Cooking a whole highland cow for a wedding near Ross on Wye

Well - not a whole cow obviously, just part of it - it was only 85 people after all.
"Do you know anything about cows?... We've just brought some".

The bridegroom has his own farm near Ross-on-Wye which he fits in in between being a solicitor. He and his farming business partner (also doubling as best man) keep a few highland cattle and had saved one for his wedding. The best man brought it up to us in their refrigerated trailer straight from the abbatoir where it had been hanging for a month and butchered. Wow - even I was amazed how much meat you get from one cow. It's amazing to see so much beef in one go. We sorted through it - a lot he took back to sell - they have a group of regulars who wait for each cow to come back to the farm and then normally by it by the eighth - have a look over here. It was easy to see why - absolutely some of the best beef you will ever see. Apparently they had been farming sheep together for years, but then one day business took the bridegroom past a sale of highland cattle - and the rest is history.


Cuts of beef

Left to right - Top rump, fillet, mince


Left to right - whole sirloin, shin, tongue


Starter

Herb pancakes filled with wild mushroom and asparagus, fennel and radish salad

3 hours making pancakes on the day of the wedding - far longer than expected, but fresh is best!

White wine sauce on top.

Normally we do this as a vegetarian main course, but they chose this as a starter for everyone instead so we made a small starter size version.



Main course

Highland beef cooked 5 ways

• Roast filet, rib and sirloin


• Meatballs ragout


• 10 hour slow cooked brisket


• Shin and chuck tagine
  


• Braised tongue
  

It's roast beef - but not as you know it.....





Dessert

Trio of raspberry desserts

• Raspberry tirimisu in shotglass


• Chocolate and raspberry tart


• Raspberry sorbet

Photographed as Joe was half way through finishing plating up. There's a complete pic here