OK, I think we’ll do this thing in real time again – if nothing else, it helps keep me focussed.
13.15 May 1st 2011
My first job, just completed, was to make some rusk (breadcrumbs). Six thick slices, taken from one of my own loaves as soon as it was cool (trust me, don’t use stale bread), were dried on the radiator. They were then put into a plastic bag and belaboured with a rolling pin to break them up. I’ve just now completed the process by putting the pieces (breaking up any big pieces), into a blender, a handful at a time, and reducing them to crumbs (with a food processor, you could do this all in one go – I don’t have one). If you run your (clean!) fingers through the finished crumbs, you’ll find a few small nuggets than were too hard for the blender to break up; throw them away. Unless you have a suitable airtight container, double-bag the crumbs and seal tightly (double-bagged because plastic bags are micro-porous – on a molecular level, but still porous).
By the way, I made some veggie sausages which were pronounced a success by the veggie friend I made them for, though I felt they were somewhat under-flavoured and under-spiced. I’ll post the recipe shortly, for anyone who wants to try them (at least I will if I actually wrote it down.
This, by the way, is how I normally work – I sketch out a recipe that I know will work, to a degree, then fine-tune it as I go along. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m one of those people who knows, more or less instinctively, how a combination of ingredients will taste. No idea how, it just happens.
Now I’m ready to start prepping the meat, when I’ve had a rest – I’m feeling very weak and light-headed at the moment for some reason.
Note: spoons are always measuring spoons.
This, provisionally, is my recipe – weights for the meat will be inserted shortly. The mustard is my own – see this post .
Honey and Wholegrain Mustard Sausages.
…..
1.1kg dressed weight Pork shoulder, skin discarded, fat retained**
688g Pork belly (as Streaky Rashers)
3 teaspoons Maldon sea salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard (homemade)
2 tablespoons runny honey (one with not too strong a flavour – the last thing you need is eucalyptus-flavoured sausages!)
2 teaspoons sage
100g crumbs (these are from my own bread)
**Last time I bought Sainsbury’s Basics pork shoulder, very nicely trimmed, but todays was their normal – i.e. more expensive – cut, and I think it had been boned and prepped by a plumber, because whoever did it sure as hell wasn’t a butcher. It was full of bone fragments, connective tissue and sinew, all of which had to come out.
(End of first section)
14.00, May 1st
OK, then – now it’s time to prep the meat. The first thing to do is sharpen my knife – this needs to be as close to razor-sharp as possible – it makes cutting up the meat so much easier than sawing at it with a blunt knife – the knife should glide through the meat with minimal pressure.
First, if the pork shoulder is at all bloody, rinse under the cold tap and dry thoroughly on kitchen paper, then peel the skin/fat from the pork. Then you have to cut the fat from the skin, ensuring that NO SKIN is taken with it.** Cut the meat into manageable pieces, then into cubes small enough to fit down the feeder tube of your mincer. The Streaky Rashers can just be cut into chunks. If using belly pork, treat as for shoulder.
**This is easier if the skin hasn’t been scored by the butcher. If you buy supermarket meat you have no control over that, but if you buy from a butcher, make sure he doesn’t score it.
Put the cut-up meat into a bowl. I normally use a stainless steel bowl of 5 litres capacity. Add all the flavouring and seasoning components to the meat except the salt and honey, as these will draw liquid from the meat and you don’t want that. Add the crumbs too, and mix everything very well. Cover tightly with clingfilm and put in the fridge until the next day.
Back on Monday.
(End of second section)
OK, I think we’ll do this thing in real time again – if nothing else, it helps keep me focussed.
13.15 May 1st 2011
My first job, just completed, was to make some rusk (breadcrumbs). Six thick slices, taken from one of my own loaves as soon as it was cool (trust me, don’t use stale bread), were dried on the radiator. They were then put into a plastic bag and belaboured with a rolling pin to break them up. I’ve just now completed the process by putting the pieces (breaking up any big pieces), into a blender, a handful at a time, and reducing them to crumbs (with a food processor, you could do this all in one go – I don’t have one). If you run your (clean!) fingers through the finished crumbs, you’ll find a few small nuggets than were too hard for the blender to break up; throw them away. Unless you have a suitable airtight container, double-bag the crumbs and seal tightly (double-bagged because plastic bags are micro-porous – on a molecular level, but still porous).
By the way, I made some veggie sausages which were pronounced a success by the veggie friend I made them for, though I felt they were somewhat under-flavoured and under-spiced. I’ll post the recipe shortly, for anyone who wants to try them (at least I will if I actually wrote it down.
This, by the way, is how I normally work – I sketch out a recipe that I know will work, to a degree, then fine-tune it as I go along. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m one of those people who knows, more or less instinctively, how a combination of ingredients will taste. No idea how, it just happens.
Now I’m ready to start prepping the meat, when I’ve had a rest – I’m feeling very weak and light-headed at the moment for some reason.
Note: spoons are always measuring spoons.
This, provisionally, is my recipe – weights for the meat will be inserted shortly. The mustard is my own – see this post .
Honey and Wholegrain Mustard Sausages.
…..
1.1kg dressed weight Pork shoulder, skin discarded, fat retained**
688g Pork belly (as Streaky Rashers)
3 teaspoons Maldon sea salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard (homemade)
2 tablespoons runny honey (one with not too strong a flavour – the last thing you need is eucalyptus-flavoured sausages!)
2 teaspoons sage
100g crumbs (these are from my own bread)
**Last time I bought Sainsbury’s Basics pork shoulder, very nicely trimmed, but todays was their normal – i.e. more expensive – cut, and I think it had been boned and prepped by a plumber, because whoever did it sure as hell wasn’t a butcher. It was full of bone fragments, connective tissue and sinew, all of which had to come out.
(End of first section)
14.00, May 1st
OK, then – now it’s time to prep the meat. The first thing to do is sharpen my knife – this needs to be as close to razor-sharp as possible – it makes cutting up the meat so much easier than sawing at it with a blunt knife – the knife should glide through the meat with minimal pressure.
First, if the pork shoulder is at all bloody, rinse under the cold tap and dry thoroughly on kitchen paper, then peel the skin/fat from the pork. Then you have to cut the fat from the skin, ensuring that NO SKIN is taken with it.** Cut the meat into manageable pieces, then into cubes small enough to fit down the feeder tube of your mincer. The Streaky Rashers can just be cut into chunks. If using belly pork, treat as for shoulder.
**This is easier if the skin hasn’t been scored by the butcher. If you buy supermarket meat you have no control over that, but if you buy from a butcher, make sure he doesn’t score it.
Put the cut-up meat into a bowl. I normally use a stainless steel bowl of 5 litres capacity. Add all the flavouring and seasoning components to the meat except the salt and honey, as these will draw liquid from the meat and you don’t want that. Add the crumbs too, and mix everything very well. Cover tightly with clingfilm and put in the fridge until the next day.
Back on Monday.
(End of second section)