At Stock Kitchen, we pride ourselves on the finest creations offered by Northern Ireland’s most sought-after ingredients. Underrated cuts of meat are our speciality: check out our favourite cuts, and try them at the restaurant yourself.
Sweetbreads
When it comes to sweetbreads, don’t be fooled by the name. Rather than a sweetly-flavoured bread as the name would suggest, sweetbreads are in the offal group of meats, sourced from various organs as opposed to muscle tissue. They primarily come from the thymus, an organ from the immune system (often referred to as ‘throat sweetbread’) and the pancreas, an organ from the digestive system (often referred to as ‘stomach sweetbread’). Whilst veal sweetbreads tend to be the most popular, sweetbread from young pigs is also common in restaurants and eateries across Europe.
Sweetbreads are one of the most celebrated offal meats, thanks in part to their subtle flavours and smooth, velvet-like textures. Tender and moist, sweetbreads offer a creamy flavour which compliments sauces that are richer and more acidic in nature.
Liver
Liver joins sweetbreads as one of the most sought-after offal cuts. Available at Stock Kitchen, this tender and succulent meat is a nutritional superfood, rich in protein, low in calories and loaded with minerals and vitamins. Whilst meat sourced from muscular tissue has become most popular over recent decades, offal meats such as liver are enjoying a resurgence thanks to their rich flavours, velvety textures and nutrient-dense properties.
Cheeks
Here at Stock Kitchen, we believe that beef cheeks are some of the most underrated cuts of meat out there. If you fancy taking a step back from more traditional cuts of meat and want to introduce something a little bit different to your palate, beef cheeks are the perfect way to try something new.
Perfectly proportioned and made for slow cooking, beef cheeks are tender, succulent pieces of meat that melt in the mouth. As part of the facial cheek of the animal, sinews line the inside of the meat. However, these cuts are dense and finely grained, offering rich and creamy flavours.
Oxtail
A bony, fatty cut of meat removed from the carcase at the spine’s base, oxtail is trimmed before the remaining two to three tail bones are removed. A truly robust flavour and texture, oxtail is cooked slowly, creating a tender and succulent meat which matches best with rich, gelatinous sauces.
Oxtail is the perfect braising meat.
Shin
Shin (foreshank) is taken from the lower leg portion of a steer or heifer. This cut tends to be tough, dry and sinewy. This means that it is best to slow-cook this cut in a moist heat.
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