meat

Pulled Pork 3 Ways

| adamcockle

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What could be better than pulled pork?  How about pulled pork served in three distinctive and delicious dishes? Pulled pork hash, pulled pork noodles and pulled pork bbq beans!

Ingredients:

For the pulled pork:

  • 2kg pork shoulder joint
  • 4tbsp olive oil
  • 1tsp course sea salt
  • 1tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 carrots chopped into long thick pieces

Method:

For the pulled pork:

Preheat your oven to 140c.

Leave the pork joint out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature.  Drizzle the joint with oil and rub all over with salt and pepper.

Put the carrot pieces in the bottom of a large, deep baking tray and place the seasoned pork joint on top.  Cover tightly with tinfoil to keep in all the steam.  Place in the centre of the oven for 2 – 3 hours.  Remove the foil and whack your oven up to full for about 30 – 40mins until the fat has gone golden and a dark crust has formed on the pork.  Remove from the tray and leave aside to cool.  Once the meat has cooled, pull it apart with two forks (or get stuck in with your hands) into haphazard chunks.

PULLED PORK HASH

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Ingredients:

For the pulled pork hash:

  • 500g pulled pork
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 large potatoes (peeled and cut into small cubes)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1tbsp butter
  • 1tbsp flour
  • 500ml chicken stock

Method:

Place the cubed potato in a large pan of boiling salted water and boil for about 6 – 8 minutes until tender with a  just little bit of bite.  Drain and allow the excess water to steam away.

Heat a little oil in a large non-stick frying pan and add the pulled pork.  Fry the pork until it starts to go golden at the edges and then pop in the potatoes with a good pinch of salt and paper.  Stir in the potatoes until coated in oil and well distributed amongst the pork and then begin to press down with your wooden spoon or spatula.  You want to compress the potato pieces and get them crisp in the bottom without turning it to mash.  Stir occasionally and repeat pressing down until everything in the pan is crisp and golden.  Sprinkle in the Worcestershire sauce at this point and stir together one last time.

Heat some oil in a separate pan and break in your eggs.  Cook to your liking (I like mine crisp around the edges with a runny golden yolk).

For the gravy:

Melt the butter in a small pan until it starts to foam and  then add in the flour.  Stir together for a few minutes until you have formed a golden brown paste or roux.  Gradually add in the chicken stock, stirring constantly.  Let the gravy bubble away for a few minutes until it has become lovely and thick.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Plate up your hash and top with a fried egg.  Serve with gravy on the side.

PULLED PORK NOODLES

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Ingredients:

For the pulled pork noodles:

  • 500g pulled pork
  • 1 bunch of spring onions (about 10)
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 thumb sized piece of ginger
  • Half a red chilli
  • 5tbsp light soy sauce
  • 5tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 5tbsp orange juice (freshly squeezed if you’re fancy, or from a carton is fine)
  • 5tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
  • 2tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 150g pre-cooked noodles (I used Udon)
  • 1tsp sesame seeds

Method:

Heat a little oil in a large frying pan or wok.  Finely chop the chilli, garlic and ginger (I used a grater for the ginger) and add to the oil.  Stir around for a few seconds to let the flavours infuse, but do not let the garlic burn!  Add the pulled pork and spring onions and cook for a few minutes until the pork starts to develop a bit of colour.

Mix the soy sauces, maple syrup and vinegar in a small bowl and gradually add to the pan, stirring all the ingredients so that everything gets coated and syrup.  Pop in your noodles and stir through for a minute or two (if the pan seems a but dry at this point just add a splash of water)

Serve immediately and sprinkle with sesame seeds,  Chopsticks and slurping is essential!

PULLED PORK BBQ BEANS

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Ingredients:

For the pulled pork bbq beans:

  • 500g pulled pork
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 cloves smoked garlic
  • 2 tins Heinz baked beans
  • 2tbsp maple syrup
  • 2tbsp cider vinegar
  • 1tbsp tomato puree
  • 1tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1tsp (heaped) hot chilli powder
  • Sour cream to serve

For the corn cakes

  • 2 large eggs
  • 60g plain flour
  • 60g semolina flour
  • 1/2tsp baking powder
  • 1tsp salt
  • 150g sweetcorn
  • 1 – 2tbsp milk
  • 1tbsp oil (and extra for cooking)

Method:

For the corn cakes:

Heat some oil in a large frying pan.  Mix all the ingredients together leaving the milk until last.  Add the milk a little at a time until you have a thick ‘dropping’ consistency.  Add heaped tablespoon-fulls of the batter to the pan and flatten gently with the back of the spoon.  Cook for a minute or two until small bubbles start to form on the top surface and the bottom has turned golden yellow.  Flip over and cook till golden on the other side.  You can leave the corn cakes on a plate in a low oven until ready to serve.

For the bbq beans:

Heat a generous drizzle of oil in a large frying pan.  Roughly chop the onion and add to the pan, stirring frequently until it becomes translucent.  Finely chop the garlic and add to the onions, cooking for another minute or two.  Pop in the paprika and chilli powder along with a little slurp of water and stir for a few minutes until the onions are all coated in the spice.

Add the remaining ingredients to the pan (apart from the sour cream) and cook on a medium heat for about 8 minutes until bubbly and thick.  Taste for seasoning (its not too late to add some more chilli powder at this point, a bit of heat really suits this dish).

Serve piled high in deep bowls with a stack of warm corn cakes on the side and a cooling dollop of sour cream on top.

Mince and gravy with herby, cheesy dumplings

| adamcockle

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Here the mince and gravy (though delicious) play second fiddle to the moist, cheesy, herby dumplings.  This recipe also features the first appearance of my patented (not really) ‘oomph’ that I love to add to all sorts of soups, sauces and stews.

Ingredients:

For the mince and gravy:

  • 750g beef and pork mince (or just beef if you prefer)
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 stick of celery
  • 300g baby button mushrooms
  • 2 large carrots
  • 2tbsp plain flour
  • 500ml beef stock
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the oomph:

  • 4tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1tbsp maple syrup
  • 1tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 or 2 bay leaves
  • 6 to 8 peppercorns

For the dumplings:

  • 100g self-raising flour
  • 50g of butter (cold from the fridge)
  • 25g grated cheese (I used a mature English cheddar)
  • 1tbsp chopped parsley
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 – 2tbsp milk

Method:

For the oomph:

Put all the ingredients in a small pan and cook on a medium high heat until the liquid has reduced to about two tablespoons. Drain through a sieve to remove the peppercorns and bay and leave aside until later.

For the mince and gravy:

Heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan.  Finely chop the onion and celery and add to the pan along with a good pinch of salt and pepper.  Stir regularly until the onion is just starting to turn a bit golden.  Peel and chop the carrots into generous chunks and add to the pan along with the mushrooms.  Stir together until everything looks glossy and the mushrooms are staring to colour.  Transfer the onions, mushrooms and vegetables into a large saucepan.

Put a drop more oil in the recently vacated frying pan and add the mince along with another good pinch of salt and pepper.  Brown the mince on a high heat until the pan starts to look dry and then sprinkle in the flour.  Stir thoroughly for a minute or two until the flour is incorporated and then transfer the mince to the saucepan to join the onions and vegetables.  Add the stock to the saucepan.  Ideally you want the mince and vegetables to be just covered so add a little bit of water at this point if you have to.  Add the oomph.  Cover and simmer on a medium-low heat for a couple of hours until the mince is melting and tender (you can also pop your mince and gravy into a low oven if you prefer).

For the dumplings:

Start making your dumplings once your mince and gravy is ready.  Put the flour in a bowl and add in the cold butter cut into small chunks (or grated).  Rub the butter and flour together for a few minutes until the mixture resembles course bread crumbs.  Stir in the salt, cheese and parsley.  Add the milk a little at a time and stir until the mixture comes together in a firm but sticky lump.  Form your dumpling mixture into little balls (I made about 10 golfball sized dumplings) and plop them in with the mince and gravy.  Do not crowd the dumplings as they will plump up as they cook.  Put the lid on the saucepan and continue to cook on medium-low heat for 12 minutes.

Serve generously in big bowls and ideally with a nice bottle of beer or glass of hearty red wine.

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Simple sides: citrus and herb compound butter

| adamcockle

butterblog

Add extra zipp to steak and seafood, or stir into risotto and scrambled eggs . . .

Ingredients:

  • 250g salted butter (at room temperature)
  • 1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
  • Zest of 1/2 a lemon
  • Zest of 1/2 an orange
  • Pinch of chilli flakes (or more if you like it spicy!)
  • 1tbsp fish sauce
  • 1tbsp maple syrup
  • Ground black pepper to taste

Method:

Place the butter in an electric mixer and, using the paddle attachment, whip the butter on high speed until smooth.  Add in the rest of the ingredients and whip for another minute or two until everything is incorporated.  Splodge your herby, zesty butter onto a large piece of parchment paper or clingfilm and roll into a tight, sausage shape.  Pop in the fridge until firm.  Simply slice off pieces as you need them.

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Honey-glazed Meatballs

| adamcockle

Pork meatballs with spring onion and black sesame, coated in a sticky honey and soy glaze.

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Ingredients:

For the meatballs:

  • 6 good quality pork sausages
  • 3 spring onions (finely sliced)
  • 2tbsp black sesame seeds
  • pinch of chilli flakes (or more if you like things spicy)

For the glaze:

  • 1tsp sesame oil
  • 1tsp chilli oil
  • 2tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 2tbsp light soy sauce
  • 2tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 4tbsp runny honey

Method:

Mix all glaze ingredients in a bowl and put aside.

Remove sausage meat from skins and mix all meatball ingredients together in a bowl (you may need to add some beaten egg if the ingredients don’t come together).  Shape the mix into small manageable balls (I like to keep them to bite-sized morsels because my chopstick skills are questionable) Pop the meatballs on a baking try and cook in a medium oven for about 15 minutes.

Remove the meatballs from the oven and whack the heat up to full.  Pour the glaze over the meatballs and return to the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the the glaze has gone dark and sticky.

Serve with boiled white rice and stir-fried veggies.

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