Would you love to shop in your butchers but aren't sure which cut of meat you might need? Maybe you’re put off by price? Or perhaps you need to do one big shop and it seems more overwhelming than a supermarket.

We have the solution for you, as we've discovered a brilliant online butchers providing fabulous quality meat. Sourced from small family farms, offering grass fed meats and championing sustainable practices. Shopping with Swaledale is a great way to support a local farmer and making a vital choice to buy the highest quality meat you can afford.

We were given a voucher to try Swaledale Butchers and it’s opened our eyes to a different way to shop.

Why Swaledale Butchers?

Based in Yorkshire, Swaledale is a whole-carcass butcher, so they buy the whole animal and then use a nose-to-tail process for butchery. This means using as much meat and as many cuts as possible from each animal to minimise waste.

Their meat is always fresh, never frozen and butchered to order. It arrives carefully wrapped, insulated and vacuum packed ready for your use or for you to freeze until needed.

I was very interested to try the products from Swaledale as it does concern me how far removed we are becoming from where our food comes from. It's great to be able to share with my children the story of farmers providing the animals, with whom Swaledale have great and long time relationships with.

In their online store, Swaledale has monthly specials to help you decide what to cook and to make you aware of their offers. They have their own box scheme with a range of products gathered together creating good value selections. I was surprised just how much was inside ours.

They offer free shipping on orders over £60. Orders received before 9am are prepared and shipped via DPD for next day delivery.

For special occasions such as Christmas, they already have an easily found navigation button on the homepage. Here you can find the delivery dates for Christmas and New Year. There are so many good quality and tempting options from heritage breed pork, bronze turkey, pasture-raised beef, venison saddle and rack of lamb to name but a few.

What did we choose and cook?

It was very hard to make a decision but we chose the Chef's Choice Meat Box which contained:

Lamb Merguez Sausages
Yorkshire Breakfast Sausages
Dry-Cured Smoked Streaky Bacon
Tuscan-style Pork, Fennel and Red Wine Sausagemeat
Pork Shoulder Chop
Marrow Bone Canoes
Salt Beef
Smoked Pig’s Cheek - Guanciale

We were also too tempted by the range on offer and ordered:

Beef Ossobuco - To make with a Milanese Saffron Risotto
Diced Venison
Leg of Pork Roast
Smoked Bacon Lardons - Perfect for Spaghetti alla Carbonara

The range of meat on offer is so refreshing and it's great to see there is more choice than your usual supermarket shop where there are a lot of chicken breasts and not much else. This is an opportunity, not only to taste meat which has more flavour than you're used to. In fact, it will bring back memories of how food used to taste, but you can also try everything from rabbit and partridge to breakfast sausages and the best bacon.

Just some of the items on offer are wild game, filet mignon, grass-fed lamb and free-range poultry. We chose products which gave us a chance to experience high-quality meat, farmed with love and something a bit more unusual but there are lots of every day cuts available too.

Our creations

As this is an area my Italian husband can't help but get involved with, together we first made a Venison stew with Porcini and chestnut mushrooms and polenta. Our Italian family is from Northern Italy where there is a similar climate to the UK. So stews, gravy sauces and polenta, which is a bit like the English mashed potato, is a good and comforting combination.

We used the diced venison from Swaledale, slow-cooked with shallots, garlic, mushrooms and beef stock. Then we tossed the venison cubes in flour before searing in a pan. This gives them colour and the flour and juices from the meat create the beginning of your beef sauce.

It was such a wonderful hearty meal. The venison was full of flavour and rich without being overpowering. It definitely transported us back to the Italian mountains.

Next up, the Tuscan-style Pork, Fennel and Red Wine Sausagemeat. As soon as you open the packet the smells of the herbs fill the room. It is divine and you can't wait to cook with it!

We made a ragu' or bolognese sauce. For this, we added shallots, garlic, finely chopped celery and carrot (this base is called a soffrito in Italy) and then the sausagemeat. Once this has been lightly browned, add passata or chopped tomatoes. Let it simmer for at least 20 mins and serve with your pasta. We used these beautiful Mafalde Lunghi ribbons but any wide ribbon pasta will do such as tagliatelle or pappardelle.

The meat tasted incredible, a little sweet and so aromatic. It really emphasises the difference in using a high quality product made with care. The packet made quite a large portion of sauce and lasted two meals for four people. It's a good option to consider if you are looking for value packs which last for several servings. The children loved it and went back for more!

Lastly, we went for the Lamb Merguez Sausages. These smelt amazing whilst cooking and we couldn't wait to try them. They were a little spicy which was fine for us but may not suit all children's tastes.

We cooked the sausages in the oven and made couscous with tomatoes, spinach, courgettes, shallots, garlic and chickpeas. Finished with some yoghurt to ease any heat and a sprinkle of mint.

The sausages were full of flavour and everyone wanted a bit extra. I can see these will become a regular in our household! It was lovely to try something a little adventurous I may not have thought to buy before.

Our impression of Swaledale Butchers is very positive. They represent real value for money with an exceptional range of meat products which don't disappoint, in fact, they open your mind to trying so many new recipes!

Their meat selections could be used as a great option for your monthly shop or to buy select cuts of meat when you have a special occasion or want a type of produce it's hard to source on your own.

I love that it's an online meat delivery service so I know that part of my shopping list is covered and I don't have to think about meal planning.

The fact that I'm supporting small farms who consider animal welfare and use sustainable farming practices means together we are working towards a better model for the environment, our communities and our economy.

We would definitely recommend trying Swaledale Butchers. Would you like to know more? Click here to explore their wonderful products and get some cooking inspiration.