Day 2731 (Friday) 29th November 2024

I’m afraid there are no nice photos today.

It was a beautiful sunny day today and I sunbathed for a few hours, the thermometer read 33 degrees.

After lunch we went for a walk around town and stopped for a coffee in Les Palmiers.

From the square we walked up to the Belle Époque to give Manuel a report on our New Year’s Day lunch and I was chuffed when he gave me the bisous. We walked past the wash house which was built in 1907 and recently renovated.

Boucherie: Essential vocab for visiting a French butcher

This picture taken on on November 3, 2022 shows different type of beef displayed at the butcher department in a supermarket in Septemes-les-Vallons near Marseille. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)

It can be daunting to visit the butcher's shop in France and it is one of those environments where you really want to know some vocabulary before entering, otherwise you could be in for a surprise.

That said, it can be a lot of fun to go to your local butcher.

Many French butchers are walking cookbooks - when you order a cut of meat, they'll have tips for side dishes, flavouring and how to cook it. Just ask Comment vous me conseillez de le cuisiner?

The timing they recommend will depend whether you get the meat avec or sans os (with or without bones). 

You can also ask what quantity they would recommend for the number of people you are inviting to the meal.

You can ask if the animal was farm raised too, though this will usually be indicated if fermier is written after the name.

For big or special orders - like a turkey for Christmas or Thanksgiving - most French butchers are not only happy to take advanced reservations, they might require them, in order to have the time to prepare it for you. 

Most butchers in France close on Sundays, or open only in the morning. Halal and Kosher (kascher) butchers might be open on Sundays, but remember that they do not serve pork or other pig products like bacon or sausage.

If you are feeling lazy, the butcher will usually have some pre-cooked or pre-prepared items, like skewered chicken or beef in a marinade. 

Types of meat

The most common meats you will see in a French butcher's are beef (boeuf), veal (veau), pork (porc), lamb (agneau), and poultry (volaille). 

As for the latter, there are a few different types - classic chicken is just poulet, while the expensive and luxury poulet de bresse. Duck is canard, and goose is oie.

A young chicken would be poulette or poussin. Then, you'll find coq (cockerel), pintade (guinea fowl), dinde (turkey), chapon (fattened male chicken). Occasionally you might see pigeon or pigeonneau (young pigeon), as well as caille (quail).

French butchers often sell lapin (rabit), and sometimes animals that would be considered le gibier - meaning game, or meat that has been hunted, like cerf/venaison (deer) and sanglier (boar).

Goat (chèvre) is less commonly sold, but you might see it at markets, especially those focused on west African cuisine. 

Some people in France still eat horse meat, but this is tightly regulated. If you want to purchase some, you would have to go to a specialised butcher - the boucheries chevalines.

Despite their stereotypical importance in France, you should not expect to see escargot (snails) or cuisses de grenouille (frog legs) at the butcher. These are usually sold in grocery shops or supermarkets. 

Cooking vocab

To fry or pan fry - Poêler

To grill - Griller

To roast - Rôtir 

To braise - Braiser

To boil - Bouillir 

Add salt and pepper - Saler et poivrer 

Oven - four

Beef cuts

A lot of French cuisine involves beef - from the famous beouf bourgignon to côte de boeuf and steak frites. 

Here's what to order;

Rib eye - Entrecôte

Ribeye on the bone - Côte de boeuf

Sirloin (includes Porterhouse and New York strip steak) - Faux-filet

Tenderloin - Filet (or Filet mignon)

Rump steak - Rumsteak

Undercut or skirt - Osseline and Onglet

Brisket - Poitrine de bœuf braisée

Flank steak (can include hanger or skirt steak) - bavette

Minced beef - Steak haché. If you see it on a menu, it means a burger, not a steak

Beef cubes/stewing steak - En cubes/ Bourgignon

Shank - Gîte and jarret de bœuf 

Oxtail - queue

Chuck steak/ Silverside - Basses-côtes 

Beef tongue - Langue de bœuf

Veal chuck, for soup - Blanquette de veau

Pork cuts

Pork chops - Côtelette de porc

Pork shoulder/ Butt - Épaule de porc

Loin - Longe de porc

Ribs - Côtes de porc

Pork belly - Poitrine de porc

France is also known for its variety of charcuterie, with plenty of smoked and cured meats. 

Lamb cuts

Lamb chops - Côtelette d'agneau

Lamb shoulder - Épaule d'agneau

Leg of lamb - Gigot d'agneau

Shank - Jarrets d’agneau

Lamb neck - Collier d'agneau

Saddle - La selle anglaise, or the filet d'agneau 

Rack of lamb - Carré d'agneau

Poultry

There are several different types of birds you can find at a French butcher.

They come in various styles of presentation - poulet fermier prêt à cuire has the head and innards removed, while poulet entire is a whole chicken that has simply been plucked. If you want to make sure the giblets come with it, you can check that it is avec abats. 

Drumsticks - Pilons

Thighs - Cuisse

Wings - Ailes or aiguillettes

Breast - Magret (for duck), escalope or blanc for chicken

Head - Tête

Neck - Cou

Feet - Pattes

Giblets - Produits tripiers or Abats

Plucked - déplumé

Roasted - Rôti

Charcuterie and paté

France is known for charcuterie - which generally covers the cold and cured meats, like ham (jambon), as well as smoked, streaky bacon (ask for lard de poitrine fumée).

There is saucisson sec - the dried sausage, usually made from pork, that you will see hanging from the ceiling in the butcher's shop. For example, rosette is a popular type of saucisson sec from the Lyon area. 

This is not the same as a saucisse, which is a sausage that needs to be cooked before being eaten.

Then, you have pâtés and terrines. The former is made from ground meat, usually pork, and blended with herbs and spices. You might see pâté en croute, which is pâté in a pastry crust and is common at Christmas time.

Terrine is very similar to pâté, but it is cooked slightly differently, usually inside of a special pan so that it has a cake-like appearance.

Rillettes are also a similar spreadable snack, often made of pork or duck and cooked in their own grease. Usually, rillettes are served from a jar.

Some butchers also specialise in tripe (the edible part of the cow's stomach lining) which are prepared with a variety of flavourings.

Bon appetit!

This was Badger last night – we have finally moved into the living room for the winter because it’s quite chilly in the evenings.