24 Apr

Butterflied Leg – or shoulder – of pork

Posted By Anthony @ 6:55 am in Blue Pig, Pork Cuts, Recipies

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/apr/24/jeremy-lee-easter-recipes

We think we love the Guardian newspaper group as they have another pork recipe in the Observer. This time from Jeremy Lee. He calls for a butterflied leg, but we are sure shoulder would work too. Butterflied is to simply remove the skin, split the joint and remove the bone. We can do that for you if you wish. Jeremy also recommends the use of rare breed pig too – so more brownie points. The recipe cooks the joint on a griddle but we reckon you could equally manage in the oven. Once the pork is opened out and cooking it is dead simple really. Fry a few onions and assemble some herbs, mix with olive oil and anoint ( to use a very Guardian word ).

Jeremy says; “The delicacy of a thin slice of a fine piece of thoughtfully cooked meat is truly special.”

What more needs to be said?

23 Apr

Roast Shoulder of Pork from Hugh F-W

Posted By Anthony @ 7:18 am in Blue Pig, Pork Cuts, Recipies

We reckon the Guardian newspaper must be picking up our vibes as they have another pork recipe this week. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall welcomes the late Easter as it will be warmer and you can have a little tipple outside. We would say he is a bit late as our sprogs have already been on 2 picnics and been paddling in the river. That’s despite our spring being 3 or 4 weeks later than the gentle climes of rural Dorset. Hugh even complains about the weather in March but the usual driving rain stinging your face is one of life’s natural tonics. Too much time in front of a TV camera and not enough outside we say.

All joshing aside this is a great recipe for a much underated part of the pig. The front end of the animal does the most work and is laced with fat to naturally keep the meat juicy. Naturally it is best done with rare breed, free range pork.

Link through to The Guardian for the full recipe.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/apr/23/easter-recipes-hugh-fearnley-whittingstall

16 Apr

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Bacon

Posted By Anthony @ 6:34 am in Bacon, Blue Pig, Pork Cuts, Recipies

If you are a lover of all  salty pork things there are three recipes here from the Saturday Guardian’s resident contributor. There is a bit of a theme at this particular newspaper group as Jay Raynor the Observers restaurant critic believes there is nothing that cannot be improved by the addition of some pig. We,of course, agree. We are not entirely sure though, that some one with a double barrelled name living the “good life” in soft Dorset is entirely a natural bedfellow for grumpy Yorkshire farmers. But hey ho perhaps bacon is the ultimate classless food.        http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/apr/16/bacon-recipes-hugh-fearnley-whittingstall

15 Apr

The Dales

Posted By Anthony @ 6:02 am in Blue Pig, The Farm

Adrian Edmondson in The Dales

      Its always with slight trepidation that we watch anything on the telly about The Dales or farming. It seems that producers can miss what we locals think are really important facts. We are even made to look a bit dim – but that might be true for some of us – mentioning no names. Any way Ade Edmondson is from Bradford so he is nearly local and if you have been watching his show on ITV about the Dales, the landscape looks as stunning as we know it to be. The programme has made the point that the Dales landscape is almost entirely man made especially by farmers.

          Nearly everyone has heard of the Settle to Carlisle Railway – even though it starts at Mearbeck – and everyone admires the network of drystone walls. Ade showed how the walls were there to keep the sheep at home and not just to look pretty for the tourists. So we hope you have enjoyed the show and that you too can “eat the view” here at The Blue Pig Company.

08 Apr

Is it too early for a BBQ?

Posted By Anthony @ 4:30 pm in Blue Pig, Pork Cuts, Recipies

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2011/04/chinese_marinated_pork_ribs.php#more

A Chinese recipe on a French food website and with the sun  shining perhaps the BBQ is being dusted off and wheeled out for another summer. The recipe in the link above is actually written to be oven baked but they could be done the day before and put on the BBQ to reheat. We have done a similar recipe for events and its always a hit. We reckon no one ever gets tired of sticky pork and gnawing at bones and if it rains you can just use the oven and eat indoors anyway.