MEAT. Do I have your attention?

I love a good salad or a veggie quiche. Good potato dishes are my everyday staple. Leeks are one of my favorite eats. One, ONE of my favorites. But my main favorites will always be the proteins. Beef, Pork, chicken, lamb, bison. The legs, racks, thighs, ribs, chops, roasts, butts, breasts, shoulders. I could go on. I have recipes upon recipes of all the different ways of cooking them and flavoring them but so does every one else. So I will leave those alone and instead hit a more difficult topic:

Lets talk sourcing. I admit I cave in sometimes in a hurry and enter the plastic vacuum packed wilderness that is the supermarket in search of meat but for the most part I buy proteins from two places in Victoria.
#1 - Market on Yates. There is something refreshing about meat kept on display and carefully regulated. When it is time to return to my house for cooking they wrap it up as it should be in butcher’s paper and stickered shut. The people know what they are serving and where it came from and seem passionate about what they sell. For my reader’s in other cities: try tracking down a private (somewhat high end) grocery store in your city. Even if you only shop there for meat and buy everything else at a cheaper place, you wont regret it!
#2 - Island Meat and Seafood in Cook Street Village. A butcher shop may seem like an obvious place to go for meat and chicken but with the falling numbers of shops around the country and the ‘art’ of butchering disappearing, finding one you can trust is a rarity. Spend some time talking to your local butcher and you can usually tell how passionate he is about his craft and whether or not he chooses local/hormone free products to sell.

In my opinion the easiest and simplest way of cooking it is usually the best. BBQed, pan roasted, broiled, roasted, etc and use a good thermometer to cook it just how you want it. I leave the cooking up to you and instead provide you with one of my favorite sauces to serve with good pork or beef. Sauce is an intricate affair with time and effort going into the sauce to create something special. This recipe is actually quite simple and comes together relatively easily, making it my go to favorite.

Mushroom and Wine Sauce
Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients:
½ pound mushrooms (use any mushroom you like but for this sauce the simple brown button mushrooms will work well), sliced and the typical mushroom shape preserved as well as possible
4 small carrots, small dice
4 ribs of celery, small dice
2 small onions, small dice
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1-2 tsp chopped rosemary
2 tbsp tomato paste
200ml red wine
500 ml chicken stock

Method:
- In a large saucepan, brown the sliced mushrooms in a little bit of butter and oil until cooked.
- Empty out the mushrooms into a small bowl, add some more oil to the pan and then add in the carrots, celery and onion.
- cook the veg till golden brown with a little bit of salt to help sweat the onion.
- Add in the tomato paste and garlic and cook for a few minutes trying hard not to burn either ingredient
- Add in the wine, stock and herbs and deglaze the pan.
- Simmer lightly for about 20 mins or until it has reduced by half.
- Strain the sauce into another saucepan, getting rid of all the vegetables.
- Keep reducing the sauce until it is the flavor and strength you want it.
- Add back in the mushrooms and simmer for a few minutes to warm them back up and then it is good to go.

Sometimes I’ve been known to freeze this sauce so I don’t have to make it when I really want some eats. Try storing leftover meat in the sauce in the fridge and then the next day chopping it all up and mixing in the sauce for an unbelievable sandwich filler.