Review of M.Moen & Sons Ltd
I’m on a quest to find out which London butcher has the best T-Bone steak. This week I check out Moen & Sons, a traditional butcher in Clapham, South London.
Steak boner goes to Clapham
Moen & Sons is an old favourite from the days when my brother lived near Clapham Common. I knew Moen & Sons for their tasty hog roasts on Venn St every Saturday. But today, I’m going to check out their T-Bone steak.
Moen & Sons is right across across from the Pond in Clapham Common. The storefront is jaw dropping. It is stacked with rows of rib steaks while inside they sell everything from cured meats to herbs.
The butchery is a serious operation with a tonne of staff. It specialises in meat from all around the world including Japanese Wagyu beef. No exotic steak for me though, just the good old British stuff.
Moen & Sons’ T-Bone Steak
Moen & Sons has a brisk trade, so I did not have a lot of time for chit chat. I asked for their T-bone steak, which they did not have on display so the butcher serving me went out back and returned with a hunk of meat.
The butcher held up the rack of “scotch” T-bone and I nodded. I squeezed in a few questions about the steak, learning that the steak was from a grass fed Angus-Hereford cross breed from Scotland. I was surprised when the butcher said the steak was aged for 38 days. This is 5 1/2 weeks and a lot longer than both Drings and Hussey butchers.
The steak had a similar sized Fillet section to the T-Bone at Drings but wasn’t as wide (but was much thicker) than the other T-Bone steaks. The steak had very good marbling (little bits of fat throughout the muscle which, when cooked, make the steak a bit tastier) with pretty good marbling in the fillet section as well.
I ended up buying 840gm of T-bone steak for £25.30.
The Black Hereford
The Black Hereford, also known as “Black Baldy” is a cross between the (black) Angus and the red and white Hereford cow. The Angus cow comes from Aberdeenshire while the Hereford is from, no surprises, Herefordshire.
This is a new breed, only being recognised in 2003. The cross breed combines the docile mood of the Hereford with the marbling and rapid maturity of the Angus breed.
Eating the Steak
This T-Bone steak wasn’t as wide as the T-Bones from Hussey or Drings but it was much thicker. So I cooked it for an extra 30 seconds each side (6 minutes total). The outcome was a perfect medium rare steak
I bit into the Fillet section and was stunned by the first hit – the fillet was probably the tastiest fillet I’ve had. It was delicious. Even if it wasn’t particularly tender, it was damn tasty. The Sirloin section was tender for sirloin, but surprisingly bland. I noticed small pockets of flavour, but no intensity or beefiness.
So an unusually tasty fillet steak that wasn’t super tender with a sirloin that was tender but not tasty. Strange, but still an enjoyable steak.
The verdict
This was a solid T-bone steak, but the first bite delivered a hit that the rest of the steak did not live up to. This T-Bone is on par with Hussey’s T-bone but pricier. After three rounds, Drings remains in the lead.
Greenwich DLR
Wapping
Clapham Common
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What’s next?
You can see me my hit-list of butchers here. But if you know a great butcher in London give me a shout. I’d love to hear your recommendations so I can try them out for myself. Just comment below.
