Novel ways of processing offcut meat

SELLING MEAT direct to consumers is becoming increasingly popular, but what do you do with the leftovers no one wants?

For Morpeth, Northumberland-based Doreen and Peter Forsyth, the answer came in the form of further processing, using a range of imaginative recipes to create ready meals, soups, patés and pies.

As a general rule, 10-20% of meat is left over after standard cuts of meat are taken for sale in the couple’s three-year-old venture, New Barns farm shop and restaurant.

Mrs Forsyth says her passion for cookery has come in useful for finding ways of using up leftover meat. However, she stresses that sourcing other outlets has also been essential to the success of the new business, which has a turnover of more than £250,000 a year.

Having sold the dairy herd four years ago, the farm now has just 25 suckler cows and a small rare breeds pig herd. It relies on local producers to supply most of the beef and all of the lamb, with meat butchered on site.

Between 50 and 100 ready meals a week are currently sold through the shop, with sales expected to double over the summer. A high-class department store and several delicatessens in nearby Newcastle are also regular customers.

While recipes like lasagne and shepherd’s pie remain popular, the beef in horseradish sauce has been well-received, along with a dish containing minced lamb, herbs and spices.

The latest idea is to tap into the self-catering holiday market, to increase ready meal sales and make better use of the two full-time chefs employed by the business.

“We have contacted holiday cottage owners, in the hope of setting up a system whereby holidaymakers can order from a list of ready meals, which we will deliver to the door,” explains Mrs Forsyth.

“It is a challenge to keep coming up with food that sounds and tastes delicious and interesting.”

Wendy Short