Main Dish

Lidgate’s The Meat Cookbook shares the same guidance given to their clients for years. It contains a selection of wonderful recipes for roasts, grilled meat, stews, meat pies and more, along with serving suggestions and step-by-step illustrations.

The slight variations in cuts between the UK and the US is not an obstacle when enjoying Lidgate’s recipes or the usefulness of this beautiful book.

When making burgers for a barbecue, it’s best not to use very lean mince as a decent fat content helps them to stick together. If lean mince is all you’ve got, though, add an egg to bind the mixture more firmly. Burgers made with good-quality mince can be left quite plain, but sometimes it’s nice to add extras. Around the corner from Lidgate’s, we’ve got some excellent Italian delis that give us inspiration for simple and tasty additions, 

Barbecues are all about fragrant flavours that work well with smoke and chargrilled food. Rosemary is a natural partner for lamb, and its resinous quality makes it even better for robust outdoor dishes. Use the needles in a marinade, and the woody stalks as skewers. 
We tend to use shoulder steaks for these kebabs, or new season neck fillet when the meat is still reasonably tender (up to midsummer in southern Britain, but late summer or early autumn in northern parts and Scotland, where lambs are born later). Leg can also be used 
if you want to ensure the meat is really tender.