Musician turned Butcher, Jonny Farrell is Head Butcher at Jimmy’s Farm in Suffolk, set up by Jimmy Doherty.
Hosting over 300 rare breed pigs, a working farm, restaurant, butchery and more – Jimmy’s Farm gives Jonny Farrell the opportunity to work with stunning free-range, rare breed meat that’s expertly prepared and delivered nationwide (or available to sample at the onsite restaurant). With a prominent focus on nose-to-tail dining and sustainability, Jonny has shared a guide to his favourite lesser-known cuts of meat.
“The ‘steaks’ are high when you’re choosing which cut of meat to buy and cook. However, it’s important that we eat meat responsibly and my job as a Butcher is to persuade people to choose something other than your standard rib-eye or rump. At Jimmy’s Farm you will find me behind the butcher’s block breaking down some of our farm reared beef, pork or lamb. Here’s a few rarer cuts that are being increasingly ordered over the counter.”
A nice chuck tender roast to sign off a good #nationalbutchersweek Took it off the scapula, trimmed the bone up and tied it back on! #jimmysfarm #roastbeef #sundayfunday #sundayroast #londoneats #londonfoodie #swiftknives #butcher #butchersofinstagram #beef #dryaged #meatporn #foodporn #fromthetundra
Chuck Tender
“Often called the poor man’s tenderloin, the chuck tender sits on the shoulder on the other side of the flat iron and shoulder clod. This lean muscle is perfect for slicing super finely and impressing your guests with steak tartar and at a fraction of the cost.”
Shoulder Clod
“My go-to steak when a customer is conscious about fat. The Triceps Brachi, a muscle from the forequarter which sits next to the well known Flat Iron. You’ll often see this sold as Braising Steak but after but I tenderise it using a jaccard (a press with lots of tiny knives), it eats really well and is perfect for those gym goers that need a protein punch.”
A small plate of Ox Heart, Chips and Ketchup. A little snacking lunch. “Heart is not, as you might imagine, tough as old boots due to all the work it does, but in fact firm and meaty and giving”. Fergus explains what happens when you slice it into 5mm thick strips, and sear it for just a minute each side so that the interior is still pink and blushing. The result is nothing more offputting than the leanest of meat with a delicious purity of delicate beefy flavour. For the offal novice, this is a good place to start. #oxheart #nosetotail #breadandwine #lightlunch #offalandchips #homemadeketchup
Ox Heart
“Lean and mean with a deep beef flavour. Often thought of as something your Nan might have obliterated years ago by cooking within an inch of its life. However, treated correctly it could be that go to steak for a mid-week feel good feast.”
Velvet Steak
“This beauty usually finds its way into mince. However, here at Jimmy’s Farm we like to present it as a quick frying steak. It’s small but its packed full of flavour!”
Hanger Steak (A.K.A. Onglet)
“This steak has definitely been getting a lot more press recently. Quite often the hanger steak gets dubbed ‘the butchers’ cut’, mainly because butchers take these back for ourselves. It actually gets brought back to us in the offal bag as it’s a loose muscle found inside the carcass, and because of this expect a serious strong steak that doesn’t need much more than a few minutes on a high heat. Perfect for BBQs!”
Further information on Jimmy’s Farm can be found here. Keep up with Jonny Farrell on Instagram @butcherfarrell.
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