Category: Meat and poultry
Showing posts with label Meat and poultry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meat and poultry. Show all posts
With the prices of meat soaring at the minute, pork fillet is a still very affordable meat. Pork lends itself to strong flavours. In this recipe I have used very seasonal ingredients red cabbage and apples; I have also added a touch of luxury to the mash with a little truffle oil.
This is a very straight forward recipe and easy to reproduce in the domestic kitchen and one that will impress your dinner guest.
Serve 4;
Ingredients;
For the truffle mash;
500g potatoes (Maris piper), peeled and quartered
100ml double cream
2tblsp truffle oil
Salt and pepper to taste
For the red cabbage;
1 large red cabbage, shredded
1tblsp sea salt
1bottle of red wine
250ml red wine vinegar
50g brown sugar
50g red currant jelly
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
4 juniper berries
2 sprigs of thyme, chopped
Seasoning
For the raisin jus;
1 sprigs of thyme
1 green apple peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove
50ml calvados
100ml white wine
200ml chicken stock
500ml beef jus
50g golden raisins
To serve;
2 pork fillet approx 500g each, trimmed of all fat and sinew
Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 baby leeks, cut in half lengthways and browned in olive oil
Method;
For the truffle mash;
Place the potatoes into a large saucepan, cover with cold water and add a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, cover and reduce the heat and cook until the potatoes are tender.
Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and return the hot pan to the stove. Place the double cream into a small pot and bring to the boil. Pour the hot cream over the potatoes and mash together until very smooth. Add the truffle oil and mix well. Season to taste and keep hot.
For the red cabbage;
Toss the cabbage in the sea salt, cover with cling film and leave to go limp in the fridge over night. Rinse well and drain. Place the remaining ingredients into a large pot and bring to the boil, add the cabbage and turn down the heat to a simmer, leave to simmer for 1 hour, stirring all the time, remove from the heat and strain of any excess liquid. Place the cabbage into a container and pour over a little of the liquid, cool and store in the fridge for a couple of days to allow the flavours to develop.
For the raisin jus;
Place thyme, garlic, apples and calvados in a pan and flame. Add white wine and reduce by ¾. Add chicken stock and reduce by ½. Add the beef stock and simmer until the sauce is reduced to the perfect consistency and taste. Pass the sauce through a fine sieve and season to taste and add raisins. Keep hot.
To serve;
Pre heat the oven to 190c.
Place a large pan over high heat and add a little oil. Add the pork fillet and sear on all sides until evenly golden brown all over. Remove from the pan a place on a tray. Place the pork fillets into the pre heated oven and cook for 5-6mins or until just cooked through and no more. The pork fillet eats at its best cooked to medium, but if this does not suit continue to cook for a further 3mins or so. Be very careful as the pork fillet will dry out very quickly.
Remove the pork from the oven and allow to rest for 5mins.
Re heat the red cabbage and the baby leeks.
Place 3 spoonfuls of the truffle mash neatly onto each plate, spoon the red cabbage in front of the mash. Carve each pork fillet into 8 slices and place 4 per plate on top of the cabbage. Arrange 3 baby leeks per plate and pour over the sauce.
Beef Wellington is a preparation of fillet steak coated with pate (often pâté de foie gras) and duxelles, which is then wrapped in puff pastry and baked. In this recipe I wrap the coated meat in a crepe to retain the moisture and prevent it making the pastry soggy.
A whole tenderloin may be wrapped and baked, and then sliced for serving, or as in this recipe, the fillet may be sliced into individual portions prior to wrapping and baking.
This is a classic dish and one that I have made with many different fillings, Venison, Pork and black pudding, Mini quail (as a starter) or even a vegetarian. The list is endless, but I do find that the classic beef Wellington is my personal favourite.
Serves 4
Ingredients;
For the beef ;
800g beef fillet
1tbsp olive oil
For the mushroom farce;
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1kg wild mushrooms, cleaned thoroughly of any grit
500g button, finely chopped
3 shallots peeled and finely chopped
1 head of garlic peeled and finely chopped
1 bunch fresh tarragon
1 tbsp reduced beef stock
For the chicken mousse;
3 chicken breasts skins removed, and chopped
12 free-range egg whites
500ml double cream
500ml whipping cream
salt and freshly ground white pepper
For the crêpes;
125g plain flour
pinch salt
1 free-range egg
150ml milk
150ml water
1 tbsp butter, melted
olive oil for frying
To build the wellington;
4 x 50g pieces foie gras
3 sheets ready-rolled puff pastry
2 free-range eggs beaten
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Madeira sauce;
1 shallot, finely diced
200ml Madeira
500ml beef stock
100g cold butter
1tblsp parsley chopped
Method;
For the beef;
Preheat the oven to 230c.
Tightly wrap the beef fillet in cling film and chill in the fridge for 24 hours.
Remove the cling film from the beef and cut into 4 individual 200g steaks. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan until smoking, then sear the beef for 2-3 minutes on all sides, or until golden-brown all over. Allow to cool, then tightly wrap up again in cling film and set aside.
For the mushroom farce;
Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil in a pan over a low heat and gently fry the wild mushrooms for 30 minutes, or until very tender. Set aside to cool, and then finely chop.
Return the pan to the heat without the wild mushrooms, adding more olive oil if needed. Add the button mushrooms and fry for 2-3 minutes, and then add the cooked wild mushrooms, shallots, garlic, tarragon and tablespoon of the beef stock. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture is quite dry, stirring well, then set aside to cool. When cool chop the mushroom mix quite finely with a large cooks knife.
For the chicken mousse;
Place the chopped chicken breasts into a food processor with the egg whites and blend until smooth. Pass the chicken mixture through a fine sieve, pushing the mixture through with the back of a ladle, then stir in the double cream and whipping cream and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the cooked mushrooms, then spoon the mousse into a piping bag with a wide nozzle and set aside.
For the crêpes;
Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl, then crack in the egg and mix well.
Add the milk and water and stir well, then add the melted butter and beat well until smooth and combined.
Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan, pour in a ladleful of batter and swirl around until it thinly covers the base of the pan. Fry for about 30 seconds until the underside is set and beginning to turn golden-brown, turn over with a spatula and cook on the other side
To build the wellingtons;
Lay out 4 crêpes onto a large tray, then pipe over and spread out the chicken and mushroom mousse, place a piece of foie gras on each and cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for one hour, or until set. When set remove from the fridge and place the seared beef on top of the chicken mousse, then roll the crêpes over the top to completely enclose the beef fillet. Wrap tightly in cling film and chill in the fridge for one hour to set.
For the Wellington pastry;
Preheat the oven to 180c
Roll out the puff pastry and cut into 8 disks, brush 4 with the beaten egg and place the beef parcels on top, then wrap the other pastry over the beef and press the edges together, sealing the edges. Brush the pastry all over with more beaten egg and rest for one hour. Brush again with the beaten egg, then season all over with sea salt.
Place the beef Wellington on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 14minutes, or until the pastry is golden-brown all over. Remove from the oven and rest for 10mins. This will produce a perfectly medium to rare wellington.
For the Madeira sauce;
Place a small pan over high heat and add a little olive oil, add the shallots and cook until soft. Add the Madeira and reduce until almost evaporated. Add the beef stock and bring to the boil, turn the heat to a simmer and reduce the stock until it starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and whisk in the diced cold butter, swirling around until it has all been incorporated. Make sure this is done of the heat, because if it becomes too hot the butter will split. Add the parsley and adjust seasoning.
To serve;
Cut each wellington in half and place onto warm serving plates, pour over the sauce.
I find it best to eat this dish with roast root vegetables and champ, but will go with a great selection of veg and potatoes, you just choose!!!
Category: Christmas recipes , Meat and poultry
Goose is a great alternative to turkey at Christmas and eaten with this red cabbage it gives a wonderful festive taste. The cabbage is best made a week in advance as this allows the pickling liquid to develop a fuller rounder flavour. The cabbage will keep for a month in the fridge and is great with cold meats or turkey sandwiches for the Boxing Day lunch. Cooked and prepared chestnuts are available from most supermarkets at this time of year and make a very interesting, festive stuffing.
SERVES 4
1 Goose kg in weight
For the stuffing;
1 onion, finely diced
100g butter
2tblsp sage, chopped
1 chicken stock cube
150g breadcrumbs
100g chestnuts, chopped
175g good quality sausage meat
Seasoning
For the braised red cabbage;
1 large red cabbage, shredded
1tblsp sea salt
1bottle of red wine
250ml red wine vinegar
50g brown sugar
50g red currant jelly
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
4 juniper berries
2 sprigs of thyme, chopped
Seasoning
For the potato gratin;
2kg of potatoes, peeled
2ltrs milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed
600ml double cream
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste
200g butter, cut into small pieces
Method;
For the potatoes;
Slice the potatoes thinly, place in a saucepan, and pour over the milk and season with the salt and pepper and half of the crushed garlic. Cook over a low heat until the milk is almost absorbed.
Rub a large tray with the remainder of the garlic and arrange the potatoes in the tray cover the potatoes with the cream, sprinkle with nutmeg and dot the surface with the butter.
Cook in the oven at 170c for 1⅓ hours, increasing the heat a little towards the end of cooking time to brown the top.
For the stuffing;
Place a pan over medium heat and add the onion and the butter cook until the onion is soft, add the sage and chicken stock cube and cook for a further 3mins. Remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs, add the chestnuts and sausage meat and season to taste. Leave to cool while you prepare the goose.
For the cabbage;
Toss the cabbage in the sea salt, cover with cling film and leave to go limp in the fridge over night. Rinse well and drain.
Place the remaining ingredients into a large pot and bring to the boil, add the cabbage and turn down the heat to a simmer, leave to simmer for 1 hour, stirring all the time, remove from the heat and strain of any excess liquid. Place the cabbage into a container and pour over a little of the liquid, cool and store in the fridge for a couple of days to allow the flavours to develop.
For the goose;
Pre heat the oven 200c.
lift the skin at the neck end of the bird and remove the wish bone, this will create more room for the stuffing and make it easier to carve. Turn the bird over onto the breast and loosen the skin, fill the cavity of the bird very generously with the stuffing. Pull the skin back over the stuffing and secure with a cocktail stick. Any left over stuffing can be rolled in buttered tin foil in the shape of a large sausage.
Season the goose all over with salt and pepper and place on a wire rack set over a baking tin. Place in the pre heated oven for 30mins. After 30mins remove all of the fat that has collected in the base of the tray under the goose. (Keep this fat for roasting potatoes to serve with the goose.). Return the goose to the oven and reduce the heat to 160c and roast for a further 1½ hours, basting every 20mins. Place the extra stuffing in with the goose after 45mins and cook for the remaining 45mins.
Once cooked remove the bird and the stuffing from the oven and keep in a warm place covered with tin foil for 15-20mins.
To serve;
Remove the cocktail sticks from the goose and remove the legs. Cut each leg into drumsticks and thighs. Carve the breast meat and divide between 4 plates, with a piece of drumstick or thigh, scoop out the stuffing and place some on each plate along with a slice of the extra stuffing, offer the cabbage, potato gratin and some gravy separately.
This is a great way of cooking the Christmas turkey. As turkey can be a very dry meat the sausage meat in the stuffing helps to baste the turkey from the inside keeping it very succulent and juicy. Any good butcher will do all of the boning of the turkey for you, which makes this recipe a bit easier. Cooked and prepared chestnuts are available from most supermarkets at this time of year and make a very interesting, festive stuffing.
Make sure that you keep all of the bones from the turkey, these will make a fantastic stock that can then be reduced to make your Christmas gravy.
SERVES 8-10
Ingredients;
1 turkey 3.5-4.5kg in weight, boned
1 onion, finely diced
100g butter
2tblsp sage, chopped
1 chicken stock cube
150g breadcrumbs
100g chestnuts, chopped
175g good quality sausage meat
Seasoning
Method;
Ask your butcher to bone and roll the turkey legs and to remove all of the sinew, and to bone the breast. You should have two rolled legs and two breasts with no bones. Keep all of the bones for the gravy.
For the stuffing;
Place a pan over medium heat and add the onion and the butter cook until the onion is soft, add the sage and chicken stock cube and cook for a further 3mins. Remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs, making sure that the breadcrumbs absorb all of the melted butter. Add the chestnuts and sausage meat and season to taste. Leave to cool while you prepare the turkey.
For the turkey;
Pre heat the oven to 180c.
Season the turkey legs well with salt and pepper. Roll the legs into a long cylinder shape, making sure the skin is on the outside and tie with kitchen string; this will help the leg hold its shape while cooking. Place in a large roasting tray and cook in the pre heated oven. The legs take 2 and half hours to cook.
Lay the breast skin side down on a chopping board and with a knife slice the turkey up the middle to butterfly them open. The butcher may do this for you. Season the inside of the turkey and place the stuffing in the centre. Roll up into a cylinder shape and tie with kitchen string, very tightly. After the legs have been cooking for 1 hour place the breast in the tray along with the legs and roast for a further 1 and a half hours.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20mins.
To serve the turkey;
Slice the breast meat and the leg meat. Place a slice of leg and a slice of breast along with a selection of roast potatoes, mash, roast carrots, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage and gravy.
Category: Meat and poultry , Pop up Belfast
The main course of the evening we had simply billed as a mystery ‘A Surprise for the Senses’. A mystery that wouldn’t even be revealed until the plate was delivered to the table. We had organised for the waiting staff to hand out blindfolds and I would then explain to the guest that this course was to be savored and enjoyed using only the sense of taste and smell and of course touch.
This worked well, with some people and others just couldn’t adjust to sitting in a room full of strangers, blindfolded and trying to work out what they were eating.
What this did achieve was a room full of nervous excitement and a great buzz throughout the dining room. We have done many blindfold dinners at the Merchant hotel, but never to the scale of 90 diners in one go. I think all will agree, whether they loved it or hated it, it definitely gave the room something to talk about.
Ingredients;
For the venison;
1kg wild venison loin, trimmed of all fat and sinew
1tblsp juniper berries
50g rosemary leaves only
250g blackberries
1tsp Maldon salt
For the beetroot;
2 large golden beetroot washed well
1ltr water
100ml red wine
50ml red port
50ml sherry vinegar
40g sugar
Seasoning
For the beetroot puree;
400g beetroot trimmings
3tblsp olive oil
2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves only
Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the Jerusalem artichoke puree;
500g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled
500ml whole milk
30g butter
500ml whole milk
30g butter
1-2tblsp double cream
For the potato croquettes;
1kg Maris piper or Desiree potatoes, peeled
20g butter
1 egg beaten
Maldon salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
100g wild mushrooms, cooked in butter and drained
100g softened butter
2 eggs lightly beaten
1cup plain flour
1 cup dried breadcrumbs
Maldon salt to taste
To serve;
Red wine jus
Method;
For the venison;
Cut the venison loin in half each weighing 500g each.
Place the juniper berries and rosemary into a mortar and bash to a coarse paste with a pestle. Add the black berries and salt and mash again very lightly. Lay the venison onto a tray and rub all over with the paste that has just been made. Place the venison into plastic vac pak bags and seal in the vac machine to remove all of the air and force the marinade into the meat.
Leave the meat to marinade for 24 hours.
The meat will be cooked in the bags in a water bath at 42c on the night of service.
For the beetroot;
Place the beetroot, water, red wine, port, sherry vinegar and sugar into a medium size pan.
Bring to the boil and reduce the heat to a simmer, simmer the beetroot for 1½ hours or until tender when pierced with a knife. Remove from the heat and allow the beetroot to cool in the stock. When cool enough to handle peel the beetroot. Cut the beetroot into even dices all the same size. Keep all of the beetroot trimmings for the puree.
For the beetroot puree;
Place the beetroot into a food processor and blend to a purée, slowly trickle in the oil to emulsify. Add the thyme and the seasoning and set aside. Cool and store in the fridge.
For the Jerusalem artichoke puree;
Cut the Jerusalem artichokes into chunks, and then put them in a pan with the milk. Bring the milk to a simmer and cook the artichokes for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft.
Strain the artichokes, reserving the hot milk, and transfer to a food processor.
Add the butter and blend for a few minutes until smooth, adding a splash of the milk, if necessary. Push the purée through a fine sieve back into the pan and season well. Stir in the cream and heat gently until you have a thick purée. Keep hot.
For the potato croquettes;
Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over medium heat and cook 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and place through a ricer. Stir through butter, egg and seasoning and mix until smooth; set aside to cool
Coarsely chop the mushroom and mix with the softened butter. Put potato mixture into refrigerator and chill until firm.
Place egg, plain flour and breadcrumbs in separate shallow dishes.
Roll the potato mixture into small oval croquette shapes and dip each croquettes into egg, then flour and then into breadcrumbs.
Cook croquettes, in a deep fat fryer in batches, for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden. Drain on absorbent paper and season to taste with Maldon salt and keep hot.
To serve;
Place a water bath on at 42c or this can be achieved with a pan of water , probed at 42c. Place the venison into the water bath for 1 hour.
Place a pan large enough to hold the two pieces of venison over high heat. Add a little olive oil. Remove the venison from the vac bags and drain well. Seal the venison all over very quickly in the pans, remember the venison will be cooked to perfection in the water bath; we are only trying to seal the meat and cook all over until golden brown. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
Place a pan over medium heat and add a little olive oil, season the beetroot squares with salt and pepper and roast until golden in the hot oil.
Spoon the cold beetroot puree onto the top of the plate. Spoon the hot artichoke puree onto the bottom of the plate.
Slice each venison into 9 slices and place three slices per plate in-between the purees.
Cut the croquettes in half and place two halves per plate, drizzle with a little red wine jus.
Place 4 golden beetroot squares into the purees.
Give your guest a blindfold and serve.
Don’t tell then the flavours and let them all try and guess, it’s great fun.
There are some basic cooking techniques that, once mastered, you can use on an almost daily basis. Others you’ll employ less frequently, though no less effectively. Boning a chicken falls into the latter category. It’s perhaps not something you’d attempt during the week after a long day at work, but a slow and rainy Sunday afternoon, when you’re craving a roast chicken, might just be the time to practice some knife skills.
As with all butchery, you’ll need a sharp boning knife, a heavy cook’s knife and a good sharpening steel to keep your blades honed during the process. Poultry scissors, available from select kitchenware stores, could also come in handy. Once you have your tools, it’s simply a case of patience, feeling your way and taking things slowly.
There are a couple of hints to bear in mind as you go. First of all, use the tip of your knife to feel out the bones, then follow them, using short sharp strokes to free the flesh from the bone. Use your other hand to hold the separated flesh out of the way so you can see your way clear to the next step. Next, aim to remove the bones with as little flesh on them as possible. This, of course, will become easier to achieve the more you practice. When cutting through joints, dislocate the bone from the socket and cut through the gap between ball and socket. This applies to all joints, be it wing or thigh. Finally, take care when using a sharp knife and for the best end result, use a free-range and/or organic bird.
So why bone a chicken (or any other bird) in the first place? Well, once the bones are removed, the bird can be dressed simply and roasted flat in a much-reduced cooking time. It also means the flesh cooks more evenly, lessening the potential for perfectly cooked breast and still-pink legs, or perfectly cooked legs and dried-out breast.
There’s also the opportunity to impart flavour through the use of stuffing, limited only by the ingredients to hand and your imagination. A tarragon and garlic-scented farce is easy and effective, or scatter the chicken with a mixture of sautéed chicken livers, pancetta and onion. Or channel Spanish influences, and stuff it with smoky chorizo, coarse breadcrumbs and oregano. The flavour of the chorizo permeates the flesh, making for a more-ish feast.
Once stuffed, rolled, tied and roasted, the lack of bones makes for easy-as-pie carving and restaurant-perfect presentation. You’ll also discover that a boned and stuffed chicken will feed more people than the average roast chook.
The bones don’t need to go to waste, either. Make them into a stock and freeze ready for the next time you want to make a soup or risotto (recipe follows).
Once mastered, you can apply this same technique to any bird, such as game birds, duck and guinea fowl.
Boning a chicken
Ingredients;
1 | organic chicken (1.8kg) |
Method;
Place chicken, breast-side up, on a cutting board. Use a boning knife to trim neck. Stretch out wings and cut off at joint closest to body, between ball and socket. Discard the wing tips, bbut keep them for the stock. | |
At the neck, pull skin back and slide knife along the underside of the wishbone, cut around and under, and pull out with fingers. | |
Turn bird over, breast-side down, and cut along either side of spine from tail to neck. | |
With short sharp strokes of your knife and keeping knife close to bones, separate flesh from carcass on both sides of spine. | |
Use the tip of your knife to find and cut through ball-and-socket joints of wing and thigh bones that connect to carcass. Dislocate them so they’re separated but still remain attached to skin on both sides. | |
Gently separate breastbone and carcass from the flesh (be careful as skin tears easily). | |
On both sides, cut flesh from curved (saber) bone near wing to remove. Holding wing bone from the flesh side, cut through tendons and scrape meat from bone using knife. Pull out bone, using knife to free it, then reposition so skin-side is facing out. | |
On both sides, hold leg bone from inside bird, cut through tendons and scrape meat from bone using knife. Pull out bone with knife, then reposition with skin-side facing out. | |
Deboned chicken is now ready for stuffing, roasting, pan-frying or grilling. Season to taste first. Alternatively, refrigerate until required.  Chicken stock; Ingredients; 10kg chicken carcasses roasted until golden brown 4 white onions peeled and roughly chopped 4 carrots peeled and roughly chopped 1 head of garlic cut through the centre 10lts water 1tblsp whole black peppercorns 4 bay leaves Method; Place all ingredients into a large stock pot and bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and allow to simmer for 1 hour, skimming all the time. It is important to keep the stock clear from scum at all times. After 1 hour remove from the heat and strain through a fine chinois into another pot, place back over the heat and reduce to desired consistency. I recommend reducing by half for soups and risottos ect or if using in sauces and gravies I would reduce the stock by ¾. This will give the stock body and a very rich depth of flavour. This recipe make quite a large quantity of stock. It is best to freeze the un used stock into 1ltr containers ready to defrost and use when required. |
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