pudding bowl in the cold scullery with a plate on the top and a massive rock on top of the plate; a most curious find indeed.  On inquiring I discovered it was a tongue, being pressed, ready for the table.  Aha!  It was a Eureka moment.  While Jim Figgerty was the 1970s advertising mascot of the fig roll and was forever enquiring from the TV screen “How do they get the figs into the fig rolls?” I was wondering how my mother got a massive Ox Tongue to look like a smooth, red Christmas pudding.  All had been revealed; it was the pudding bowl mould.

My main point is that if you choose to cook a tongue and it is the first time you are introducing it to the family, trust me when I say that once finished it won’t look anything like the meat you buy in its raw state.  Cooked and laid out as a buffet or picnic meat it will look very appetising and the silky taste when sliced thinly is divine.  It is a fantastic food that can be served hot or cold and works so well in many situations.  For some reason I seem to remember it mainly as a summer dish. It was served hot the first day and the leftovers were carved and plated as part of a cold meat salad tea, supper or picnic food the next day.

The main thing to note with tongue or any offal for that matter is that cooking and preparing it is usually time consuming and the process can be quite slow.  However, when we look at the taste value, the price points and the inherent nutrition I think it is all worth it.  Tongue is suddenly on the radar again.  We have had several new enquiries and I notice talk of how to cook tongue buzzing around the food community.  I’m thrilled by this as I have always felt it is much underrated and genuinely feel that the reason more people, particularly the younger generation, haven’t tried it is because they don’t quite know what to do with it.

Well I’m going to tell you what to do with an ox tongue. When you get the tongue home you will need to wash it quite well.  I suggest that you scrub it vigorously with a stiff brush.  It then needs to be soaked in cold water for several hours or even overnight if time allows.  The next morning remove the tongue and discard the water and then place it into a large, deep pot and cover it with water.  Bring it to the boil and then skim away any surface scum before adding the prepared vegetables, herbs and spices.  It will need to simmer very gently at approximately 45 minutes per lb.  For an average ox tongue you could be looking at 3 to 4 hours.

I don’t suggest stabbing the meat to see if it is tender but instead I defer to the great goddess of cooking, Delia Smith who says in her excellent book, Delia’s Complete Cookery Course, “The tongue will be ready when the skin along the surface is blistered and the T-shaped bone at the root of the tongue comes away easily when pulled”.   Once you know the tongue is cooked, remove it from the pot and let it cool before handling it and then strip away all the skin.  Curl the tongue and fit it into a snug container.  As I mentioned my mother always used a pudding bowl, but a tin or a dish with high sides will work as well.  Take the cooking liquid and boil it rapidly to reduce it down.   Take about 10fl oz of the stock and add in the gelatine and the port.  Pour the whole lot over the tongue, cover the top and place a heavy weight on top to hold it all down.  Put it in a cool place and allow it to set, if possible, overnight. When you turn it out it will hold its shape and allow you to carve it easily.  You can serve it cold sliced or heat it in a Madeira sauce if you want to eat it warm.  Pigs, Calves and Lambs’ tongues are also available and can be treated in the same way as ox tongue.  Obviously the smaller tongues won’t take as long to cook but also won’t yield as much meat.

If you do decide to cook a tongue I’d be delighted to get your feedback.  Thanks to modern technology I’m now available via Twitter, Facebook or email and feel free to contact me anytime.

What you need to prepare ox tongue.

 

  • 1 ox tongue
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 washed and trimmed leeks
  • 3 carrots chopped into chunks
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • A handful of parsley
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 6 whole black peppercorns
  • Powdered gelatine
  • 3 tablespoons of port

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

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James Whelan Butchers: Totally Tipperary Cloughjordan 25th June

Posted on Friday, May 20th, 2011 by Pat Whelan in Good Food | No Comments »

Totally Tipperary logo

All roads lead to Tipperary, for Ireland’s newest food festival, Totally Tipperary. This innovative and exciting food event will be held within the historic grounds of Cloughjordan House on the 25th June 2011.

Totally Tipperary is open to everyone. Food Producers, Food writers, Food bloggers and Food lovers are converging to taste the best of what Tipperary has to offer. As well as eating and drinking, there will also be an opportunity to learn about food and where it comes from. Growing, cooking and making food will all feature prominently at this very innovative food festival.

Tastings, talks, tours, cookery, production demonstrations and a host of delectable food stalls are to be savoured at Totally Tipperary. There will also be children’s and evening entertainment which will engage both the mind and body at Totally Tipperary. All manner of tents, yurts and marquees will fill the open garden spaces within this historic old house.

Kindly supported by Bosch, FBD, Bord Bia and the Sarah Baker Cookery School, Totally Tipperary will draw on the combined expertise of the following to provide a foodie event of epic proportions. The Tipperary Food Producers, a passionate and visionary group of some of Tipperary’s finest artisan food producers; GIY (who empower people to ‘Grow it Yourself’); Greenworks, who run reskilling courses in the green economy, including food, the Cloughjordan Festival itself and Cultivate, through their Convergence event.

RTE’s Ella McSweeney (Ear to the Ground; Homegrown) and Bobby Kerr (Dragon’s Den) will be on hand to facilitate debate and demonstrations, while the Seomra Blog Bia will add a globally interactive and innovative dimension.

Seomra Blog Bia will feature cookery demonstrations from both worldwide food bloggers and chefs as they engage the visitor on how to use the best of local, seasonal, sustainable and fresh foods. This will include Kristin of Dinner du Jour (one of the founders of the #inishfood phenomenon ), Joanna of Smörgåsblog and Yvonne of Hey Pesto.

With the very generous help of Bord Bia, a number of French Michelin Star chefs, including Maurice Alexis, chef from the Elysee Palace in Paris, will attend as part of a nationwide tour. This will add enormously to the international flavor of the event and provide visitors with a unique view of Tipperary produce being used as the main ingredients in the creation of stunning dishes by some of the world’s most eminent chefs.

The festival will embrace all manner of modern media and will be broadcast live online through a variety of platforms: Photos, Videos, Audio sound bites will be posted, blogged and tweeted about live on the day to the world.

The Sarah Baker Cookery School will be running hourly cookery classes for children during the day in a dedicated marquee. This will allow parents to relax and enjoy the more sophisticated offerings in the main cookery tent.  The Tipperary Food Producers will include products from Hickeys Bakery, The Apple Farm, Cashel Blue cheese, Red Nose Wine, Inch House, Crowe’s Farm and a host of other passionate Tipperary businesses.

Totally Tipperary will have a very practical and hands on dimension.  Pat Whelan, of the highly respected James Whelan Butchers in Clonmel will run a dedicated meat tent; GIY  – Grow it Yourself  – will get down and dirty with how to grow some of your own food, whilst many of the demos will revolve around not just handy hints on cooking but on making some core foods yourself – including your own dairy products like butter and cheese. Imen McDonnell will host aModern Farmhouse Butter Making demonstration as she has previously done with Ella McSweeney and Glenilen Farm for GIY Ireland’s Butter Live and at the InishFood Festival, from 3-5pm.

The Meat Tent

11.30am T.J. Crowe and Pat Whelan – butchering your own pork and lamb

T.J. and Pat will give a comprehensive demonstration on how to butcher and prepare your own pork and lamb. This is a very informative session which went down very well at last year’s GIY conference in the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.

3pm Nora Egan and Una O’Dwyer – black pudding and sausage making

Nora and Una will give a demonstration on how to make your own black pudding and sausages.


The Seomra Bia Blog

11am Sarah Baker from Sarah Baker’s Cookery School

12pm Kristin Jensen from Edible Ireland and Dinner du Jour and Barbara Russell

1pm Nessa Robins from Nessa’s Family Kitchen

2pm Joanna Schaffalitzky from Smorgasblog

3pm Yvonne Carty from Hey Pesto

4pm Maurice Alexis from the Elysee Palace, Didier Coupeau  and Mr Joel Reynaud


The Cloughjordan Community Farm – The Milk Tent

The Cloughjordan Community Farm will show people some of the practical steps involved in setting up a farm where the producer and consumer work together as part of a community. They will also do tours of their farm and host Raw: A milk party, which will show people how to make the most of milk. The Cloughjordan Ecovillage will also be on hand to do tours and talks on this most innovative project, which just happens to be next door to the festivities.

All Day – Play Connect 4 Resilience with the Cloughjordan Ecovillage

All Day – Irish Seed Savers Association will have a selection of seeds at there exhibit and will be outlining how we might protect, conserve & utilise Irish plant genetic resources including rare heritage seeds, grains, vegetables & fruit.

1pm Making Mozzarella Cheese with Bruce Darrell

2pm Making Ricotta and Paneer Cheeses with Tamara Macginty

3pm Making Butter with Imen McDonnell

4.30pm Brewing Craft Beer with Chris Gambatese


The Cultivate Tent

Bringing together ideas and people for a brighter rural future.

Talks, Discussions and Music

11.30 Catching the Green Wave

Exploring the potential of green jobs and livelihoods in the county with Ben Whelan from Cultivate’s Green Works programme and representatives from the emerging Tipperary Green Business Network.

12.00 Musical Interlude

12.30 Growing it Ourselves

Sarah Fleming of GIY (Grow It Yourself) Ireland will discuss the potential of more people growing more food with former Minister for Food and Horticulture, Trevor Sargent, now of trevorskitchengarden.ie, andAine Neville of GIY Lucan and Wexford.

13.00 Musical Interlude

13.15 The Business Opportunities of Organic, Artisan and Local Food

Dr. Ollie Moore (agr-food columnist of the Irish Examiner) hosts a discussion with RTE Dragon Bobby Kerr, Stiofan Nutty (organic business consultant) and Peter Ward local food advocate and owner of Country Choice, on the potential of developing new food enterprises and livelihoods in rural Ireland.

14.00 The Raw Milk Discussion

As the government prepare to ban the sale of raw milk RTE’s Ella McSweeny leads a discussion on the risks and benefits of raw milk. Joining Ella will be Trevor Sargent, renowned cheese monger Seamus Sheridan, Mimi Pearson from the Cloughjordan Community Farm and others from the food sector.

15.00 The Ecovillage Story

A short presentation on the project by Davie Philip and other ecovillage residents followed by a tour of the houses, allotments, solar park and the community farm.

15.30 Musical Interlude

16.00 The Potential of Community Supported Agriculture

Ella McSweeny, RTE, Stan Nangle, Wexford Organic Centre, Tamara MacGinty, CCF, and Pat Malone, CCF discuss the opportunities of farming supported by the community.

17.00 Bubba Shakespeare

A short performance by the rapper from Nenagh Co.Tipperary who sings in Irish

The days events will develop into a night of celebration with an Asado  – an Argentinian-style BBQ brought to you with 100% Irish and 100% Tipperary produce. Music and Entertainment will be brought to you on the evening by The Boudoir Sessions (Electric Picnic, Body and Soul Festival) who will swing and sway, charm and disarm the crowd with sounds from the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s – boogie woogie, swing, calypso, mento, rockabilly and bluegrass.

They will be accompanied for the evening time soirée by Kaledescape, an arts co-operative that will provide a full sensory and interactive experience including Europe’s largest Kaleidoscopes, a giant flower garden and The Invisible Band.

Sunday 26th June

14.00 Networking for Resilience
Cultivate Living and Learning, Transition Ireland and Northern Ireland and FEASTA host this session to explore how best to pool resources and work collaboratively to develop resilient communities.

16.00 An Ecumenical Gathering
Professor Peadar Kirby (University of Limerick) hosts an event bringing together different faith communities to explore approaches to cultivating resilience and hope in these turbulent times.

Be sure to join us at Totally Tipperary on 25th June in Cloughjordan House, Tipperary for a food festival that will allow you to indulge your senses in all that is Tipperary.

For more information see www.cloughjordanfestival.com Follow @Totallytipp on Twitter or ring Peter Baker on 087 2515694

The Tipperary Food Producers is a group of some of the finest food businesses in the county. The following will be in attendance at Totally Tipperary:

James Whelan Butchers
Crowe’s Farm
Una O’Dwyers Traditional Sausages
Seymour Organic
Inch House
Con Traas
Brownes
Karmine Apple Juice
Ponaire Coffee
Red Nose Wine
Hickeys Craft Bakery
Crossogue Preserves
The Scullery
Cashel Blue Cheese
Cooleeney Cheese
The Cookie Jar
Holycross Good Food
Mags’ home baking
Tipperary Organic Ice Cream
Boulaban Ice cream
Sarah Baker Cookery School

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

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James Whelan Butchers: Summer Temperature

Posted on Thursday, May 19th, 2011 by Pat Whelan in Foodie Articles | 4 Comments »

You often hear it said that cooking is an art whereas baking is more of a science.  I would have to agree with the statement to some extent and it would follow that I consider myself an artist rather than a scientist.  However there is plenty of room for science in meat cookery.  TV cooks and their casual vernacular have given rise to plenty of confusion that would have Mrs Beeton or any of the great French chefs spinning in their graves.  They use slugs of this, glugs of that, drizzles, and wine glasses in place of proper scientific measurements.  I also hear references to large X and medium Y, such as onions or carrots, when small medium and large are comparative terms.  It’s not surprising that people have had disasters in the kitchen attempting to copy some of these TV endeavours.

While I can’t help you with a slug, a glug or a drizzle, the other constant debate is how to tell if meat is cooked.  At this time of year with communions and barbecues in full swing, party buffets and grills mean joints of ham, turkey and beef are being cooked while steaks, sausages and kebabs are being roasted over the coals.  Unless you are using professional caterers there is plenty of anxiety around the roast and turkey cooking.  For some it will bring back memories of Christmas.  I have two words to quell the anxious; meat thermometer.

Thermometers are indispensable in a kitchen.  They measure the internal temperature of your cooked meat, poultry, or casseroles and therefore take the guesswork out of cooking as you can be sure a safe temperature has been reached, any harmful bacteria have been destroyed, and your food is cooked perfectly.  Of course a thermometer can be used for all foods and not just meat and you should get into the habit of using one.  It would certainly stop the dreaded but common barbecue barbarism of cremated flesh on the outside and dangerously pink on the inside.  How many of us have stuck with the salads at a barbecue for fear of the pink centred chicken?  Temperature is the only way to gauge whether food is sufficiently cooked.

If you don’t already have one, you will be faced with several types to choose from.  The old fashioned stainless steel, inexpensive model is fine but if you want real accuracy then modern digital thermometers are a good choice.  The main thing is to make sure it is a meat and poultry thermometer as opposed to one designed for sugar or jam.  To use a meat thermometer just insert it through the fat side of the meat.  If you are cooking a joint on the bone be careful not to touch the bone as this conducts heat faster and you will get a false reading.  I suggest immersing the probe part of the thermometer about 2 inches into the meat.  For poultry I recommend that the best place is the inner thigh area, near the breast of the bird but, again, not touching the bone.  For red meat, roasts, steaks or chops go to the thickest part away from the bone.  If you are cooking a meat loaf I would suggest placing it in the thickest area of the loaf or for thinner items, go in from the side.  Finally for casseroles, stews or pies insert into the centre.  And remember to wash the probe after each use.  Below is a table of meat temperatures for you to cut out and keep handy.

While on the subject and as I mentioned it earlier a sugar thermometer is really important when making jam or sweets.  Just like meat it is the most accurate way of testing the temperature.

Beef
Rare 130° F / 54° C
Medium 160˚F / 71˚C
Well 175˚F / 79˚C
Veal
Rare N/A
Medium 145˚F / 63˚C min. safe temperature
Well 160˚F / 71˚C
Pork
Rare Pork is not suited to being served rare
Medium 155˚F / 66˚C min. safe temperature
Well 160˚F / 71˚C
Lamb
Rare 140˚F / 60˚C
Medium 145˚F / 63˚C
Well 165˚F / 74˚C
Poultry
Rare Poultry is not suited to being served rare.
Medium 165˚-170˚F / 74˚-77˚ C
Well N/A over 170˚F will result in being too dry!

Of course you could eliminate all the anxiety of party food by checking out the catering packages at James Whelan Butchers.  Drop by the shop or check out the website today. I welcome your feedback to [email protected].

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

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James Whelan Butchers: Making Time

Posted on Thursday, May 12th, 2011 by Pat Whelan in Foodie Articles | No Comments »

 

While my own trained skills lie in the art of food and butchery anyone who has ever worked behind a counter will tell you that over time you acquire a certain ability to read body language and detect mood. I can spot people staring at the chill cabinets with a bewildered look on their faces. I can often read it as that bothersome internal question “What the hell will I get for the dinner tonight/tomorrow/next Tuesday/whatever?” It is often a pained expression and one that suggests cooking is a chore best or a necessary evil at worst.

Engaging this particular breed of shopper in conversation you can usually sort them out in seconds with a few hints and tips.  It doesn’t take long for the smile to return to their faces and one idea from inside the counter tends to spark a number of ideas in their own heads and suddenly the furrowed frown disappears.  Further probing often reveals that they do have a genuine interest in cooking but don’t particularly enjoy it because of lack of time.  This suggests that cooking is long and arduous as opposed to a contemplative and enjoyable creative recreation that has the added benefit of nourishing our nearest and dearest.  We probably don’t think long enough on the words we use, but that very word, ‘recreation’ means to do something that ‘re-creates’ us.  In other words it lifts us up, nourishes our souls and sends us back to our normal routine in a better state of mind; in a word ‘re-created’ in order to start again.  Now many believe it is the eaters of the meal that get the best of the recreation and not the providers or cooks.  I beg to differ.

First of all let’s look at the time element.  Most of us complain about lack of time and yet research tells us that an average individual can spend a staggering 25 hours a week watching television!  Ironically it is possible that several of those hours are spent watching programmes about food.  Having watched Jamie, Nigella or Gordon in the kitchen we are so exhausted from all their work that we drag ourselves to the kitchen and prepare that TV dinner we bought earlier. We need to reconnect with real food.  If you don’t want to do it from scratch there are plenty of things to help along the way. At JWB for example we do a range of freshly prepared foods and meats that don’t take any length to cook.  They can be accompaniments or the star of the show, there’s plenty to choose from.  I think what most of those TV programmes fail to demonstrate is how quick and easy it is to rustle up real, tasty food without a professional kitchen and every gadget under the sun; try an omelette and test the theory of real fast food.

We have been seduced by the packet and pouch language of ‘instant’, ‘quick’, or ‘express’.  Celebrity chef Valentine Warner recently commented on such food advertising and said, “These are words that encourage a loss of knowledge and indicate an unwise dependence on having things done for us”.  I couldn’t agree more.  The other thing that is quite sad is the loss of experience in handing down skills from one generation to another.  There is something very natural and lovely that takes place between a parent and a child when teaching them a skill and particularly a food skill.  Baking cookies, boiling an egg or peeling and preparing vegetables can be a tremendous time with the added benefit of something good to taste at the end of it.  Teaching someone to open a pouch or how to pierce some plastic with a fork before bunging it in the microwave doesn’t even come close.  Nobel Prize winning Irish poet, Seamus Heaney, captured this elegantly in his poem, In Memoriam, which was about his mother.

When all the others were away at Mass
I was all hers as we peeled potatoes.
They broke the silence, let fall one by one
Like solder weeping off the soldering iron:
Cold comforts set between us, things to share
Gleaming in a bucket of clean water.
And again let fall. Little pleasant splashes
From each other’s work would bring us to our senses.

So while the parish priest at her bedside
Went hammer and tongs at the prayers for the dying
And some were responding and some crying
I remembered her head bent towards my head,
Her breath in mine, our fluent dipping knives–
Never closer the whole rest of our lives.

Of course we would probably claim that if we don’t have time to cook, we certainly don’t have time to mess around with children in the kitchen!  Dear oh dear, where are our priorities?  We send our children out into the world, educated as best we can, warned about the dangers of sex, drugs and rock and roll and yet we never check to see if they can make themselves a meal.  Obviously they are well able to roll up at a chip shop and ask for something, but that’s not really the point.  If they are unable to identify food in its raw state or assemble ingredients for a recipe then that knowledge will be a lot more difficult to pick up as an adult or perhaps a closed door to them forever.  No doubt they too in their busy grown up lives will say that, just like their parents, they don’t have time to cook! I encourage you to find your cooking mojo again.  Don’t see it as a chore but as a time of creativity and recreation and pass that idea of pleasure to your children.  For that reason the recipes below are simple and fit very nicely with our idea of ‘fast’, ‘express’ and ‘quick’ but without an overly processed product in sight. I welcome your feedback to [email protected].

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

James Whelan Butchers: Italian Sausage Spaghetti

Posted on Tuesday, May 10th, 2011 by Pat Whelan in Pork Recipes, Recipes | No Comments »

Italian Sausage SpaghettiThere is so much flavour in this dish from the tomatoes, garlic and Italian sausage that there is no need to add extra seasoning making this a healthy option for all the family.

Italian Sausage Spaghetti – Printer Friendly Download

Ingredients

  • 4 Italian  sausages
  • 1  onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 jar of Tomato and Garlic Sauce for Pasta
  • Olive oil
  • 1 lb (16 oz) spaghetti pasta
  • Salt
  • Grated Parmesan cheese

Serves 4-6

To Cook

The Sauce:
Take the Italian sausage meat out of the sausage casings. Break up into pieces and brown the sausage meat in a large skillet on medium high or high heat with a little olive oil. In a separate skillet sauté the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent. Add the jar of tomato and garlic sauce to the skillet with the sausage meat. Add the cooked onions and garlic.

The Pasta
Fill a large stock pot at least half full with water and bring to a boil. Add a tablespoon of salt. Slowly add the pasta, stirring to prevent clumping. Allow the water to come to a boil again. Cook, uncovered, with a fairly vigorous boil, for as long as the directions on the pasta package say, usually about 10-12 minutes. When pasta is al dente (cooked but still a little firm), remove the pot from the heat. Add a cup or two of cold water to the pasta to stop the cooking. Drain the water from the pasta through a colander. Place the pasta in a serving bowl.

Serve immediately. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.

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

A Busy Week at James Whelan Butchers

Posted on Monday, May 9th, 2011 by Pat Whelan in Good Food | No Comments »

Talented USA - Moya McAllister, Imen McDonnell and Adam Perry LangLast week saw a flurry of activity take place at James Whelan Butchers. I met with photographers and food stylists, had a visit from a celebrity chef and heard great news that a seasonal colleague of ours, Karl Ryan may be heading to the White House as part of the North South Washington Ireland Programme for Service and Leadership.

I began the week by meeting with American food photographer Moya McAllister. She is being partnered by a fellow American, Imen McDonnell who is an avid food blogger, columnist and food stylist. Photography of the book will hopefully be finished by the end of the month. This is a very exciting creative process, collaborating with many different people, the results of which will hopefully be a really stylish publication showcasing the very best of Irish artisan food.

We had a surprise visit from celebrity chef, author and co-owner of Barbecoa restaurant in London, Adam Perry Lang. Adam showed a real enthusiasm for the work that we do at James Whelan Butchers and remarked on twitter that he was “Beyond inspired in Ireland @Pat_Whelan Butcher shop has lit a fire. Shop is genius. Old School meets new school answer to industry. Star!!!”.

Adam is the author of the hugely popular ‘BBQ 25′ and co-owns Barbecoa with Jamie Oliver. I showed him our new Wagyu herd on our farm at Garrentemple and chatted with him about our dry-aging process and being able to control all elements of production, from farm to fork. He has promised to cook with me on his next visit to Ireland, so watch this space!

Finally, an article was published last week in the local broadsheet newspaper the Nationalist, covering the amazing story of a college colleague of ours at James Whelan Butchers, Karl Ryan who is heading to Washington D.C. as part of the North South Washington Ireland Programme. This internship could see Karl paired with an institution, a congressman on Capitol Hill or even at the White House. So while Barrack Obama makes his way to Moneygall, Karl will be making his own journey to Washington DC.  Karl will not find out where he will serve his internship until later this month but both myself and everyone at James Whelan Butchers would like to wish him the best of luck and continued success to him in the future! Karl has helped us for many years during college holidays and we hope the inspiration we have given him will be taken all the way to the White House. I look forward to bringing some good Irish artisan food to Barrack Obama’s kitchen!

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

James Whelan Butchers: Our First Wagyu Herd!

Posted on Monday, May 9th, 2011 by Pat Whelan in Good Food | 1 Comment »

Wagyu mother and calfLast year I embarked on farming the first wagyu beef herd in Ireland with the intention of introducing the people of Ireland to the great taste of Wagyu.

Wagyu beef is a Japanese breed of beef, known for its intense marbling or intramuscular fat. Recent studies have proved that the monounsaturated fats in Wagyu beef can actually help lower cholesterol as part of a healthy balanced diet, making Wagyu far healthier than any other beef product currently available on the market.

In late Spring of this year, I became the proud owner of one of Ireland’s first Wagyu herd. This innovative new idea to cross breed Wagyu with our famous Aberdeen Angus herd, underpins our commitment to bring new value added products to our customers. The cross breeding has maintained the integrity of the intense marbling associated with the Wagyu beef and marries the best qualities of both breeds to create a unique product.

Our first Wagyu calves were born strong and healthy on our farm at Garrentemple. These calves are the first Irish Wagyu herd produced in Tipperary and will be sold in store and online in 2012. We hope to continue production of Wagyu in Ireland in the coming years and hope to develop a loyal following for this unique product.

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

James Whelan Butchers: Italian Style Sausage Pasta

Posted on Friday, May 6th, 2011 by Pat Whelan in Pork Recipes, Recipes | No Comments »

Italian Style Sausage PastaThis delicious recipe combines tomato, onion and garlic pasta sauce with sausage chunks for a bit of substance.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 8 Gourmet Sausages, cut into chunky pieces
  • 1 large onion , chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • 300g short pasta such as fusilli or penne

Serves 4

To Cook

Put a large pan of water on to boil. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the sausage chunks on a fairly high heat until they are golden brown all over. Now turn the heat down and add the onion and garlic, cooking them until they have softened.

Stir in the chilli powder and tomatoes with the sausages, bring the sauce to the boil then turn the heat down and let it bubble for about 10 minutes while you cook the pasta.

Drop the pasta into the pan of boiling water and cook according to the pack instructions. Drain the pasta, then tip it into the frying pan with the sausage sauce, mixing well to coat. Dish up immediately with crusty bread.

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

James Whelan Butchers: Lamb’s Liver with Thyme and Onions

Posted on Wednesday, May 4th, 2011 by Pat Whelan in Lamb Recipes, Recipes | No Comments »

Lambs Liver with Thyme and OnionsThis recipe is a classic blend of lambs liver with onions, using Thyme to give an added dimension of taste to the dish. Liver is good for you and this recipe will get the kids loving it too! Remember liver is not suitable for people trying to reduce their cholesterol count!

Lambs Liver with Thyme and Onions – Printer Friendly Download

Ingredients

  • 1lb (454g) lambs livers
  • 3 spring onions, cut into slices on the diagonal
  • A few sprigs of fresh thyme, just the leaves, or 1/4 spoon of dried thyme
  • Butter
  • Oil
  • A good splash of cream
  • 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
  • A good squeeze of lemon juice
  • Salt and black pepper

Serves 6

To Cook

Heat the oil and butter together in a big pan and fry the onion until it is soft and remove them from the pan. Add the lambs livers and the thyme, salt and lots of black pepper. Cook until the livers are brown on the outside but still pink inside. To check this, take one out, cut it and see, then put it back in and continue cooking, and check another one. It takes about 7-9 minutes but check earlier. Keep the heat high enough so that they are not steaming. Return the spring onions to the pan, squeeze the lemon over the livers. Mix the dijon mustard with the cream in a cup and add it to the lamb livers. Scrape up the bits on the bottom with a wooden spoon and heat until the sauce comes together. Serve immediately.

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

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