Hough it up...*

 "mmmm... pig" - H.Simpson

(image borrowed from: http://warehouse.carlh.com/article_157)

Ubiquitous on restaurant menus over the past few years whether as terrine, croquette, shredded or some other variant, the ham hock is popular with chefs all over the country. As yet though they seem underused in home cooking, as evidenced by the difficulty you will have finding them in supermarkets. The reasons they are so beloved by chefs apply just as much in home cooking as professional and if you have never tried cooking with them I would urge you to have a go.

A long slow cook reveals huge flavour and is required to really make the best of them. Picking the rich, moist and sticky meat out from the fat, skin and gristle is an easy enough job once they are cooked. This meat is delicious in itself and can be used anywhere you would normally use ham; in sandwiches, salads, in pies, with egg and chips and so on. Whilst ham can be pretty expensive, particularly when bought ready sliced in little packets from the supermarket. This is certainly not the case with ham hocks (or ‘houghs’ if you prefer). This is a real highlight and one very good reason why it is such a popular component of restaurant menus. They are cheap. Really cheap. Our favourite local butcher sells them from free range pigs at just £2.50 each. To give you some idea the recipe below uses just two hocks and would easily yield 10 or so portions as a starter!

As suggested above, you won’t find them in the supermarket. My (not very) extensive research suggests that the closest you will get is in Waitrose where they sell it ready cooked and picked at £1.99 for just 90g. Speak to your local butcher though or go to a farmers market and you won’t have any difficulty. Braise them nice and slow with some veggies and flavourings, and then why not make yourself a terrine? There are plenty of recipes available on the internet. In fact if you scroll down a bit I'm sure it will come as no surprise to learn that there is one on this page. They're really easy to make and while time consuming are not labour intensive. Just slice to order when you are ready to plate up your dinner party starter for a fancy first course in seconds. Alternatively hack off a nice big fat slice when you get back from the pub for a satisfying snack, or pack in a bag with some cheese and pickle when heading out for a picnic. However you choose to enjoy the hock don’t forget the liquor it was cooked in, if not too salty it will make a great base for soup.

Frugal food at its best.

Cider Braised Ham Hock and Black Pudding Terrine

This is a slightly modified version of the classic which in fact isn’t a terrine at all (the word refers to the specific shaped container which this is not cooked or pressed in). Using a cider and apple juice braise rather than stock or water really comes through in the meat as a sweet apple note that is really complemented by serving it with an apple puree or crisp. It is worth getting quality black pudding for this recipe but as you are going to have to go to a butcher or farmers market anyway this shouldn’t be an issue.

2 ham hocks

1 ltr dry cider

1 ltr apple juice

1 large onion

1 leek

4 sticks celery

2 carrots

1 bunch parsley (leaves chopped, reserve stalks)

200g black pudding

Put the ham hocks into a deep pan with the veg and parsley stalks and cover with the cider and apple juice. Bring up to a gentle simmer and cook until the hocks are done. You can tell they’re done when the smaller of the two bones can be easily pulled out (will be a good few hours, at least 4).

While the ham is cooking crumble the black pudding and fry it off briefly before chilling it.

When the hocks are done pick them down to bite-size chunks and remove the fat, skin and gristle. This is best done while still reasonably hot and while wearing gloves.

Line a deep, flat dish with cling film (approx 12” square I reckon), layer ½ of the ham to cover the dish then put the black pudding over it in a single layer and then top with the rest of the ham. Cover the whole as evenly as possible (I’d suggest a few layers of cardboard cut to size) then weigh down (I use a cling film wrapped brick) and place in the fridge overnight.

Remove after pressing and re wrap with fresh cling film. It is now ready to slice up.

* sorry, couldn't resist.

First Barbecue of the Year

After having lived in rented places for the past 15 odd years we bought our first house last year and the opportunity to put our own stamp on our home means that I have been slightly DIY crazy recently. I have been working on various projects that I have always wanted to have a crack at but was never able to. One of these is the building of a brick barbecue.

Put in context, I am pretty much entirely useless at anything remotely practical and had never laid a brick in my life. No problems though, the internet has the answer to everything! I read through various instructions until I thought I could have a reasonable stab.

I have learnt many things from this building project, chief amongst which is that I really, really, really hate bricklaying! Most projects that I have tried in the past have had some redeeming feature but I came out of the three days hard, boring, hot and sweaty labour with my back, legs and arms aching for days afterwards. I would love to say that I have been left with a masterpiece in masonry but in truth what I have is wonky, full of ‘character’ and reminiscent of the architecture of ancient Rome (took more than a day to build, is basically a ruin and I fully intend to fiddle while it burns. Sausages that is).

Having put all the work in now it seems only appropriate to get as much use out of it as possible and so a midweek celebration in the form of an impromptu outdoor dinner is the only way to go.

Barbecue Ribs & Marinated Chicken

Bit of a crazy, mis-match of a meal this but then that’s what barbecues are supposed to be like isn’t it? The barbecue sauce used on the ribs is pretty much generic and will work on whatever meat you want it to (or veg I guess but if you’re only interested in cooking veg on the Barbie then you may be missing the point). Serve with various salads, bread, cold beer, wine and whatever takes your fancy...

Braised Ribs

1x Rack of pork ribs

Chicken Stock

Mirepoix (Onion, carrot, celery, leek etc chopped up)

Put the lot in a dish big and deep enough to enable you to cover the ribs with the stock. Cover with foil and put into a 150C oven for 2 ½ to 3 hours.

Barbecue Sauce

4 tbsp tomato ketchup

330ml (ie. a can) Cola

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp Chinese 5 spice

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Thumb size piece ginger, chopped

1 tbsp soy sauce

Put all into a pan and reduce by about a ½

Barbecue Ribs

As the braised ribs are cooling, paint them with the barbecue sauce a few times over. Put them onto a hot barbecue grill, continue painting with warm sauce until suitably caramelised, sticky and ready to eat.

Marinated Chicken

1 whole chicken

½ bunch thyme

3 cloves garlic, chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

½ glass white wine

Black pepper

Split the chicken into 10 pieces (2x thighs, legs, wings and 4x ½ breast pieces).Put all ingredients into a vac-pac bag and seal. Leave for an hour or so and then put into a pan of not quite simmering water for 30-40 mins. This will work perfectly well marinated traditionally for longer and then poaching or steaming the chicken or using a well sealed freezer bag in a pan of water. When cooked remove the chicken and chill.

Later on season and finish the chicken pieces on a hot barbecue until the skin is crispy and all pieces suitably brown.

Herb Bulgur Wheat

250g Bulgur Wheat

1x bunch flat leaf parsley

1x bunch coriander

Extra virgin olive oil

Cover the bulgur wheat in boiling water - just over twice as much, allow to absorb until cooked, sieve off any excess. While it’s cooking blitz the herbs with the oil, mix with the bulgur wheat while still warm and season to taste.

- Alan