Time to flesh out your repertoire in the kitchen

Times have changed and one of my friends said to me recently: "I don't have a clue about what to ask for in the butchers. I just pick up a chicken or a pack of pork, shove it in the oven and hope for the best."

I thought she spoke volumes for those of us who buy our meat during our mad dash around the supermarket at the end of the week. But this approach means missing out on cuts of meat that can really make a difference to your cooking.

Top chefs are reintroducing forgotten cuts of meat to the best UK restaurants.

Bristol chef Toby Gritten has reworked a classic recipe for Bath chaps or pig's cheek, and this is once again a popular local dish in Bath and Bristol. Simon Gueller at the Box Tree in Ilkley is famed for his stuffed pigs' trotters.

One way of getting to know how to cook the different cuts of meat is to ask the advice of a good butcher.

There can be savings too. Cheaper does not necessarily mean poorer quality. A slow cooked stew, made from diced shin of beef, sliced onions and carrots, a bay leaf and cooked for a couple of hours, is a case in point. The meat is so tender it melts in the mouth and the deep, rich meaty flavour of the gravy makes it a British classic.

In these recipes I have teamed up some great cheaper cuts of meat with the best and freshest of summer ingredients.

Roast joint of spare rib with caramelised onions and rhubarb

The sweet caramelised onions and sharp tangy rhubarb provide a very good foil for this succulent roast pork. The hint of elderflower is to remind you that it is June once again.

Ask your butcher to cut the joint as large or small as you would like. You will need about 125-150g per person. I bought a 526g joint for 2.20, and it will feed four people.

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil

500g spare rib joint (without the bone)

100g dry cured streaky bacon

2 large sticks of rhubarb, washed and cut into 5cm lengths

1 large onion, peeled and cut into 6 wedges

1 tbsp elderflower cordial or a tbsp sugar, sea salt and black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas mark 3.

Dribble the olive oil over the surface of a roasting dish or large cast iron pan. Wrap the bacon around the pork joint, season well with salt and pepper. Place the rhubarb and onion wedges around the pork. Dribble the elderflower cordial or sugar over the rhubarb and onions. Place in oven and after one hour turn the onions and rhubarb and baste the meat with the pan juices.

Continue to cook in the oven for a further hour until the meat is nicely browned and the rhubarb and onions are caramelised. Remove from the oven and leave the meat to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve slices of pork with the caramelised rhubarb and onions.

Pot roasted brisket with Yorkshire ale and local vegetables

Brisket is a cut of beef taken from just below the shoulder. It is a firm cut which tenderises during long, slow cooking. It is usually cooked in one piece as a pot roast, in the oven or on the hob.

It should be cooked at 180C, gas mark 4 or simmered for 30-40 minutes per 450g plus 30-40 minutes. I bought a brisket joint weighing 650g for little over 5, enough for four portions.

This is a very quick dish to prepare but you must be patient and let it cook slowly for two hours. You will be rewarded with tender meat, tasty gravy and melt-in-the-mouth, silken shallots. The Black Sheep Ale marries perfectly with this dish. This is the ultimate one pot meal.

Serves 4

650g rolled brisket. Trim any excess fat

6 shallots, peeled

2 large mushrooms, sliced

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped into 3cm lengths

1 fresh bay leaf

1 large sprig of parsley

A few stalks of thyme and sage

2 cloves (optional)

250ml Black Sheep Ale

400g new potatoes, washed and scrubbed

Sea salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C, gas mark 4. Place the brisket in a casserole dish which has a tightly fitting lid. Take the cloves – if using – and stick them into one of the shallots. Arrange the shallots, mushrooms and carrot around the brisket. Pour over the Black Sheep ale and top up with enough water to come half way up the sides of the meat. Tie the bay leaf, parsley, thyme and sage together with cotton and drop into the pan or chop the parsley, thyme and sage and add to the pot with the bay leaf. Season well with salt and pepper. Forty minutes before the end of the cooking time add the potatoes and allow them to simmer in the stock which has developed. Remove the bay leaf and the clove studded shallot. Serve the pot roast in bowls allowing the gravy to cover the vegetables and meat.

Slow roast pig's cheek

Pigs' cheeks are available from a good butcher if you ask for them in advance. The cheek contains a well-developed muscle. It tends to be a little bit fatty and so goes well with sharp flavours like apple and quince jelly. It suits slow roasting and comes with a nice layer of crackling too.

One pig's cheek

Olive oil

Sea salt

Oven 180C, gas mark 4.

Rub the skin of the pigs' cheek with a little olive oil and salt. Place on a baking tray and roast for one and a half hours.

Cavalo nero

Although this dark green beauty has an Italian name it is grown in Lancashire. It is a robust "good for you" vegetable that goes very well with the beef and pork dishes above. New in season this month, it is a dark glorious vegetable and it has a strong flavour so about 75g per person is enough.

Serves 4

300g cavalo nero

4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

Olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Strip out the central rib of the larger leaves and chop roughly. Blanch the chopped leaves in plenty of boiling water for three or four minutes. Cool and squeeze out some of the water. Gently fry some chopped garlic in olive oil for a minute. Add the Cavalo Nero and stir fry for a couple of minutes to coat. Toss the Cavalo Nero in the oil for a couple of minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

n Champion butcher David Lishman runs courses on butchery, game and preparing your own charcuiterie at his shop in Bolton Abbey. Contact Charlotte Roberts on 01943 609436 or charlotte@ lishmansofilkley.co.uk for further information.

Joan Ransley is a member of the Guild of Food Writers.