Rare steak off the menu for most Brits

A poll of consumers carried out by online Scottish butcher Donald Russel suggests individual Brits cut, slice and mince their way through a whopping amount of meat each year, including 30 steaks, 24 pork chops and 60 chicken breasts.

As well as steak and breast, each Brit also chows down on 96 rashers of bacon, 48 sausages, 36 roast dinners and 36 chicken curries every year.

Snaffle up steak​

However, while Brits are happy to snaffle up a steak almost every other week, they don’t know their rump from their rib eye, the survey claimed.

They’re also more inclined to eat their steak well done, with 36% saying anything less is not for them, while just 7% prefer it rare.

Despite a passion for cooking, serving and eating out, our knowledge of how food gets to the plate is limited, with almost two thirds of those polled unable to identify where a rump steak comes from.

More than a third of those quizzed didn’t know that a pork shoulder came from a pig and 81% of respondents could not find the part of the where a rib-eye steak comes from.

Grandparents and parents were deemed more knowledgeable about food by those polled, with 75% of Brits admitting the older generation know a lot more when it comes to food.

Meat-eating habits​

Butcher Paul Adams said: “We wanted to shine a light on the UK’s meat-eating habits and the research shows that, although we are a nation of meat lovers, there is a lack of knowledge about how to source and prepare the best-quality meat, and that lack of experimentation with different cuts of meat means we are missing out on some of the best options available.

“The generational knowledge gap needs to be filled, partly through inspiration of how best to prepare and serve a greater range of ‘crafted by hand’ meat, but partly through recognising the art of conversation is still alive.”

Some 65% of those asked had never seen a butcher at work, while 75% claimed to be too afraid to ask their butcher for advice.