Christmas is a time for carol singing, decorating, and all of our favourite traditional festive foods. While spiced beef is often a Christmas favourite, Corkonians will know that popular spiced meat is available all year round. Ó Crualaoi Butchers, based in Ballincollig, Fermoy and Wilton are renowned for their spiced beef, born of a recipe acquired by Kevin Ó Crualaoí, which remains a secret to this day!
Speaking about their infamous spiced beef, Mícheál Ó Craulaoí, Chairman of Ó Crualaoí Butchers and Delicatessen, said: “Beef is in our DNA. We’ve been making spiced beef from scratch since 1957. The quality of the beef and spices are critical. We select beef from local farmers around the Muskerry area, and source only the best of freshly ground spices from all corners of the world to create our award-winning spiced beef for our customers. This combined with our passion to produce the best spiced beef in Ireland drives our success.”
Although Ó Crualaoi is a small, family-run business, they are quickly becoming one of Ireland’s leading butcher shops, ranking seventh out of all Irish craft butchers by the Associated Craft Butchers of Ireland. The success of Micheál and his team boils down to their creativity and devotion to their customers.
“Our 90 employees are committed to creating a special experience for our customers. For example, our Fermoy shop has both a strong meat business, which is the shops cornerstone, and a delicatessen and café, which uses only the finest Irish ingredients. Our loyal customers are key to our success, through both their decision to support local business and their continuous suggestions for our in house chef. We are devoted to listening to our customers’ suggestions, and our company is constantly adapting in response to these.”
To sample Cork’s finest spiced beef, and to support your local butchers this Christmas, call in to Mícheál Ó Crualaoí and his team in their Wilton, Fermoy or Ballincollig stores, or order online at ocrualaoi.com.
