Danny's Days - A Week in the Life of A Butcher's Shop

Last week was a pleasant, but certainly a blustery week. One of the biggest highlights was Tuesday, when a magical event happened, my birthday. Another year older and I was blessed with birthday wishes and a lovely afternoon canal stroll leading to a nature reserve. I was out of the shop for the day and now feel older and fully recharged.

AWARD

On Wednesday we were invited to a butchers’ award ceremony which went very well, and I will unveil more details once Easter has passed.

ORGANIC NITRATE FREE BACON

There is more BIG NEWS this week. We have been looking into nitrate free bacon for some time, and there are quite a few products claiming to be nitrate free, however after further research we discovered that was not necessarily always the case. But after a long search we have found a product that we think meets our standards and we now will be introducing Organic Nitrite Free Bacon from tomorrow. This will be available in our shop and by ordering (over the phone or via the website).

I have personally participated in all these bacon tasting sessions and there must be some points noted.

• This bacon is quite thickly cut which gives a rustic and meaty texture.
• Nitrate makes pork pink, so especially the unsmoked streaky and back bacon will look a ‘roast pork’ colour once cooked and not a pinkish grey colour like most bacon.
• The smoked back and streaky have a lovely wood smoke flavour, and like the unsmoked are 100% chemical free. The smoked streaky has also won gold stars at the Great Taste Awards and also Taste of the West awards.

Please let us know how you find these products. Although we may not have space in our counter to display our usual free range ‘traditionally cured’ bacon, we will have stock in our fridges as some customers might not prefer this change.

EASTER LAMB ORDERS

Lastly, as we rapidly approach Easter, it has been very difficult to forecast how much New Season Lamb we will need. With restaurants back open and travel much more accessible we have taken a careful estimate. I would suggest it is a good idea to pre-order before Thursday for Weekend Lamb. We are open Good Friday 8am to 2pm, open all day as usual on Saturday and we will be closed and devouring easter eggs on Bank Holiday Monday.

London’s weather looks like it will be bright and sunny all over Easter (according to the BBC, but if you want a more accurate picture ask a farmer) which will be perfect for a joyous occasion spent with friends and family.  

The very best wishes,

Danny Lidgate