Nice to meat you - Meat City serves up quality
His parents were butchers, his siblings are butchers, his sister married a butcher… and the foodies of London are glad Nigel Armstrong followed in his family’s footsteps. Meat City is often regarded as one of London’s best butcher shops, and rightly so. “Because I take more care than anyone else, you’ll never hear me say ‘That’ll do,’ but you will hear me say, ‘That won’t do.’ I’m a perfectionist; which makes my life very difficult but is very good for my customers.”
The operation is backed up by a large returning client base that includes
home chefs as well as professional chefs doing their own grocery shopping. “My
customers buy meat from me or they don’t buy meat,” Nigel explains.
“90% of my customers are very serious foodies,” says Nigel. Often, foodies are made to wade through frou-frou descriptions and frills before getting their hands on the best ingredients. This is not the way at Meat City. There’s no pretentiousness even though he offers an exotic range of meats. Vintage toy cars are lined on top of the display case, football memorabilia lines the walls, and handwritten signs advertise everything from Scottish beef to cuts of kangaroo.
With the Christmas season approaching, Nigel explains the trends in holiday dinners. Trends have changed over the years. Years ago, the choice was always turkey or pork. During the 1980s, the era of disposable income, the trend moved away from traditional turkey and pork to whole beef fillets. “It was something that people could treat themselves to; something they don’t have the rest of the year.” Nigel explains that this luxury trend has its cycles. “Goose becomes popular. Though it’ll cost you £50 to £60, it has always been that sort of money. They are quite extravagant.” Now, Nigel thinks there’s a good balance and cross-section of all meats.
For those of us who appreciate the traditional but want a bit of luxury, Nigel
suggests free range turkeys. “These are for the connoisseur,” Nigel
explains. However, even for the finest chefs, a bird from the butcher still
needs to be cooked. No sweat. Nigel, who has been cooking since he was a lad,
explains the best way to cook the turkey. “You’ve got to cook the
bird breast down. To me, that makes the difference between enjoying it and
not enjoying it,” he explains. Don’t just take his word for it
though, there’s a bit of science behind this technique. Cooking the bird
breast down protects the lean breast meat from the heat and creates a natural
basting system. The juices from the fatter meats naturally drip down into the
breast meat, keeping it moist.
Generally speaking, the bird should be cooked breast down for two thirds of the time, then breast up for the last third of the cooking time. Cooking the bird breast up allows the breast meat to retain the juices and achieve that oh-so-mouthwatering browned top. If you don’t switch sides, the skin tends to stay soggy.
Other traditional meats like geese and ducks are a bit easier to deal with. Because they have fat all the way around that protects the lean meat, you don’t have to worry about rotating the bird while cooking.
Other traditional but tasty Christmas options include the rib of beef. Nigel
explains why it’s one of his favourites. “It’s a great value.
Instead of going to a restaurant where you’d pay £50 a head, you
can get a fantastic piece of beef for £50 that’ll feed about 12
people. And you’re getting top, top quality.”
With all the focus on quality, Nigel is clear to point out that “organic” and “quality” are not synonymous. “The word ‘organic’ does not warrant doubling the price,” he explains. Organic simply means that the land has been chemical and pesticide free for seven years. “Big deal,” he says. “I’ve sold organic meat on a couple of occasions over the 20 years, but all my customers say it’s not as good as what I normally sell.” He feels strongly that using time-honoured methods of hanging and preparing naturally reared meats yields a better product than anything that has simply been labelled organic.
The best part of Meat City is the simplicity of the whole operation. Nigel is committed to providing quality meats for his customers, and it is this quality has made his reputation. He’s a one man show, and a good one at that.
LJ
Meat City Ltd.
507 Central Markets, Farringdon Road
Smithfield, London EC1A 9NL
020 7253 9606
www.meatcity.ltd.uk
