Fun With Meat

My mate Aaron has an eye for meat. That’s doesn’t mean he’s mardi gras material; just that he can spot a bargain sirloin from thirty feet.

And so it was on Sunday morning at Bondi Junction. Courtesy of his rare and wonderful talent we each picked up three kilos of rump steak for $21. These hefty packs contained six steaks, which, with each an inch thick and as big as one of my size 11 sneakers, is enough to feed a dozen people.

This being the case, and there not being ten people coming for dinner, I threw five into individual freezer bags. The sixth and biggest I put aside for a special Monday afternoon project: beef casserole.

This was by no means as ambitious as the Texas cake. My mother had the vision to get me into the kitchen from the age of seven or eight and I know enough about meat and vegetables to cook a casserole without a recipe. That said, come Monday morning, and with Austin down for his sleep, I made a coffee and settled down with just such a book.

I wasn’t looking for direction or inspiration. I was looking for entertainment and had waited a long time to flick through this one since a friend gifted it to me as a souvenir of a trip to Liverpool to watch Everton play Sunderland.

The Toffees might have put two past Sunderland that day but I'd always had an inkling this would turn out to be the score of the weekend.

Marguerite Patten’s 500 Recipes for Meat Dishes was written in a time that most meat eaters have long since forgotten. First published in 1971, its hefty swag of recipes also comes with helpful information on cooking methods, accompaniments and the various cuts of meat.

As Ms Pattern says in her forward, the book is designed “to ensure that your butcher recognises you as a housewife who knows exactly what she is buying.”

And she was certainly the woman to help.

Marguerite Patten worked for the Ministry of Food during the Second World War and had her own show on BBC radio. Over the years she has authored 170 books that have sold over 17 million copies.

Who better to go to when you need to clarify dripping, pressure cook meat or make devilled kidneys?

Who better indeed.

Look beyond the cliché dishes (there are many; it was 1971) and Ms Patten had a lot to offer the housewives of the day. Unfortunately, from what I’ve seen of my generation - their children - I don’t think many of them were ready for her.

Sure, there are all the old favourites and others equally English such as Hot Windsor Lamb and Lancashire Hot Pot, but her book also explains how to fricassee and curry, and includes recipes such as Cassoulet, Porcstronni and Saffron Steaks of Lamb.

Alison Holst should be ashamed.

I didn’t let Ms Patten’s wisdom alter the plans for my casserole, but 500 Recipes for Meat Dishes was a lot more than entertaining. I think I might try that saffron lamb dish. I’ll also be on the lookout for one of her other books: 500 Recipes for Working Wives.

Hopefully I can find it in time for our wedding anniversary at the end of the month.