Category Archives: Meat

Method

OK, first the story of kerisik. What is kerisik? Kerisik is traditionally freshly grated coconut which is then dry roasted for 30 minutes or so, followed by pounding smooth in a pestle and mortar. Be my guest. Some people here substitute that most useless of cooking ingredients, dessicated coconut; dry toast it in a wok/frying pan until golden brown and blitz it in a spice grinder. I tried this approach first and was singularly unimpressed. I found a “cheat” on the Internet which melts then “toasts” creamed coconut in a microwave so I gave that a go. Much better! Chunk half a block of coconut cream and zap it in a microwave. Use full power but do it in 10-15 second bursts, stirring in between. At first the coconut cream will just melt but it will eventually begin to turn brown, though it does so on the bottom of the pot so you wont see the colour change until you stir – stick to 10-15 second bursts, stirring well in between. Stop when it is quite a rich brown, certainly darker than golden but not black. Take care, being oily it’s above boiling point and extremely hot! Use oven gloves to remove it from the microwave attempting not to throw it all over yourself and the kitchen floor, as I did. Set your kerisik aside to cool.

The fresh spice paste. Starting with three of the fresh lemongrass stalks finely sliced, put everything down to the teaspoon of turmeric into a blender. Add a little water to help the liquidizing and blitz to a paste.

At last you can start cooking the rendang which will now take about 2 hours. In a suitably sized casserole, fry the wet spice paste in a little sunflower oil for about 5 minutes; it is said that it should darken a little though I’m not convinced mine did. Add the cubed beef to the spice paste and brown it all over. Toss in everything from the cardamom pods to the tamarind paste. Crush the fleshy end of the fourth lemongrass stalk and add that, too. Stir in the tin of coconut milk and bring gently to simmering point. Over low heat, continue simmering gently, uncovered and stirring frequently to avoid scorching, for 1½ hours or so when the beef should be tender and most of the liquid evaporated. (Rendang is referred to as a dry curry.) Finally, stir in the sugar and about 2 tablespoons of your reserved and painstakingly made kerisik. Put the lid on to allow the sugar to melt while you prepare some rice to accompany your feast.

Add salt to taste before serving with plain boiled/steamed rice (I prefer to use Thai fragrant rice) and, maybe, some steamed green beans.

Sit back with a bottle of wine and a smug, self-satisfied smirk on your face.

Method

Slice the pork loin into ½ inch medallions. Combine the 2 sprigs thyme, 1 garlic clove, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 sprig rosemary and 2 tbs dark rum to make a marinade and rub it all over the pork medallions. Place this in the fridge to marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes, overnight if possible.

Make the sauce. Pour the stock into a saucepan and add the remaining ingredients except the cream. Simmer over medium heat for 50 minutes or until reduced by half. Remove the lethal Scotch bonnet pepper and check the seasoning.

Brush the excess marinade from the pork so it doesn’t burn. Add 3 tsp vegetable oil to a hot pan and fry the medallions until golden on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside in a warm place to rest.

Add the sealed pork medallions and their accumulated juices to the sauce. Simmer on a gentle heat for 2 minutes. Add a little cream to the sauce for richness and to lighten the colour. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

This goes well with sweet potato (cut to match the pork medallions, blanched for 8 minutes then fried golden in the pan used for the pork). The other suggested vegetable accompaniment is a mixture of finely sliced white cabbage, julienne carrots and trimmed fine beans, steamed with a little water, butter and West Indian hot pepper sauce. Take care with the hot pepper sauce.

Method

Soak the prunes in the brandy for 6 hours.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Open up the loin of pork, flatten it and trim off the rind to leave 3mm of fat. Lay the pork fat-side down, season it and place 8-10 soaked prunes along the centre. Roll the loin up and secure it with string/skewers.

In a suitable roasting tray, heat the butter and oil on medium heat until the butter foams. Lightly brown the pork loin. Add the tomato, cover all loosely with foil and cook in the oven for 1½ hours. Remove the tray from the oven, wrap the pork in foil and place it on a plate to rest for 30 minutes.

Remove all but 2 tbs oil from the tray. Put the tray on high heat and deglaze it with the stock bringing it to the boil. Add the remaining prunes and heat through. Adjust the seasoning.

Carve the pork remembering to add any juices released by it to the sauce.

Method

In a large plastic bag, combine the flour, pepper, salt and dried marjoram. Add the beef cubes, seal the bag and toss it about to coat the beef with the seasoned flour. Set the beef aside on a plate.

In a large flameproof casserole, heat the olive oil and fry the bacon pieces, stirring occasionally, until they are crisp and have rendered their fat. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Add the onion and celery to the pan and fry gently for 6 to 8 minutes until the onion is soft and translucent but not brown. Shake excess flour off the beef cubes and add them to the casserole, stirring occasionally for another 6 to 8 minutes to brown them lightly. Add the fresh marjoram, reserved bacon, and stir in the stock and wine. Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until th eliquid has reduced by about half. Stir in the tomato purée and continue to simmer for a further 30 minutes.

The sauce should be thick and dark by the time the stufatino is cooked. We’re trying it with some homemade gnocchi and some tenderstem broccoli.

Method

Using a sauté pan, soften the onions in a little butter. Add white wine to deglaze and reduce completely. Reserve the onion mixture for later.

In the same pan, cook the lardons until all the fat runs. Remove the lardons from their fat and reserve them for later. Cut the potatoes into rounds and add them to the pan. Mix well to absorb all the bacon fat. In a small saucepan, briefly boil the wine to drive off all the alcohol then add it to the potatoes. Cover the pan and cook the potatoes over gentle heat until the potatoes begin to soften. Do not overcook! Add a little water during cooking if necessary.

In an ovenproof earthenware dish, put a layer of the potatoes followed by the reserved onion and bacon and finish with another layer of potato. Slice the Reblochon in half horizontally, then cut each half into quarters. Lay each pirece of Reblochon on top of the potato skin side up. Heat in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with salad and white wine.

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.

Fry the onions gently in 25g of the butter until soft. Add the lamb and cook until browned, stirring to break up the meat and brown evenly. Stir in the stock, tomato purée and Worcestershire sauce, then season to taste.

Beat the remaining butter into the potatoes together with the milk. Put the meat in a greased ovenproof dish, cover with the potato mixture and score the top lightly with a fork. Bake near the top of the oven for about 30 minutes until the top is brown.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. If the shoulder has been rolled, remove the string, open it out and slash the skin with a sharp knife. Oil a roasting tin and lay the pork in it skin side upwards.

Peel, quarter and core the quinces, then cut each quarter into 2 or 3 segments. Cut the red onion into eigths lengthways. (Leaving some root on the onion will help to hold it together.) Surround the pork with the onion, quinces, chillies and bay leaves.

Mix together the oil, vinegar, wine, sugars, salt and pepper an dspoon it over the pork, quinces and onions. Cover with aluminium foil and roast in the oven for 1 hour. Remove the foil, baste everything with the juices and return it to the oven to cook uncovered for a further hour. By this time the pork should be very tender and the quinces, soft. Rest the pork in a warm place for about 15 minutes before serving.

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.

Parboil the parsnips and onions in salted water for about 5 minutes, then drain. Remove the pork skin leaving about ½cm fat on the pork loin. If not already scored (as it should be), score the pork skin about 1cm apart. Season well with salt and pepper and place it on a tray in the oven to go crisp (it should take about 15 – 20 mins). Remove and reserve (I think this is best not reheated since that seemed to make it soften a little).

In a food processor (or pestle and mortar, if you are a masochist), smash the sage leaves, allspice, nutmeg, garlic and orange zest together with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix this combination into the softened butter. Cut the skin of each apple around its equator (to stop them bursting when they cook). Remove the apple cores with a peeler without piercing right through the apples. Pack each apple full of flavoured butter.

Over medium high heat, brown the pork loin all over in the roasting pan you intend to use. This will give you some good roasting fat but if there is too much, drain some out. Remove the pork loin and smear the remaining flavoured butter all over the fat side. Toss the parsnips and onions into the roasting pan and turn them in the fat. Add the apples, butter side down and put the pork loin back on top, fat side uppermost. Roast in the oven for 30 minustes. Take the pan from the oven and set the pork aside while you carefully toss the parsnips and onions in th epan juices once more (trying not to disrupt the apples). Reduce the oven to 280°C/350°F/gas 4, place the pork back on top of the pan and return it to the oven for about 40 minutes (check that the pork is cooked). Allow the pork to rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Turn the oven off but keep the veggies warm in the oven until ready to serve.

Method

Drain the beans, cover with fresh water and boil until tender removing all scum as they boil.

Season the chunks of lamb before browning in 2 tbs of oil in a large flameproof casserole. Put the lamb to one side and add the rest of the oil to the pan. Fry the onions until lightly golden then add 5 cloves of garlic and fry for another minute. Now add tomato puree and tomatoes and fry for a further two minutes. Stir in the flour and cool for 1-2 mins, return the lamb to the pan, pour in the wine and bring to the boil. Simmer rapidly until the wine has reduced by half. Add enough stock to just cover the meat and add the bouquet garni, a teaspoon of sea salt and plenty of black pepper. Part cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour or until the lamb is tender and the sauce has reduced and thickened.

Add the cooked flageolets and simmer uncovered for a further 5 – 10 mins until the beans have heated through. taste for seasoning.

Make some persillade by crushing 2 garlic gloves with the blade of a knife and chopping together finely with the parsley. Sprinkle this over the ragout and serve.

(Rick suggests serving this with tubetti pasta but I’d prefer some green vegetables or, at a push, ribbon noodles.)

Method

Empty the sauerkraut into a colander. If you prefer a milder flavour, rinse it to remove excess vinegar and drain it briefly. (Don’t squeeze it, we want a little moisture.)

Heat the oil over medium heat in a suitable casserole (which should have a tight-fitting lid). Fry the bacon lardons until the fat begins to run. While the bacon is cooking, remove any rind and bone from the pork chops and cut them into ½ inch chunks. When the bacon is browned and has released most of its fat, remove it from the pan and set aside.

Now add the pork chunks to the casserole and brown them evenly over quite high heat. While the pork is browning, skin, core and finely chop the apple. When the pork is browned, remove it from the pan and set aside with the bacon.

Now add the onion to the pan with a little more olive oil if necessary and fry until soft and translucent. Stir the apple into the onion and cook for another couple of minutes before returning the bacon and pork chunks to the pan. Toss in the crushed juniper berries, add the flour and stir. When the flour is incorporated, stir in the white wine and bring to simmering point.

Now lower the heat and stir the sauerkraut into the pan. Season with freshly ground black pepper and stir all the ingredients together. Cover and cook over very low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes. Adjust the seasoning – depending upon the bacon and the sauerkraut, you may or may not want to add a little salt.

Serve platefuls of this with glasses of hefe weizen.