March; in like a lamb, out like a lion! From Hardiesmill’s beef-farming perspective this is a nervous period as we wait and see if the wind has burnt off the early growth of grass, forcing us to keep the cattle in for another few weeks whilst we wait for the grass to come away again. Not good news for our costs, but at least it extends the transition period between the relatively low-protein-but-stronger-flavour end of silage and the higher-protein-but-light-on-flavour young grass. Since the feed the cattle enjoy comes straight through into the eating experience of the beef (flavour and texture), you want to keep the move as gentle as possible if you’re going to maintain consistency. The greater the change in the feed (e.g. bruised barley to grass), the greater the change in the beef between March and May.
That said, we’ll be interested to see how the seasons affect one of the newest steaks to hit these shores. Also known as a Butler ’s steak, the Flat-iron steak comes from the shoulder and is both popular and fashionable in North America . The muscle is rectangular with a slight point (hence it's name) and seems to eat best when cooked to medium/medium rare. Off our Aberdeen Angus carcasses the flavour's gentle but enjoyable, rather like a silverside in taste but it tantalises the top of the tongue more than the sides of the mouth. The grain isn’t as tight as the silverside, but it’s a long way short of the loose grain of a Bavette. We found it went really, really well with old-fashioned creamed horseradish sauce (www.isabellapreserves.co.uk).
We have a feeling we'll be seeing more and more of this cut in the pubs and restaurants as it's quite cheap and goes well with chips and/or warm crisps. We would, however, suggest "Thick Rib" would probably be a better choice for the same money if you like your beef with a rich sauce.
On a more flippant note, having had a large chunk of beef just prior to settling down to write the above, I find my self reflecting on nature's (rather hard) lesson of the day:
“Cycling in a tractor-rut is bad for the libido!”
