A Unique Child: Nutrition - How to make the most of ... meat

Meat is a highly nutritious food, and the only good source of iron that some children get. As so many meals include meat, it's worth thinking how best to use it.

Nutritional value

Red meat and dark chicken meat supply protein and a wide range of minerals and vitamins, notably B vitamins and iron. The amount of saturated fat in lean red beef is very small (1.7 per cent), less than that in chicken. Offal (kidney, liver, heart) is particularly health- building.

Liver is the most nutrient-packed meat of all and a huge bargain. It is an exceptionally rich source of iron, vitamin A and all the B vitamins; 100g of fried chicken livers can have an amazing 240mcg of folate.

Eating liver regularly is invaluable for anyone below par, but it shouldn't be eaten more than once a week unless it's organic: large amounts of vitamin A are fed to non-organic animals, and accumulate in the animals' livers.

If you think children (or parents) might be put off by the words liver or heart, then don't mention them - just call the dishes something enticing. A mother once told me her children loved eating 'wolf stew': they liked picking out (carefully cut) odd-shaped pieces of meat and guessing which bits of the wolf they were, never knowing that the pieces were liver!

Buying meat

Find a butcher who understands what you want, then arrange a minimum 38- week contract with him. For best savings, buy direct from local producers.

The cheapest cuts are neck and (with beef and pork) leg. They're tough but by far the tastiest. All they need is long, slow cooking (2 1/2 to 3 hours), usually as a stew or a braise with root vegetables. Meat is tastier cooked on the bone, but if this isn't possible, ask for the bones anyway and put them on the bottom of a casserole or roasting tin to add flavour.

Cheap roasting chicken has little taste and comes from birds that lead wretched lives. Instead, buy boiling fowls for tasty bargain meat. Too tough to roast, these birds need stewing (2 1/2 to 3 hours for a 2kg bird). Check that they'll be cleaned, but ask for the giblets. It's not well known, but butchers sell chicken carcasses for almost nothing and they make excellent stock.

Using meat

- Long, slow cooking avoids toughness and shrinkage. 'Steam roast' cheaper cuts of meat on a rack in a covered roasting tin. Put some water in the tin and cook at gas mark 2-3, 160-170 degsC to tender. Brisket is easily the tastiest beef joint. Buy on the bone with all the fat on and steam roast at gas 2, 160 degsC for about eight hours. After cooking, skim the fat from the gravy (a fat-separator jug is ideal) and carve the joint the next day.

- Simmer casseroles for two to three hours or until the meat can be cut with a spoon.

- Make your own burgers/meatballs from good-quality mince. Cook until there are no pink bits left. For extra tastiness, add some finely chopped onion softened in a little olive oil. Try Greek meatballs with cooked onion, cinnamon and parsley, served with tomato sauce.

- A pressure cooker is a great time- and fuel-saver for stocks and stews.

Cooking liver

- You can disguise liver in a delicious Bolognese sauce. Over time, mix a gradually increasing proportion of chopped chicken livers with the mince until the sauce is all, or nearly all, liver. Mash the cooked livers down well with a potato masher.

- Train your butcher to cut you ultra-thin slices of pork or lamb's liver. Flour them, then cook slowly on top of ratatouille, or on a cushion of well-cooked, thinly sliced onions, and serve with mashed potato and peas. Cook two to three minutes a side and serve at once.

- Make 'wolf stew'. Cut liver into various small shapes. Fry three to four minutes, then add cooked potato, red pepper, bacon pieces and either thickened chicken stock or tomato sauce.

- Fry chicken livers in butter with lots of cooked onion. Puree, add nutmeg and pepper; cool and serve on toast.

Cooking kidney

Make delicious steak and kidney pies using equal quantities of steak and kidney; perhaps add mushrooms.

Cooking heart

Slice hearts into thin strips and casserole or use as beef.

BUDGET CUTS OF MEAT

- Beef: Brisket for slow-roasting (see below), pot roasting and boiling; skirt, blade, neck, shin, leg, flank for stews and pies

- Lamb: Shoulder, best end of neck (chined) for slow-roasting; middle neck, scrag end, breast for stewing. (Carefully remove bones after cooking).

- Pork: Shoulder, 'English' spare ribs for slow-roasting; belly, cheek, collar for stews