Details

Written by Tony Carson

Category: Recipes

Created: 09 January 2022

• Cured Meat
• Bacon
• Home Cured

I’ve gone for a more British cure this time. Clearly in this flat I’d get in trouble for a actually Smoking Cured Meats and the yellow tinge on the ceilings would not be welcome. So I’ve improvised, as ever…..

Ingredients:-

1 Kg of Pork Lion, with some of the fat and rind removed (We’ll be making Pork scratchings out of that bit!)
30g of Salt
2g of Saltpetre
3 Tbsp of Smoked Paprika
4 Tbsp of Paprika
1Tsp of Turmeric

Method:-

(1) Cut the rind and the greater part of the fat off. You can make outstanding crackling from this bit!
(2) Mix the rub ingredients in a large bowl.
(3) Coat the meat evenly on all sides and pummel a bit. (Think of somebody who has done you wrong!)
(4) Place in a box with a lid. It doesn’t need to be air tight.
(5) Pop in the fridge and turn every day for the first week.
(6) After a week remove the lid and turn weekly to absorb any remaining juices.
(7) At 2 months / 8 weeks you’ll have the best Bacon you’ve ever tasted. The longer you leave it, the better it gets.

Notes:-

The really fatty cut of Pork was good on this occasion because the fat cures along with the meat and will melt in the pan when the curing process is complete, adding flavour to whatever we cook it with.

Details

Written by Tony Carson

Category: Recipes

Created: 09 January 2022

• Chicken
• Gluten Free
• Air Fryer Recipes

If we owned a trumpet we’d be making a dreadful racket at the moment. We’re calling this a total Air Fryer success!!!!

Ingredients:-

2 Chicken Breasts
Parma Ham to cover the Chicken
1 Tbsp of Olive Oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
2 Clove of Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp of  Tomato Puree
500g of Passata
100ml of Chicken Stock
¼ Tsp of Sugar
125g of Mozzerella Ball, torn into pieces
40g of Grated Italian Style Cheese
1 Tsp of Mixed Herbs
Salt & Pepper to season

Method:-

(1) Season the Chicken with Salt and Pepper and wrap in Parma Ham length ways.
(2) Place the Breasts on a rack over Parchment paper and cook at 180c for 20 minutes in the Air Fryer.
(3) In a frying pan with a little Oil fry the Onions until softened.
(4) Add the Garlic and Tomato Puree & cook for a further minute or so.
(5) Pour in the Passata and Stock, season with Salt & Pepper.
(6) Add the Sugar and bring to the boil.
(7) Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 4 to 5 minutes.
(8) Pour half of the sauce into a roasting tin and place the Chicken on top.
(9) Cover with the remaining sauce.
(10) Arrange the Mozzerella on top and sprinkle over the Italian Style Grated Cheese & Mixed Herbs.
(11) Allow to rest for 5 minutes and then return to the Air Fryer for a further 8 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the Cheese has melted.

We have quite a bit of sauce in a tub in the fridge which we’ll use up today. The quantity of sauce would suit 4 Chicken Breasts. But, well you know there’s only the two of us…..

Details

Written by Tony Carson

Category: Recipes

Created: 07 January 2022

• Cured Meat
• Experiments
• Home Cured

This is a totally made up recipe. I appreciate it doesn’t look pretty at any stage so far, but cured meats are all about flavour - not appearances.

The main thing about long curing and dehydrating is to make sure that your Salt and Saltpetre concentrations are sufficient to ensure there is no bacterial growth. Clostridium Botulinum is not a welcome friend. Botulism is no laughing matter. A bit of white residue on the outside of the casings at this stage in nothing to worry about, it’s just Salts crystallizing as they migrate through the permeable skins.

Please note that the weight for the curing Salts are per 1Kg. If your scales only measure to 2g, like ours, you’ll need to subdivide the measures to match the weight of meat you are working with.

Ingredients:-

400g of very fatty Pork. We used Belly Pork with the rind removed.
22.5g of Salt - Per 1kg
2g of Saltpetre - Per 1kg
175Ml of cheap Red Wine
40 Black Peppercorns, simmered to soften and drained
2 Tbsp of Hot Smoked Paprika
2 Tbsp of Paprika
3 Tbsp of Cayenne Pepper

Method:-

(1) Simmer and drain your Peppercorns, set aside to cool.
(2) Roughly cut the Pork so it will go through the Mincer / Extruder.
(3) Mince into a large bowl.
(4) Add all the other ingredients and mix by hand very well.
(5) Remove the cutting blade and plate from the Mincer.
(6) Feel the mixture through the Mincer and us the nozzle to extrude into Sausage Casings.
(7) Twist and cut into suitable lengths and tie off with string.
(8) Place in your dehydration box and change the desiccant as required.
(9) Allow 2 months to fully cure and dehydrate.  

We started this in the 18th of December and it’s the 8th of January tomorrow. So we’ve had nearly 1 month curing and dehydrating. They now feel quite firm to the touch but still a little spongy in the middle if you press hard. So another month should do the job. I’ve created a little drying chamber with an air tight box and Silicone desiccant crystals which I pack the around the paper covered Pepperizo. I changed the desiccant every other day for the first couple of weeks. We’re now down it once a week as the greater part of the moisture has now migrated from the meat.

Details

Written by Tony Carson

Category: Recipes

Created: 07 January 2022

• Sides
• Air Fryer Recipes

A pretty good side using the Air Fryer, they are idea for these sorts of things.

Ingredients:-

Large Potatoes, sliced lengthways but not quite cut through
Spray Oil
Salt & Pepper
Garlic Butter / Margarine

Method:-

(1) Spray the Potatoes with a little Oil and season with Salt & Pepper
(2) Place on a lower shelf in the Air Fryer at 180c.
(3) Cook for about 10 minutes until softened.
(4) Remove and blather with Garlic Butter.
(5) Return to the Air Fryer until the Garlic Butter has melted in.
(6) Remove and serve with your main dish.