LES PIÈCES DU BOUCHER

BUTCHER’S CUTS

POPE’S EYE (SPIDER STEAK): ready to cook
order ahead of time from a specialty butcher

HANGER STEAK: ready to cook

SKIRT STEAK: ready to cook

MARROW BONES: ready to cook

SPINAL CORD: ready to cook
beef and lamb spinal cord can be purchased from specialty butchers
order ahead of time

VERY TASTY CUTS OF MEAT,
OBTURATOR AND DIAPHRAGM MUSCLES

Here are the cuts of meat called butcher’s cuts. Pope’s eye or ‘spider steak’, hanger and skirt steak are often the pieces that the butcher discreetly sets aside for his private consumption. None of these cuts weighs more than 700 g (1 lb 9 oz) — enough to serve two good eaters (the butcher and his wife). These pieces are considered to be the tastiest, with an incomparable texture. You have to be on intimate terms (so to speak) with your butcher to nourish a hope of dining on a nice juicy pope’s eye.

Today, these cuts are mostly found in bistros, which know how to make the most of their gastronomic qualities. Shallots make light of hanger steak, marrow bones dance with skirt, pope’s eyes swoon with butter-enriched jus. Unfortunately, French production can’t meet demand and we have to import pope’s eye, hanger and skirt steak to satisfy our appetites for them. These cuts are seared in butter and browned just enough to caramelise the surface and lock the juices inside. The same juices that soon, under the impact of hungry teeth, will spread their mellow charm over our impatient palates. It’s a succulent experience, the meat rolls around the mouth like a good wine, you forget yourself…

You don’t forget yourself too much, though, because back at the butcher’s shop, other treasures remain tucked out of sight and you’ll need your most winning smile if you want to see them in your basket. Bone marrow is the gentle heart of the beast; it makes your taste buds weep. By itself or in a pot-au-feu, it adds that dash of wow that makes all the difference. And what can we say about the spinal cord? It has the disturbing appearance of a large and slithering worm, but is so terribly toothsome…