Dougy Bowes

Sometimes a product is really special or just simply tremendous, and sometimes an occasion elevates a dining experience beyond description. 

Mr Dougy Bowes on the coast road near Ulverston is a producer of such a product. A Galloway is a pretty fantastic beef animal at the best of times but a Galloway grown on the land just down the coast road is without doubt a special thing. I had the pleasure to have a couple of pieces of brisket of a beast from Mr Bowes  - ‘twas a Galloway/Limousin cross but looked like it had taken more to the Galloway side.

The occasion was the passing away of a family friend, who to be fair had reached a good age, and the whole thing turned out to be more like a celebration of her life than a funeral. We all gathered in Arnside for the burial, then to a hotel in Grange for the funeral tea. Alan and Ann (the son and daughter, both lifetime friends of mine), along with an eclectic group of friends, all sat around telling loud and raucous funny tales of their life experiences with the deceased. Hopefully, this doesn't sound at all disrespectful, because believe me if you had known Jean for the strong funny eccentric character she was, it was all in order.

On the spur of the moment, I thought they should all come to our house for dinner.. Great but had nothing in big enough to feed ten, which when they got going would be sure to seem like the five thousand had descended.

So I went to the local farm shop Browns in Lindal-in-Furness and was so pleased to find out that he had some of Dougy Bowes’s Galloway  - it was a Tuesday so as with most butchers on a Tuesday, it's a a matter of what’s left. Also fortunately for me (point brisket not being the most popular of cuts), two bits of brisket browned off and roasted with only sea salt and cracked black pepper went well with the roasted potatoes and the veg left in the fridge.

The brisket was open roasted on a low heat, and the roasting dish deglazed with a liberal several glugs of good red wine brought by Alan who is also a wine merchant. I personally could have just had gravy, roast potatoes and red wine the gravy was so fantastic, but in fact, the brisket turned out to be indescribably good.

We had a great meal, which was a fitting tribute to the woman who always fed you and entertained you royally.