Fillet steak
Forman & Field
£14.95 for 2 x 170g steaks
www.formanandfield.com
A beautiful-looking hunk of beef from a well-bred beast. Mature and firm with good texture and flavour. I would be happy with this.
4 stars
Donald Russell
about £10 per 160g steak
www.donaldrussell.com
Dainty cut with nice seams of fat but a little flavourless. Best for those who don't really like the taste of meat!
3 stars
Sainsbury's, Taste the Difference
£7.65, 300g pack of 2
Dense and firm with distinct flavour. Good intentions, but slightly ruined by a plasticky taste from the packaging.
3 stars
Marks & Spencer
£3.79 per 100g
This piece of meat makes me sad. It's dry, stringy and not at all soft. I don't think it's been dried.
1 star
Stock
Sainsbury's
110g, 70p
The predominant smell is of mushroom, possibly dried ceps. Very salty and strong, not bad in flavour, but more of a mushroom soup than beef stock.
4 stars
Kallo, Bouillon
72g, 89p, Tesco
A reduced syrupy gel, it looks and smells like Bovril - beefy, strong and salty.
3 stars
Jurgen Langbein, Liquid Stock
500ml, £1.59, Sainsbury's
It's quite fragrant, but doesn't smell natural. Very salty. Not at all rich enough.
3 stars
Oxo, Concentrated Liquid Stock
160ml, £1.97, Waitrose
Smells like packet beef noodle soup. Too much salt, and a bit flat and lifeless.
2 stars
Beef burger
Tesco, Finest
285g, £2.79
You can tell this will be good - it looks hand-rolled and tastes young. I'd be very happy with this in a bun at a barbecue.
5 stars
Donald Russell
£1.60 per burger
Smells like a burger should, and it's not too highly seasoned. Nice texture, it falls apart in your mouth.
4 stars
Asda, Extra-Special
454g, £1.38
It looks chewed rather than minced and it's rock hard - it should fall apart in the mouth. Tastes quite spicy and of nothing else.
2 stars
Morrisons, Prime Quarter Pounder
907g, £2.99
Fairly well hung but the flavour is too strong for a burger.
Not overly seasoned, but the texture is really firm and rubbery.
2 stars
Gravy
Duchy Originals, Organic
500g, £2.69, Waitrose
Smells of when you open an oven with a roast in it, and it tastes of decent beef. If I was given a Yorkshire pudding with this on the side I would be happy.
4 stars
Waitrose
500g, £2.49
Smells like braised oxtail, with a beef flavour. Nice, but tastes more of oxtail stew than gravy and is a bit shiny and gluey.
3 stars
Asda, Extra-Special
300g, £1.38
There is a background beef smell, but tastes a bit flat, with not enough flavour and too much salt.
2 stars
Sainsbury's, Taste the Difference
500g, £1.89
This tastes like dried, sweet apricots and tomato. It's really thick and gloopy with a dry and acidic aftertaste.
2 stars
Beef Wellington
Marks & Spencer
£9.99 for 2 x 245g portions
Looks like a posh pie. Wellington should be in a roll, not round. There's also bacon in the mushroom mix. It tastes OK, but to me it's a pie. A real shame.
4 stars
Tesco, Finest
630g, £14.49
A good crisp pastry, with lots of mushrooms underneath, but not enough beef flavour. High expectations but a poor delivery.
3 stars
Forman & Field
£11.95 for 2 x 150g portions
Looks like a sausage roll. You can tell it's hand-made and it has a decent slice of meat, but it's totally square and rather tough.
1 star
Waitrose £12.99 per 430g portion
It looks more like a beef pie. The pastry has split and all the juice has run out. There's a tiny piece of beef with loads of pâté - all I can smell is pâté.
1 star
Meatballs
Asda, Extra-Special
400g, £2.20
Tastes like a meatball, but ferociously seasoned. It looks real - rough and rugged with a crisp outside.
4 stars
Waitrose, Aberdeen Angus
430g, £2.99
The beef looks half chopped and half minced, but it's not too seasoned. Fairly smooth texture, probably best in a sauce.
4 stars
Tesco
350g, £2.49
Serious seasoning - loads of herbs! It looks a bit pale and mealy. It's too soft, more like a paste than a meatball.
3 stars
Sainsbury's
350g, £1.95
More of a puréed mix - it's a crowd pleaser to an extent but not what I'm after. Looks hugely manufactured.
2 stars
