FAQs

Where can I buy Welsh Lamb and/or Welsh Beef?

Local Butcher      

Your local butcher will provide you with a wide range of Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef cuts, and can also provide you with advice on new recipes.  Many also provide a wide choice of delicious home produced Welsh meat products.

Outlets

Quality Welsh Beef and Welsh Lamb is now available from a wide variety of UK outlets. You'll find our branding wherever quality meat can be bought.

Suppliers

There is a growing number of high quality suppliers providing sales of Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef direct from the farm. It is now possible to order some products online.

How can I be sure that the meat I am buying is actually Welsh?


Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef have both been awarded the coveted status of Protected Geographical Indication (PGI)

PGI provides consumer assurance that only lambs and cattle born and reared in Wales and slaughtered in an approved abattoir can be marketed as Welsh.  The stock must also be fully traceable.

With inspections at every stage of the supply chain, Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef's quality standards, food safety and traceability are first class - therefore you can be assured that when you buy Welsh Lamb and/or Welsh Beef you can have the peace of mind that it is exactly that - Welsh.  To read more about PGI, click here.

Should I choose meat according to its colour?

Although the colour of lean meat in not an indication of eating quality, consumers will commonly choose beef that is bright red in colour because they consider this indicates freshness.  All this really indicates is that the meat has recently been cut. 

About twenty minutes after cutting, the pigment in the meat first becomes bright red and gradually turns browner.  These colour changes do not affect eating quality.  Meat displayed in butchers' shops and supermarkets will therefore vary from bright red to reddish brown.  Variations in the colour of raw beef or lamb disappear in cooking.

How do I carve a piece of meat?

The essential tools for successful carving is a two-prong carving fork with a finger guard, a large sharp carving knife and an effective means of sharpening it at regular intervals. 

The cooked joint should be placed on a meat dish, a wooden board, or a spiked metal carving dish, with recess to catch any meat juices.  Always try to carve on a non-slip surface. 

As far as possible, loosen cooked meat from exposed bones before strating to carve.  Aim to cut at right angles to the bone and across the grain of the meat in order to shorten the musecle fibres.  This makes the meat easier to chew and therefore more tender. 


Sometimes it is easier to hold the shank bone of a leg or shoulder joint of lamb with a clean cloth or paper towel.  For satefy, this method of carving should only be used when the cutting edge of the knife if angled away from the hand that is holding the joint.

How do I know which cut of meat I should use to cook?

All of our receipes advise you on which cut of meat you should use to cook the recipe.  Please click on the link opposite to access a vast range of receipes using PGI Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef.

How many grams of fat should I consume per day?

Male should not exceed 95g of fat per day and female 70g of fat per day. 

Trimming off any visible fat from meat will reduce fat and calories.

What cuts of Welsh Lamb can I buy?

Scrag and Middle Neck

Usually sold as neck rings or chops on the bone, and used for stewing or braising. Traditional cuts for cawl or hot pot. 

Shoulder

A very succulent, tender roasting joint, available either on the bone or more commonly boned and rolled and possibly stuffed. Also available whole or halved into blade and knuckle sections, both of which are ideal for roasting or braising.
Shoulder chops and steaks are also available that are suitable for frying, grilling and braising. 

Best End of Neck

Can be purchased as a roasting joint comprised of six or seven rib bones (ask your butcher to remove the back bone for easier carving) or more frequently available as individual lamb cutlets suitable for frying and grilling. Two best end necks facing each other fat side outwards makes a guard of honour.

Available also either as 3 or 6 bone racks suitable for frying or cut into French style cutlets suitable for frying and grilling. 

Loin

The loin is usually divided into loin end and chump end and cut into chops for grilling and frying. The loin can also be boned completely and stuffed and rolled to produce a roasting joint or cut into individual noisettes.

The chump can be purchased as chump chops but more commonly are sold as boneless rump steaks that are very tender and ideal for frying and grilling. The boneless rump is also suitable as a mini-roasting joint. 

Leg

An excellent roasting joint either on the bone or boned and roiled. The leg is often divided into fillet end and shank end and commonly a range of leg steaks. 

 

What cuts of Welsh Beef can I buy?

Shin (foreleg) and Leg (hind leg)

Lean meat with a high proportion of connective tissue. Suitable for stews, casseroles, soups and stock. 

Neck and Clod

Usually cut into pieces and is suitable for stewing and braising and is commonly used for mincing. 

Chuck and Blade

A fairly lean cut of high beef removed from the bone sold as chuck steak, diced chuck and is suitable for braising, stewing and is very good for pie filling. 

Thick Flank (top rump)

A lean cut of beef suitable for roasting, pot-roasting and braising, or when sliced for braising. 

Thin Flank

Ideal for braising and stewing but more commonly used for mincing. 

Brisket

Can be purchased on the bone but is nowadays more commonly sold boned and rolled, suitable for pot-roasting. 

Thin Ribs and Thick Ribs

Sometimes available boned and rolled and is suitable for braising and pot-roasting, more commonly trimmed of fat and used for mince. 

Silverside

A lean cut of beef more often used for roasting and pot-roasting. Traditionally used for salting and sold sliced as salted beef. 

Forerib

This is the traditional cut of roast beef. Can be purchased either on the bone or boned and rolled. Also used to prepare the increasingly popular rib-eye steaks. 

Sirloin

A very tender and succulent cut of beef that can be purchased on the bone but is typically boned and rolled to produce a easy carve supreme roasting joint. Also commonly sold in slices as sirloin steaks that are suitable for frying, grilling and barbecuing. 

Fillet

The fillet muscle is found on the inner side of the rib bones and is normally removed in one piece. Typically available in slices as fillet steak or can be obtained whole or in pieces for beef Wellington. 

Rump

An excellent lean and tender cut, normally sold in slices for grilling, frying and barbecuing. 

Topside

A lean cut of beef, with little or no fat, can be purchased with a thin layer of fat tied to it. An ideal roasting joint, also available in slices and suitable as a quick frying steak 

 

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