Buy good meat - know where! - Captain's Dinner

Buy good meat: raw goulash cubes on parchment paper

Buy good meat - know where!

September 9th, 2020 | main dishes

Do you want to buy good meat and don’t know where? Would you like to cook a good goulash and don’t know how? Here you can find the answers to both questions:

Buy good meat - know where! "Shoulder clod" -a piece of beef that is cut off the shoulder

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Again and again I hear: “I don’t have an organic butcher near me” or “I don’t know where I can get really good meat.” Now it is very easy and convenient to buy high quality meat produced in Germany – namely through a young start-up company that sells beef, pork and game via its online portal MyLocalMeat.

MyLocalMeat only offers meat from free-range grazing animals from hand-picked farms and butchers. You can take a look at all networked farms and butchers on the site. In addition to quality and free-range husbandry, regionality is also a selection criterion for the farms and butchers. So far, the makers of MyLocalMeat have been offering meat from butchers and hunters from the Odenwald, Lower Franconia and Spessart regions. In the long term, however, they are planning to expand their offering to all of Germany – and cooperation partners are still being sought. So, butchers and farmers, watch out: Report to “We’re looking for butchers”. At MyLocalMeat, small farmers are the greatest!

The concept behind this sales channel is absolutely sympathetic and convincing. “The cattle grow up on the lush, green pastures of the Odenwald and the winter feed is made on the farms. The processing takes place on site in traditional butcher shops, with a high degree of craftsmanship and the claim to produce excellent products. This is also reflected in the various awards given by the Odenwald butchers ”, one reads on the website.

And the packaging?

With my affinity to the Odenwald, I’m almost convinced, but wait: What about all the packaging waste that arises during shipping? I have always blocked myself against groceries in online shipping because the deliveries are packed with tons of cardboard boxes, plastic outer packaging and dry ice (!). That can’t be good. And how, please, should the cold chain be maintained in shipping?

Now that I am thankful to have received a sample package from MyLocalMeat, I am smarter: After opening the package, the inside measured exactly 1.5° C. The box is lined with straw, which is wrapped in compostable fleece (so you don’t have the whole flat full of straw 😉 ). All bags used are also compostable. The cooling packs are made of plastic, but filled with tap water and can be used again and again. Very convenient. And much more likeable than the conventional cool packs filled with chemicals. The meat itself is shrink-wrapped in foil suitable for Sous-Vide and has a shelf life of 6 days.

Left: Packaging for online meat shipping, lined with sustainable straw - Right: Sustainable cooling package that is filled with tap water and is reusable

Nose-to-tail - the concept of whole animal use

Did you know that in the conventional food industry only approximately 40 – 50% of the animal is used? Unbelievable, isn‘t it? The rest is fed as pet food, used in the chemical and fertilizer industries, or filled into the tank as “biofuel”. There can be no question of treating the living beings with respect.

Nose-to-tail is primarily about using the whole animal with respect when it is already being slaughtered. And so you can also get the “less noble” parts at MyLocalMeat: from the cheek to the oxtail and from the tongue to the heart. Let’s see, maybe I’ll dare to have a beef heart soon – I’ve never eaten… (and neither has my dearest captain, he is saying).

Goulash - the special recipe

But now we’re finally turning to goulash. Today I don’t have the recipe for the classic goulash, but an Italian beef goulash with lots of tomatoes for you. After all, the local tomato harvest is in full swing.

I cut the goulash from the shoulder clod, which I got from the Odenwald butcher’s shop Urich via MyLocalMeat. This country butcher’s shop has existed in the beautiful Bad König in the Odenwald since 1836 (there it is again, the Odenwald 😉 ). Shoulder clod is best suited as braised rost or goulash, and it is also popular to make sauerbraten and for the Dutch Oven.

And here now my Italian beef goulash with fried polenta slices and lettuce.

Italian beef goulash

(4-6 servings – braising time 1 ½ hours)

25 g dried porcini mushrooms

pour hot water over it and let it soak for at least 30 minutes

1 kg beef (preferably shoulder clod)

cut into goulash pieces (approx. 4 X 4 cm)

1 young bulb of garlic

8 TS olive oil

halve the garlic bulb crosswise, roast the cut surfaces in the hot oil until golden brown, set aside

sear the meat in portions in hot fat, the meat should be nice and brown

salt, pepper from the mill

season the meat and remove it from the pot

2 thick red onions (approx. 150-200g), diced

150 - 200 g celery, diced (1 cm pieces)

150 - 200 g carrots, diced (1 cm pieces)

1 ts fennel seeds

remove the porcini mushrooms from the soaking water, add them together with the onions, celery, carrots and fennel seeds to the frying fat and sauté vigorously

3 TS tomato paste

stir tomato paste into the vegetables, roast briefly, add the roasted meat (with the leaked gravy) and mix

600 ml strong Italian red wine (e.g. Doppio Passo from the Salento)

add a small glass of red wine to the goulash, stir until the wine has evaporated

add red wine again, boil down again

add the rest of the red wine

350 ml beef stock

add and bring to the boil

750 g ox heart tomatoes or beef tomatoes, diced

add to the goulash

4 fresh bay leaves

add to the goulash together with the garlic, cover and simmer over a mild heat for about 60 minutes, add red wine or stock if necessary, the meat should always be covered

50 g dried tomatoes, diced

1 sprig of rosemary

2 sprigs of sage

some thyme stalks

mix with the goulash after 60 minutes and cook for another 30 minutes

(2 ts starch)

(thicken the sauce if you like, stir the starch in a little cold water and stir it into the boiling goulash until the desired consistency is achieved)

150 g each of red and yellow cherry tomatoes

remove the herbs, place the cherry tomatoes on the goulash, simmer for another 5 minutes and serve garnished with fresh herbs

crispy ciabatta bread, polenta, gnocchi or pasta go well with this Italian beef goulash - and of course a fresh, crunchy salad

A note on transparency:

This post contains advertising.
The content and my opinion were not affected. The hazelnuts are just awesome!

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December 31st, 2017 | starter

“Last-minute“ pea soup

Outside I hear the first firecrackers, 2017’s grand finale approaches. If you want to conjure up a quick midnight soup, here comes another idea for a rapid recipe. No, actually not a recipe, but rather a “free-style” instructions with ingredients you certainly have at hands.