How we decide which recipe makes the channel

People sometimes ask why a particular dish appears on the channel and another does not. The answer is a short list of filters we run every candidate through. None of them is secret, and writing them down keeps us honest. It also tells you what to expect each week.

1. It stays carnivore-only

Meat, fish, eggs, animal fat, salt, and sometimes dairy. That is the whole pantry. If a recipe only works because of a sauce, a marinade with sugar, or a side of vegetables, it is a good recipe for someone else, not for us. We would rather show you how fat, heat and salt do the work than hide a weak technique under extras.

2. There is one clear gesture

A Short has room for one idea. So before we cook anything for camera we ask: what is the single movement that decides whether this dish succeeds? Pressing the skin flat, basting with the rendered fat, pulling the pan at the right moment. If we cannot name that gesture in one sentence, the recipe is not ready, however tasty it is. Dishes with five equally important steps usually stay off the channel.

3. You can actually buy the cut

We cook from what a normal butcher, Migros, Coop or market stall in Switzerland sells on a weekday. A beautiful dry-aged cut you can only order from one farm is fine as an occasional treat, but it cannot carry a week. When we use something less common, such as heart, tongue or marrow bones, we say where it is usually found and what to ask for at the counter.

4. Regional weeks without the postcard

We like running themes, for example an Italian week. The rule is that the region gives us cuts and methods, not decoration. Italy means things like a thin-sliced raw beef, a slow pork shoulder, a lardo-wrapped piece of fish. It does not mean staged pasta-free versions of tourist dishes, or close-ups that are only there to look indulgent. If a regional dish needs non-carnivore ingredients to be recognisable, we skip it rather than fake it.

5. Balance across the animal

Over a few weeks we try to cover more than steak. A typical stretch mixes a fast muscle cut, a slow cut, an egg or fish dish, and something from the organ or bone side. This is not a lecture about ethics; it is simply that a varied rotation is cheaper, more forgiving and less boring to eat.

6. It works in both languages

Every recipe is written in English and French at the same time. If a step is clear in one language and confusing in the other, the step is usually the problem, not the translation. Writing twice is a good test of whether the method is actually simple.

7. The page carries the numbers

Finally, a recipe only goes out when we have the measurements to back it: weight of the cut, pan or oven temperature, timing, resting time, and doneness by temperature where it matters. The video shows the movement; the page lets you repeat it at home on a different stove.

What gets left out

Plenty of meals pass a taste test and fail one of these filters. They are not bad; they are just not the right fit for a short, repeatable, meat-only format. When we change the rules, we will say so here.

This is cooking guidance, not medical advice. If you have a health condition, adjust your diet with someone who knows your situation.