1. The Thoroughly Wild Meat Company
Lamb and mutton grazed on the saltmarshes of Bridgewater Bay on the Severn Estuary. The meat takes on the flavour of the dozens of species of herbs and grasses that grow on the marshes, and is exceptionally tender. Even the mutton, usually a meat for stewing, can be grilled (leg steaks only). Half lamb, boxed, £85.
Bratton House, Bratton Seymour, Somerset; 01963 824788; 07770 392041.
thoroughlywildmeat.co.uk
Mail order and local farmers' markets
Last orders: 17 December
2. Pipers Farm
Devon farmers Peter and Henrietta Greig head up a producer group rearing livestock to exacting standards, feeding them on grass or cereal produced by a local mill then slaughtering at a local abattoir. The meat is matured and butchered at Pipers Farm - the beef is legendary, a native Exmoor breed, Devon Ruby with a tight grain, good fat marbling and real depth of flavour.
The Greigs also make an elegantly seasoned range of ready-to-heat casseroles, using only their welfare-friendly meats. All come in generous quantities and will get cooks out of a tight spot during the festivities when the thought of preparing yet another meal is too much. Pipers Farm meat stock is another must - useful for gravy.
Cullompton, Devon; 01392 881380.
pipersfarm.com
Mail order
Last orders: 20 December
3. Jack O'Shea's
Since this dashing former racehorse trainer opened his UK shop last year he has been snapped up as a supplier to Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck restaurant, and has even been seen lurking in Heston's new 'anorak' cooking series - so the beef should be good. And it is. Extraordinarily tender, 'bone-aged' Black Angus beef from Ireland, slaughtered at O'Shea's family abattoir. You can see the sides of beef hanging as you enter the shop and even demand extra time for that deep, deep flavour. Seaweed-fed Orkney lamb, organic and rare-breed pork, free-range and organic chickens, wild game and wagyu beef also available. Jack O'Shea, who also has a shop in Brussels, cuts meat the continental way - ask for unusual steak cuts for quick grilling including beef bavette, beef onglet and lamb pavé.
1 Montpelier Street, London SW7, 020 7581 7771.
jackosheas.com
Local delivery
Last orders: 18 December
4. Musks Sausages
Chris Sheen's award-winning sausages are made with outdoor-reared English pork and locally made bread. The texture is a perfect balance of lean and fat, and there's a welcome hint of white pepper. Gluten-free sausages are also available. Traditional Newmarket sausages £35.40 loose (minimum order 4.54kg); chipolatas £38.40; sausage-meat packs £31.
Newmarket, Suffolk; 01638 662626.
musks.com
Mail order
Last orders: 20 December
5. Emmett's of Peasenhall
Mark Thomas is widely recognised as producing the finest hams in southeast England, using locally reared, free-range Suffolk pork and curing and smoking on the premises at his delightful, well-stocked village shop that has a royal warrant. The hams are a good, deep pink, not too salty - the flavour of the additional 'pickle' comes through beautifully: Vintage Velvet hams are cured with port, others with cider. Available raw or cooked. Call for prices and availability.
Peasenhall, Saxmundham, Suffolk; 01728 660250.
emmettsham.co.uk
Mail order
Last orders: 7 December
6. Piperfield Pork
Graham Peterhead rears Middle White pork, then dry-cures the legs to produce elegant ready-to-boil or roast gammons and cooked hams glazed with muscovado sugar. His sausages and sausage meat are also highly recommended, and he also supplies Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck restaurant in Berkshire. Call for prices and availability.
The Dovecote, Lowick, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland; 01289 388543.
piperfield.com
Mail order
Last orders: 17 December
7. Daylesford Organic
This is a producer that has raised the bar for organic and cures organic pork from its own farms. It is no longer simply OK for organic to have the right eco-principles (and it often does not), now it is right that it tastes good, too. Daylesford achieves both aims, especially with their range of meat. Choose from their Alderton (cooked) ham, baked with marmalade, or Wiltshire honey-mustard-glazed ham. Aberdeen Angus beef; veal from their Gloucester dairy herd; and British breeds of lamb and poultry are also available. They have recently opened a new butcher's shop in Pimlico Road, London, selling the full range of their home-reared meat. £39.95 for half an Alderton ham; whole £59.95. Wiltshire hams half £35; whole £66.
Kingham, Gloucestershire; 01608 731 700.
daylesfordorganic.com
Mail order: 0800 083 1233
Last orders: 14 December
8. Wenlock Edge Farm
A small producer in the heart of England rearing their own Large White pigs naturally, sending them to slaughter locally and then home-curing the meat. They make a spectacular 'Celebration Ham' with the hock (foot) left on, that will look fabulous brought to the table. Price (raw) £60; cooked and dressed £70.
Demerara-and-mustard-glazed baked middle gammon £13.50 per kg. They also make great bacon, and good sausages. Sausage meat for turkey stuffing also available.
Longville in the Dale, Shropshire; 01694 771312 for nearest stockist.
wenlockedgefarm.com
Mail order
Last orders: 12 December
9. John Robinson & Sons
No mail order, but real sausage connoisseurs will find the journey down the A30 well worthwhile. This butcher sells one main variety, and it is a work of perfection. Pork shoulder meat in natural skins minced to just the right texture, with fresh sage - not too little, not too much. Favourites are the chipolatas, so good due to the sweet flavour of lamb casings. All the pork is free-range, naturally reared in Hampshire and the sage is grown in Basingstoke. Beef from this butcher is also excellent, sourced from Scotland and hung for as long as you like (Robinson hit the headlines when he defied the ban on selling beef on the bone in 1998). Call for prices and availability.
High Street, Stockbridge, Hampshire; 01264 810609.
Last orders: 24 December
10. Welsh Mountain Lamb
Small hardy breeds with intriguing names - Welsh Speckleface, Beulah and Badger Face - reared on the wild grasses and herbs of the Welsh uplands to give their excellent flavour. Graig Farm Organics sell small or large boxes of mixed cuts. A large box consists of one whole and two half legs, two boned and rolled shoulders, loin chops, chump chops, two racks, neck (for stewing) and two breasts.Price £10.11/kg (approximately £85). Each pack is labelled with the name of the farmer, the location of the farm and the breed of the lamb. Order as soon as possible.
Dolau, Llandrindod Wells, Powys LD1 5TL. Mail order: 01597 851655.
graigfarm.co.uk
Last orders: end November
