The questions that come over the counter most often. If yours is not here, ring the shop on 0494 103 084.
How much meat do I need?
About 200 to 250g a head for boneless cuts, 300 to 400g for bone-in things like chops, ribs and roasts on the bone, and about 150g of mince a head once it is going into a sauce with pasta. Children, call it half. Each product page carries its own number for that cut, and the week planner will work out a whole week for you.
What temperature should it reach?
Chicken, and mince in any form (sausages, rissoles, patties, meatloaf), needs to reach 75°C in the thickest part. That one is not a matter of taste. Whole cuts of beef, lamb and veal are yours to cook how you like them. Put the probe into the thickest part without touching bone or fat, and check more than one spot on a big roast or a whole bird.
Is it alright if pork is a little pink?
Yes. A thick cutlet that has reached the mid sixties and had a rest is pork cooked right. Grey the whole way through means it went too far. Pork does not need to be cooked to death any more.
Why are the cooking times a range?
Thickness, what temperature the meat started at, and what you are cooking it on all change the answer. Treat the time as the plan and the temperature as the proof.
Why does it need to rest?
Cut it straight off the heat and the juice runs out onto the board instead of staying where you want it. Five minutes for a steak, twenty for a roast, covered but not sealed.
How long will it keep?
Mince and sausages, about two days. Whole cuts, three to four in the coldest part of the fridge. If you are not going to get to it, freeze it the day you buy it rather than the day before it turns.
Can I freeze it?
Yes. Split it into meal-sized portions first, wrap it tight so no air is touching the meat, and write the date on it. Whole cuts are good for up to six months; mince and sausages are better inside two or three. Thaw it in the fridge, not on the bench.
Can you cut it the way I want it?
Ask at the counter or leave a note with your order: thickness, trimming, crumbing, butterflying a leg. That conversation is what a butcher is for, and it is easier to answer for your particular order than in general here.
What is in the marinades, crumbs and sausages?
Ask at the counter before you buy if there is an allergy or an intolerance involved. We are not going to print an ingredient list here that we cannot stand behind.
How do the bulk packs work?
The set packs come as they are listed on their own page. The Mix & Match Pack is different: it is ten selections off its list, one of each at most, and you choose which ten.
Where are you and when are you open?
Shop 1/1 Pyramid Street, Emu Plains NSW 2750. Open seven days from 7am. Closing time changes with the day, so give the shop a ring on 0494 103 084 before making a special trip.