Chicken, mutton or beef? Three recipes for the ultimate Sunday lunch

Annelien Pienaar's newly released recipe book, Meat: The Ultimate Guide (Human & Rousseau, R380) is touted as being "a contemporary encyclopaedia for everyone who enjoys cooking and eating meat". 

Here, she tells us more about her passion for meat and shares some scrumptious recipes for the ultimate Sunday Lunch:

Somewhere on my journey from farm girl to student to farmer's wife I developed a passion for meat. I grew up in a family of home economists - now known as consumer science - so it was a natural path to follow. And today I'm a food and science technology lecturer.

As part of my tertiary education I worked at the Meat Board and did a blockman training course which taught me all about the different cuts of meat. I was also involved in the inspection of carcasses, which made me realise that each and every piece of meat should be treated with respect and should come into its own through careful preparation and different cooking techniques.

In my heart I see myself as a butcher, but not a practising one.

Why are there so few female butchers? I think the physical nature of the work, like carrying a 100kg piece of hindquarter around. It's not easy, which probably stops many females considering butchery as a career. That said, there's nothing wrong with a woman's eyes, hands and, more importantly, creativity when it comes to meat.

Consumers have moved away from buying meat from a butcher to the convenience of prepacked meat in supermarkets, which is sad. The personal touch a country butchery brings to the table is one of nostalgia, and it will linger on in my family traditions.

South Africans' passion for meat has something to do with our culture and heritage. I grew up in a multicultural environment and fell in love with the diversity of our food culture and history, and can recall the joy of sharing tables with the different people I grew up around. Like the "'runaways" with my gogo Joyce Mokone; the picanha with my Aunty Tassia; the German-style ginger- and cider-infused pork neck; enjoying the traditional Dutch dish "haaksel".

With the increasing move to plant-based lifestyles is there still a place for cookbooks on meat? For me as a farmer foremost, then a food scientist, I'm constantly looking at issues of sustainability and ethical practices to produce and purvey meat respectfully and responsibly. Menu planning is an integral part of my living and in our home we have two meatless meals a week where we enjoy plant-based proteins and dairy products like cheeses we make ourselves. Diversity is key.

A favourite Sunday lunch? My stuffed free-range chicken is one of my family favourites, and the stuffing is amazingly flavourful. The bacon wrapped around the chicken infuses the chicken with a rich smoky flavour and renders juicy flesh on serving.

A meal to make people feel special? We've been in lockdown for over a year and when we can celebrate again my way of telling my friends and family I adore and cherish them will be to take out the legs of lamb I have carefully stowed away for just this reason, debone and marinate them in one of my favourite flavours in my Meat cookbook. These succulent pieces of meat will then be cooked slowly over hot coals on a bed of fresh rosemary sprigs and served with fried couscous and a medley of chargrilled peppers, onion, aubergine, mangetout, and rounded off with a whisky balsamic glaze.

A budget-friendly cut to braai? I would recommend the following cut that is more economical without compromising on flavour. Beef prime rib is a forequarter cut, making it way more affordable than sirloin, rump and the T-bone cuts. Treated well, prime rib marinated with natural ingredients overnight rewards you with a succulent, tender piece of meat that is full of flavour and cooks beautifully over the coals.

TRY SOME OF PIENAAR'S RECIPES

PRIME RIB WITH BALSAMIC ONION BUTTER

"Prime rib prepared in this way is also good on the braai. The flavoured butter melts into a sauce, which goes well with other meat dishes, such as lamb loin with fresh rosemary," says Pienaar

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Olive oil

6 prime rib steaks, 3cm thick, fat scored to prevent them curling up

6 large slices of flavoured butter, see recipe below

Braai salt to taste

Method:

1. Rub olive oil into the steaks and leave to stand for 1 hour or overnight.
2. Heat a cast-iron pan until smoking hot and grill the steaks until cooked to your desired doneness. Rare: 6 to 8 minutes. Medium: 8 to 11 minutes.
3. Serve the meat immediately topped with a slice of flavoured butter and braai salt to taste.

BALSAMIC ONION BUTTER

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

250g salted butter at room temperature

½ onion, chopped

60ml (4 tbsp) balsamic vinegar

Method:

1. Whisk the room temperature butter until soft.
2. Stir-fry the onion in the balsamic vinegar and boil until it becomes sticky. Cool, then stir into the butter.
3. Place a sheet of baking paper on the kitchen counter and spread the butter mixture onto the paper. Roll up and freeze for an hour.
4. Cut the butter into slices.

Cook's tip: Leftover balsamic onion butter will keep for up to 3 months in the fridge or freezer.

TOMATO BREDIE

"Tomato bredie made with flavourful mutton is always a delight and, thanks to new cooking technology, it can be served in a jiffy," says Pienaar.

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1kg ripe red tomatoes, blanched and skins removed

45ml (3 tbsp) butter

45ml (3 tbsp) olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

15ml (1 tbsp) crushed garlic

2kg deboned mutton, cubed (shoulder and chump are both full of flavour)

60ml (¼ cup) sweet sherry (or grape or apple juice)

250ml (1 cup) dark stock (you can use a beef stock)

15ml (1 tbsp) balsamic vinegar or soy sauce

45ml (3 tbsp) brown sugar

5ml (1 tsp) dried thyme

5ml (1 tsp) marjoram

Seasoned salt to taste

5ml (1 tsp) freshly ground black pepper

45ml (3 tbsp) soup powder (see recipe below) or thicken with flour and water paste

A handful of fresh coriander or parsley

Method:

1. Chop the tomatoes and set aside.
2. Melt the butter and olive oil in a heated cast-iron saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Stir-fry the onion and garlic until soft and translucent.
3. Add the meat in small batches and stir-fry until browned. Set each batch aside while stir-frying the next batch.
4. Return all the meat to the saucepan and add the sherry and half the stock; cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, thyme, marjoram, and salt and pepper. Cook for 1 hour on low heat until the meat is tender.
6. Remove the lid when the meat is almost tender and leave to cook until almost dry.
7. Mix the remaining stock with the soup powder and salt; pour over the bredie and stir through. Cook until the mixture starts to thicken and garnish with chopped coriander before serving it with spiced rice.

Cook's tip: For a more luxurious version, add half a cup of fresh cream or coconut cream before serving.

SOUP POWDER MIXTURE

Ingredients:

500g full-cream milk powder

300g cake flour (or replace with 150g rice flour)

100g cornflour

500g butter

4 chicken stock cubes

Method:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and mix well.
2. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.

STUFFED FREE-RANGE CHICKEN

"Once a month we enjoy a stuffed chicken for Sunday lunch, served with a tasty sauce. At the end of the meal, nothing remains but the bones," says Pienaar.

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 celery sticks, finely chopped

100g mushrooms, finely chopped

100g butter

80g (1 cup) fresh breadcrumbs

15ml (1 tbsp) lemon zest

50ml (3½ tbsp) chopped fresh parsley

50ml (3½ tbsp) chopped fresh coriander

1 egg yolk

2.5kg whole free-range chicken

200g streaky bacon

Sauce:

10ml (2 tsp) butter

15ml (1 tbsp) cake flour

300ml (1¼ cups) chicken stock

15ml (1 tbsp) sherry

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Fry onion, celery and mushrooms in a pan in half the butter for 5 minutes or until moisture of mushrooms has evaporated.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and add in the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, parsley, coriander and egg. Mix well.
4. Stuff the chicken with this mixture and tie the cavities with twine.
5. Cover the chicken evenly with the bacon until completely covered, and place in a casserole dish.
6. Melt the rest of the butter and baste the chicken with the butter.
7. Bake the chicken for about 2 hours. Baste the chicken every half hour with the pan juices. Keep the chicken covered for the first hour of the cooking time; then cook uncovered to brown the skin and bacon - but keep on basting until the chicken is cooked.
8. Melt the butter for the sauce, add the cake flour and brown (as for a roux). Add the pan juices, but not the fat; also add the stock and sherry. Mix well to avoid lumps forming. Serve warm with the chicken.