The Surgery - Game to try something new
Game to try something new
Dear Surgery: I'd like to introduce cheaper cuts of meat, offal and game to my menu, but I'm worried that people will be hesitant to try new things. Any suggestions on how I can make these dishes more attractive to the customer?
The Surgery says: More and more pub chefs are using "old-fashioned" cheaper cuts of meat, as well as offal or locally-caught game (in season). This suits chefs because it invariably means making a very healthy GP in the kitchen, but also because most chefs agree that cheaper cuts of meat - shin of beef, shoulder of lamb, belly of pork etc - lend themselves to long, slow cooking which brings out maximum flavour. Customers are still getting used to seeing these "unusual" parts of the animal on the menu so they may need a little coaxing. This is also true with game, simply because some people don't like the thought of tucking into rabbit or hare because it reminds them of those "nice furry creatures" running around fields.
Chef Lee Atkinson has introduced several cheap cuts of meat and game to the menu since taking over the kitchen at Somerset pub the Blue Ball, in Triscombe. Lee has found that, to his surprise, these dishes have become big-sellers, although a lot of their success is down to how he describes them on the menu. One of his signature dishes is local Triscombe rabbit, a recipe that involves mixing the rabbit's liver and kidneys with belly flaps, which are smoked and placed down the centre of the boned-out saddle.
This is then rolled and wrapped in caul before being roasted. The confit legs are wrapped in a pancetta-style ham, which Lee cures and cold smokes himself. It is served with a Pan Haggerty and Cotleigh Tawny ale juices. The key, however, is the approachable way in which Lee describes the dish on the menu - it's called "Two styles of Triscombe rabbit with the good bits from inside".
