Collop Monday - Beef Collops

by Andrew Barrow, Posted Feb 27th 2006 @ 5:07PM

This is new to me but apparently the Monday before Lent (which is today) is known in some parts as Collop Monday. As I am sure you know luxury foods such as meat, eggs and butter were forbidden during Lent and Collop Monday was the last opportunity for eating meat with tomorrow - Shrove Tuesday - the day for eating up eggs and butter.

Collop is a word of Scandinavian origin meaning a slice of meat; hence Beef Collops. The spleen of a pig was generally called cat-collop, because it would be fried for the cat.

Beef Collops

450g fillet steak
40g butter
½ teaspoon grated onion
1 teaspoon flour
1 clove crushed garlic
150ml good brown stock
25ml claret
salt and pepper

Cut the steak into very thin slices. Melt butter in a frying pan and fry the onion and garlic slowly, add the flour, stir and cook for a minute or so. Add the meat, stock and wine and simmer for 15 minutes or so. Season. Serve with triangles of fried bread.

Filed Under: Ingredients
Tags: beef, beef collop, BeefCollop, british isles, collop monday, CollopMonday, dinner, food and drink, FoodAndDrink