Celebrate National Barbecue Week with The Buckingham Butcher

Fingers crossed, the weather is warming up, and it’s National Barbecue Week! So come and stock up to treat your family over the coming weekends.

As ever, we’ve got some great deals in-store, including:-

* Gourmet rustic burgers - £15.99 for a tray of 20. That’s only 80p each! They’re all fresh so can be frozen.
* Marinated chicken thighs and pork steaks ribs - £4 a tray or three for £10.
* Chicken Tikka breast fillets
* Minted lamb chops
* And for something different, try our marinated chicken or pork in a Jim Beam Bourbon sauce.

Says Trevor: “We’ve got a great steak selection but I’d recommed a Rib Eye for the grill and make sure you cook them medium. This allows the marbling to cook through, leaving the juiciest steak for you to enjoy.

“And please don't forget our humble sausages which are making us famous throughout Buckingham! Around 18 sausages for £5 and 12 different varieties!”

Meanwhile, here are some top BBQ Tips, courtesy of National Barbecue Week…

1. Hot Tip
A good guide to grill temperatures is the hand test. Hold your hand around 6 inches from the grill; if you can only keep it there for around a minute, the temperature is too hot, 2- 3 minutes is high and an ideal searing heat. 3-4 minutes means a medium temperature, ideal for normal grilling. 4-5 minutes is fairly warm and good for keeping food warm. Any longer and the grill is not ready.

2. A Long Soak
Marinated food tastes great and grills better, as apart from enhanced flavour, it also helps protect food against high grill temperatures. Normally the longer the better, but a simple tip to cut marinating time is to place food in a sealed plastic bag, massage in marinade and place in fridge. This cuts marinating time by half.

3. Long & Slow
BBQ is not a race against time, so don’t grill too quickly or on too high a heat as this causes food to burn on the outside whilst being under-cooked in the middle. The trick is to ‘sear on high’ and then take it ‘low and slow’. It helps if the grill-bars are well oiled, but don’t turn food to often as this reduces heat.

4. Gas Or Charcoal?
Most first time BBQ’ers buy a simple charcoal grill, but gas grills can now cost under £50. So just what’s the best? Well, gas is simpler to use and more easily controllable, whilst charcoal is more traditional and adds that essential BBQ taste. A simple guide is ‘gas for ease’ and ‘charcoal for taste’.

5. BBQ Parties
Choose a theme - the US, Australia, South Africa and South America, especially this World Cup year, are all good. It also helps that they have great wine and beer too! The Caribbean and Mexico are also cool. Remember great BBQ parties are based on the three ‘B’s’ – Blues (or any music you fancy), Booze & BBQ’s.

6. Follow Smoky Joe
Enhancing that true smoky BBQ taste is best done on charcoal by throwing wet wood chips and herb branches on the coals. Try different types of wood (apple is good) or vine clippings. A similar, although not quite as good, effect can be achieved on a gas grill with a lava rock bed.

7. Become A Real Grill-Star
Create some Barbi-theatre, by ‘fanning-the-flames’. Quickly press down on meats or poultry with a long-handled spatula; this releases natural fats, causing a brief ‘flare-up’. Please take great care when attempting and keep any clothing well clear. Do NOT attempt to enhance effect by adding extra oil.

8. Over The Rainbow
Introduce some colour to your Barbi food - red, green or yellow bell peppers are great flame-roasted to enhance flavours. Once skin has blackened, place in a plastic bag to cool. The skin will then easily peel-off. Green and yellow courgettes also grill well, as do chilies, asparagus and aubergine.

9. Criss Cross
To achieve professional, cross-hatch grill-lines, sear meat, fish, poultry or fruit/vegetables on a hi-heat, lengthwise to the grill-bars. Remove and quickly wipe grill bars with oil and repeat at right-angles. Once both sides are seared return to normal cooking, turning infrequently.

10. Safety First
Position BBQs on level ground, well away from hedges, fences, or overhanging shrubbery. When lighting charcoal, only use proper BBQ lighter fuel. Never, ever use petrol or other flammable liquids. If using ga,s ensure grill lights immediately. If it fails, turn off gas, leave for a few minutes and try again.

Hope you enjoy!

Trevor, The Buckingham Butcher

Spice up your barbecue with The Buckingham Butcher!

Chicken and steak cooked on the barbecue taste great as they are, but if you’re looking to ring the changes, we’ve got some ideas to spice them up a little! These work well too...

Simple All Purpose Rub (for steak, chicken and pork)

You Will Need:-
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 teaspoon pepper 
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

What To Do:-
Using a pestle and mortar, first bash the fennel seeds well, then add all the ingredients. Bash this well together until you have a red paste. Rub on meats before grilling them.

Steak Rub

You Will Need:-
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon dill seeds
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and black pepper

What To Do:-
In a small bowl, combine the paprika, coriander, dill, garlic, mustard, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Just before cooking, press the rub gently into the steak.

BBQ Chicken Rub and Sauce

What You’ll Need:-

Rub
2 heaped teaspoons fennel seeds
1 heaped teaspoon smoked paprika
1 heaped teaspoon golden caster sugar
1 level teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

For the BBQ sauce
200 g light soft brown sugar
200 g tomato ketchup
200 ml fresh unsweetened apple juice
100 ml bourbon whisky
4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 heaped teaspoons English mustard
Juice of 2 oranges
A few splashes of chipotle Tabasco
1 pinch of sea salt

Bash up the rub ingredients and rub over the chicken. To make the BBQ sauce, simply mix the ingredients together and warm in a saucepan before drizzling over the cooked chicken.

Hope you enjoy!

Trevor, The Buckingham Butcher

A huge 'thank you' from The Buckingham Butcher

We’ve been open for just a month and we’re overwhelmed with the response we’ve had from our customers.

We thought we were onto something from the start.

We know that people want to buy good meat, but in these times of austerity we also know that watching the pennies is imperative.

We also know that many people are becoming disillusioned with the big supermarkets (you only need to look at Tesco’s recent financial results to see that!) and want a more personal service from traders they can trust.

We hope that we have provided the quality, the service and the cost savings to you – and we will continue to serve the Buckingham community in this manner.

Meanwhile, in just four short weeks we’ve had some amazing feedback from you. We’re not ones to blow our own trumpet (okay, not all the time), but we’ve been so honoured to have received these comments from our customers that we would like to share them…

“We visited the Buckingham Butcher last week. Bought a large selection of meat – beats anything you would buy in the supermarket, Costco and the like. What a great little find, both in quality and cost.”

“Fantastic. Amazing value, staff were very helpful and friendly. Kids want to go back tomorrow just to talk to them.”

“Very welcoming. Great prices and awesome meat. Will be back.”

“Exceptional. Won’t be going anywhere else for my meat after discovering this gem of a butchers.”

“Very friendly people and you’re always met with a smile. Good size shop, very fresh and clean. Meat is out of this world; they definitely have the best selling bacon by far. Very good value for money.”

“I’ve never felt so welcome walking into shop in Buckingham.”

“Very helpful. Even carried my shopping to the car!”

“Absolutely brilliant value for money. I could not believe it! Lovely people who can’t do enough for you. I will never buy my meat anywhere else.”

Thank you so much for your kind words! Our goal is to always provide the produce and service that we would expect as customers ourselves. We’re very happy that you are all happy with The Buckingham Butcher experience.

See you in the shop soon!

Trevor, The Buckingham Butcher

A slow cooker's for life, not just for Christmas

Here at The Buckingham Butcher, you know that we’re a big fan of thriftiness – that’s why our prices are low, despite the quality of the produce we offer.

We’re also a big fan of good cooking, and will continue to share with you our favourite recipes for different cuts of meat to help you get the most out of what you buy from us.

And now we’d like to share with you the best tip we have for easy mid-week meals from the hard-working Mrs Buckingham Butcher – the slow cooker.

Many of us use a slow cooker for making hearty winter soups and stews. But you really don’t need to consign it to the cupboard when the sun comes out. If you’re a time-short working mum or dad and still want to feed your family well each evening – and save money – the slow cooker can work for you all year round.

Mrs Buckingham Butcher works full time as a nurse, has two children to ferry to activities each evening, helps out in the shop at weekends, and has a hungry Buckingham Butcher to feed. She’d not do without her slow cooker. And here are some of her top tips that go beyond the casserole…

Gammon Joints
Stick a gammon joint (three for £10) in the slow cooker before you go to work. Add an onion, quartered, a bay leaf and maybe some garlic. Splash in a centimetre or two of stock or water and leave on all day on Low.

When you’re back from work, you’ve got a cooked gammon – and enough ham for sandwiches, pasta dishes, etc for the week.

If you fancy ‘doing a Nigella’, swap the water for full fat coke or even cherry coke for a sweeter taste.

Chicken Thighs
Defrost our oyster cut chicken thighs (3kg for £5) overnight and then place in the slow cooker. Add sliced chorizo and onions, plus bite-sized chunks of potato. Add the zest of one orange and a glass of sherry. Cook all day on Low and serve sprinkled with coriander with hunks of crusty bread.

Beef Mince
There are conflicting discussions about whether to brown the mince before adding to the slow cooker. We’ve done both and the results are always good. But we always fry the onions before adding to the slow cooker anyway (otherwise they just ‘boil’ in the cooker) so we tend to brown the mince anyway.

Then turn into chilli or spag bol by adding a tin of tomatoes and spices. Cook all day on low and you’ll have the tastiest spag bol/chilli you’ve ever had.

Whole Chicken
You won’t get the crispy skin that you would if you put the chicken in a traditional oven. But you will get the juiciest roast chicken you’ve ever had – and the meat literally falls off the bones.
Simply place the chicken in your slow cooker, add a quartered onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, bay leaf and season. No water or stock is required. Then cook on LOW for ten hours or more.

And don’t forget to make stock once you’ve picked the meat from the bones. Put the carcass back in the slow cooker with an onion, garlic, carrot cut into four, bay leaf and peppercorns. Cover with water and cook on Low overnight.

Hope you enjoy these ideas!

Trevor, The Buckingham Butcher

Make the most of British Beef Week with The Buckingham Butcher

To celebrate British Beef Week, we have some incredible 21 Day Matured Topside and Fillet in-store at the moment, at some amazing prices - as ever. If you fancy ringing the changes with your Sunday Roast, try this Italian inspired recipe. Even if the weather is grey, this will bring a bit of Mediterranean sunshine into your home! Serve with polenta, rice, pasta or good old British spuds…

TOPSIDE OF BEEF WITH PORCINI MUSHROOMS & RED WINE
(Serves 6)

You’ll Need:-
2 tbsp vegetable oil
800g topside of beef
2 red onions, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tbsp tomato purée
Thyme, bay leaves & sage (or one bouquet garni)
2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
500ml red wine 
150g porcini mushrooms
2 tbsp cornflour

What To Do:-
Preheat the oven to 160°C, gas mark 3. 
Heat half the oil in a roasting tray on a hob burner and brown the topside. 
Remove the beef from the tray. 
Heat the remaining oil in the tray and lightly sauté the onions and garlic for 4-5 minutes until softened.
Add the tomato purée and cook for a further 1-2 minutes. 
Add 500ml cold water and all the remaining ingredients except the cornflour and bring to the boil. 
Return the beef to the tray, cover with foil and place in the oven for 3-3½ hours. 
When ready to serve, remove the beef from the tray and place onto a serving dish. Cover with kitchen foil and keep warm. 
Leave it to rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.
Mix the cornflour to a paste with a little cold water and stir into the red wine sauce.
Bring to the boil and cook for 1 minute on the hob until thickened. 
Season, and serve the sauce spooned over slices of the beef.

Enjoy!

Trevor, The Buckingham Butcher

Win a meat hamper from The Buckingham Butcher each week!

Sign up to our weekly newsletter and  you could win a win a meat hamper each week.

One random subscriber will be picked from the mailing list each week to win a Buckingham Butcher hamper. This week’s hamper will include:-

1 kilo of extra lean mince
18 of our now famous sausages
1 kilo of pork steaks
24 juicy rashers of bacon
A gammon joint

In addition, the weekly newsletter will help us to keep you informed of our extra special offers each week, while we’ll also include some informative articles and delicious recipes. No spam – or SPAM – just top tips and great offers.

You simply need to fill in the form here and we’ll add you to the mailing list. We won’t pass on your details to any third parties and you can opt out at any point.

Please note: The hamper must be collected from our store. We will choose the contents of the hamper each week, but we will try to accommodate your preferences.

Ring the changes with The Buckingham Butcher's top sausages recipes

Our sausages have been flying off the shelves since we opened last week, so we thought we’d give you some ideas for serving them that don’t involve mash or the BBQ (although both of those options are always well received!).

Don’t forget we have 11 different varieties to choose from here – and all cost just £5 for approximately 18 sausages.

SAUSAGE & TOMATO BAKE
(Serves 4)

You’ll Need:-
2kg of Cherry Tomatoes
Fresh Thyme
Fresh Rosemary
Couple of Bay Leaves
1tbsp Dried Oregano
3 Cloves of Garlic, Chopped
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
12 Sausages (Cumberland or Lincolnshire are recommended, but choose your favourites)

What To Do:-
Preheat the oven to 190, Gas Mark 5.
Place the tomatoes in a big, wide roasting tray.
Add the herbs, garlic and sausages.
Drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and season with salt and pepper
Bake for 30 minutes.
Give the tray a shake, turn the sausages over, then put back in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
Serve with crusty bread, and if you have any of the tomato mixture left over, it makes an amazing pasta sauce.

WARM SAUSAGE & NEW POTATO SALAD
(Serves 4)

You’ll Need:-
600g New Potatoes, Cut into Bite-Sized Chunks
1tbsp Olive/Rapeseed Oil
2 Onions, Thickly Sliced
8 Sausages

Dressing: 1 tbsp Olive Oil, 2tsp wholegrain/Dijon Mustard, 2 tsp Honey, Salt & Pepper

What To Do:-
In a pan of boiling water cook the potatoes for 10-15 minutes, until tender. Drain.
While the potatoes are cooking, heat the oil in a frying pan and add the sausages.
Cook for approx. 5 minutes, then add the onions.
Cook for another 10-15 minutes until the sausages are cooked.
When cool enough, slice them.
Whisk up the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Add the sausages, onion and potatoes and toss. 

Enjoy!

Trevor, The Buckingham Butcher

Why we all love the great British Banger sausage

Whether they’re grilled on the barbecue, served up with creamy mash and onion gravy, or sliced into a sandwich with onions and mustard, sausages remain a firm family favourite throughout the UK.

But did you know that the sausages are one of the oldest types of processed food in history, dating back to ancient times? And that they’ve actually been mass-produced since the 19th century?

And ever wondered why they’re nicknamed ‘bangers’? Well, during World War 1, when the UK suffered from food shortages, producers packed out their sausages with cereal and water. And that meant that when they were cooked on open fires in the trenches, they would hiss, pop - and bang!

Today things are very different, of course, with reputable producers and butchers providing high quality sausages – in many different varieties.

And at The Buckingham Butcher, we have no fewer than 11 different flavours of sausage, all made to our traditional recipe. And, as ever, you’ll not find this quality at such low prices – for just £5 you’ll get 1.3kg (around 18 sausages).

Our sausage menu includes:-

Traditional Pork
Cumberland
Lincolnshire
Chipolata
Pork & Garlic
Pork & Chilli
Pork & Stilton
Pork & Apple
Pork & Mustard
Pork & Leek
Beef & Cracked Black Pepper

Stock up now in time for the BBQ season!

Trevor, The Buckingham Butcher