We promise you will not leave hungry!
For our Summer Fire & Food Feast we are celebrating the steak! We have selected four different cuts of steak, Denver, Bavette, Filet Mignon and bone in Rib-eye, which we will cook over the fire. We have carefully sourced these steaks from grass fed cattle raised until fully mature to give the meat a wonderful texture and depth of flavour. See all the descriptions and our suppliers below.
This Fire & Food Feast will be served in the Riverside Arena with entry to the park and a welcome glass of bubbles at 6pm, so you have time to walk around the grounds before dinner. We will sit down to dinner at 7pm and we would recommend allowing around 3 hours for the feast. We will round of the evening by serving café gourmand with a delicious selection of sweet treats. We look forward to sharing this feast with you.
The Steaks
The Denver Steak
It’s strange to think that parts of a cow can vary in age, but the Denver cut was not actually discovered until an investigation was conducted by a group of professional butchers from the Cattleman’s Beef Board in 2009, according to Grill Master University. The task was to find a cut of meat from the chuck roll in the cow’s shoulder. While cuts from the chuck are typically cooked at low temperatures for long amounts of time such as in braises and stews, the result of the project was a cut fit for a high-heat grill that remains juicy, tender, and delicious.
Bavette
Also known as flap steak, bavette is a flat cut with an intense beef flavour. The bavette is also known as the butcher’s cut, because butcher’s often save it for themselves. The name “bavette” is the French word for “bib,” since this cut comes from the lower chest area of the cow close to the top of the abdomen. This well exercised but still fatty part of the cow makes bavette versatile, in addition to delicious. Bavette should contain a significant amount of fat, which is why it can be well enjoyed in a variety of forms from sliced thin to simply seasoned and cooked whole.
Bavettes have a similar flavour profile to flank or skirt steak, two other flat cuts found close by. Bavettes are packed with minerals and are dense with fibre. Bavette, however, has a very loose structure, helping to avoid chewiness or toughness with a lot of wiggle room in cooking method and internal temperature.
Filet Mignon
Filet Mignon is undoubtedly the most widely encountered cut of steak there is. Filet mignon is portioned out of the tenderloin, which is cut from the short loin of the cow and is completely surrounded by very relaxed muscles that rarely get exercise. This is what makes this cut iconically lean and tender. Cuts of filet mignon are cut into two-inch-thick portions from the entire tenderloin, but the true filet mignon comes from the extra tender, smaller tip of the tenderloin.
Despite filet mignon’s popularity, it remains a more costly cut of steak as its availability is limited to only a few portions per cow. Additionally, cost can also vary on the raising of the cow itself, which does in fact make for substantial difference in flavour and texture. Grass-fed beef yields a more premium cut than their more traditional and more widely practiced grain-fed counterparts. The extra cost does contribute to a richer, more nutritious and more humane cut of beef. In an era when your carbon footprint can and should be minimized as much as possible, grass-fed filet mignon is a win-win-win option.
The fat marbling of filet mignon cuts is so evenly dispersed and unfettered by constant exercise the only needed preparation to indulge in its richness is to season with salt and cook. That’s it. Hearing the words “filet mignon” immediately communicates luxury, and the beautiful simplicity of this cut of steak is the reason why.
Bone in Rib Eye
Ribeyes are cut directly from the ribcage of the cow. The copious amounts of fat on the rib cage provide a depth of flavour completely unparalleled by any other cut of steak. Not only is the ribeye surrounded by flavourful fat, it’s marbled by it end to end. This fat melts down and opens up the fibres of the ribeye, allowing it to absorb all of the flavour brought to life by cooking over fire. We slowly bring the steaks up to temperature with a gentle heat to allow the fat to render and then reverse sear them on top of the red-hot coals before resting them for 20 minutes before serving.
Ribeye steaks also take particularly well to dry aging, a process that adds both tenderness and flavour to a cut of steak by storing the steak in a temperature-controlled environment for an extended period of time.
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Source of the meat.
The Denver, Bavette, and Filet Mignon come from Lyons Hill Farm in Dorset and has been selected for its exceptional flavour. It is exclusively from Rare or Traditional breeds of British cattle that are grass fed. It is not your usual commercial beef, it comes from cattle that are fully matured and live a life that’s 2 to 4 times longer than commercial cattle.
This is what old-fashioned beef used to taste like, before being ruined by crossing our native breeds with continental cattle to make them grow faster and bigger, to the total detriment of flavour.
From our farm to your door; sustainable, full flavoured meat. – Aurox Meat
The Bone in Rib Eye Steaks come from Meat Matters in Wales, founded by Oliver Woolnough. These are ex dairy cows that have been put out to grass for a year or two after they have finished milking. This allows the cow to mature and develop flavour. He works with local dairy farms to select the best animals and allows them to mature in a stress free environment so the meat to develop flavour. The meat is then dry aged for a minimum of 28 days for a wonderful texture and depth of flavour.
Premium Quality Beef Online – Meat Matters