The Yorkshire Craft Butchery

Yesterday’s Sunday roast

Yesterday we had a joint of shoulder pork for our Easter Sunday Roast (pictured above). It was free range and it tasted superb; there was a wonderful aroma of roast pork all round our house. The crackling was incredible. Unlike pork joints bought from supermarkets it actually tasted and smelt of meat.

It came from the Yorkshire Craft Butchery in Golcar. This shop opened a few years ago and is owned by Gavin Pittman and his wife. Gavin has just been awarded the status of Institute of Meat Accredited Master Butcher. An award that is only given to the best butchers in the land. Gavin certainly is one. Whenever we go to his shop, he always seems to be butchering an animal. His shop still has a big, big fridge, a rarity in butchers these days.

They specialise in native breeds and dry aged meats. They focus on supporting the British farming industry. The meat comes from quality farms, farms that really look after their animals. They know the provenance of their meat.

It’s not a cheap place for meat, as you can see if you browse through their online shop. A lot of their meat is just too expensive for us, but some of the cheaper cuts are well worth the money spent. But they do need cooking slowly for a long time. In an oven at low temperature, or a slow cooker. Our Sunday roast yesterday, spent several hours in the slow cooker. The crackling was finished off in the air fryer.

We often buy the shoulder pork as it makes a wonderful roast. It costs around £14 a kilo. There’s a thick layer of fat between the skin and the meat (something that’s missing in supermarket cuts), it’s because of this that the crackling in superb.

The other meat we buy is the dry aged shin beef, at around £15.00 a kilo. It needs to be slow cooked for ages. We use it for stews, curries (it makes an excellent Rogan Josh) and the even the occasional roast.