Private slaughter outside an abattoir

A reader, Alf, has challenged my comment that regulations prohibit me from slaughtering our livestock and then feeding the meat to my family.

He questioned “exactly which act of parliament says that only you can consume the meat” as he could not find a law to that effect.

Actually, there are three pieces of law that cover this: EC Regulation 999/2001 (as amended), TSE (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and the Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006. (England and Wales have similar regulations.)

Chicken brose

Remember the boiled chicken and vegetables I prepared for dinner two nights back? Well, we’re just finishing the last of tonight and it’s final incarnation is as chicken brose.  I heated up the jellied stock until it came to the boil, then stirred in a couple of handfuls of fine oatmeal, the remainder of the chicken (shredded) and the remaining vegetables. I let it stand for 20 minutes, then gently brought it up to a moderate simmer until it was heated through. I served it in soup plates, accompanied by bread. (And for those not in the know, brose is a form of savoury porridge.)