As with most large animals, different cuts are better suited for different recipes and cooking methods. The most tender cuts for frying and grilling or others that reward slow cooking by braising or in stews. Don’t forget many of the value cuts deliver the richest and deepest flavours. Longer cooking breaks down the denser fibres creating tender meat in a thicker delicious sauce or gravy.

During the animals life different parts of the body will develop in different ways depending on the amount of work they do.This means that individual cuts will have differing proportions of muscle, fat and connective tissues. For example those that have worked the hardest such as (the neck which is constantly moving about as the animal grazes) will build up more fibre and sinew.

Other factors to consider are the provenance of the animal. We select meat from suppliers that have taken care to raise animals that will cook well with great flavour. Quality meats will have plenty of marbling (white lines of fat in and around the muscle) that will keep the meat moist as it melts away during cooking and impart a real depth of flavour. In the same way the layer of fat on the outside of a roasting joint will ensure you get a tasty result. Saddle Farm also age certain cuts to improve the final flavour and tenderness.

When “hung” or aged the beef’s natural enzymes break down the connective tissue in the muscle, which leads to more tender beef on you plate also some moisture loss helps concentrate the flavour.