Christmas Stuffing

Ho! Ho! Ho! 'Tis jollity time again and don't let the Scrooges dampen it for you (even if there is no bonus, Christmas lunch etc.), as long as there's Cider in the barrel go for it. We will be stopping production over the festive period so if you need anything, let us know. We already have a very 'stuffed' week ahead fulfilling our orders and you wouldn't want to be left out now, would you?

Bonfire Night

Never one to pass up a chance to let off a banger, on Friday The Lock Inn (C/Santa Teresa 14) are hosting a bonfire night in honour of that hero Guy Fawkes - where is he when you need him? This time we've made a special jumbo sized Cumberland saussie to go along with our mash of mashes and the demon onion gravy which has been slow cooking for a week. Why a witch on bonfire night you ask, well, just Google images of Guy Fawkes and you'll see why.

Lighting-up time

For those who are lucky to have a terazza, a garden or you live in a part of Spain with adequate Bar-b-q pits (i.e. NOT under trees) It's time to throw a proper sausage on the coals and now we're making burgers!! Next time, I'll post the demon recipe for ribs.

South African World Cup Sausage

I was asked to come up with a 'Boereswors' or 'Farmers Sausage' and seeing as it's the World Cup and the Bar-B season here it is. It's been tried and the verdict is good. It's not the normal mix but hey, it works.

To make about 3.6 kilos

1.5k beef

1.5k Pork

500g pork belly

30g salt

5.5gm ground pepper (you choose)

15gm ground coriander

1.2gm grated nutmeg

1.2gm ground clove

1gm thyme

1gm Allspice (I used Madras)

125ml. red wine vinegar

1 clove of garlic, crushed

50ml Worcestershire sauce

3.6gm Alkaline fix (optional)

2.7gm Sulphite (optional)

Grind the meat using a medium/coarse plate

Leave to stand in the fridge for a good 2 hours or 4 pints of Cider

Don't stuff them too tightly as it's a coarse mix

NOTE: only add about 50ml of water as the vinegar and sauce add a lot of moisture.

Spice specialists in Ireland

On a recent trip to Dublin I was able to visit the facilities of Blakes Ingredients http://www.blakesingredients.com/ where I was treated to a master-class in spices and additives by the staff. I didn't want to impose so I didn't take photos of the installation suffice to say it's the biggest spice-rack I've ever seen. I think I have the spice mix sorted out, now it's a problem to get get the correct casing, apparently the Spanish one I'm using is of a different calibre etc. But Hey Ho! These boys can supply it all plus, they were telling me, they can make up batches of spice mix AND they use the famous Irish rusk. I've brought back a few samples so look out.

A BIG THANK YOU to all at Blakes.

Cumberland sausage

The 'Cumberland Gap' by Lonnie Donnegan was No. 1 on the day I was born and one of my favourite series of books as a child (apart from 'Biggles') was 'Swallows and Amazons' by Arthur Ransome about the exploits of a group of kids in The Lake District. There was also a H.M.S. Cumberland which went all over the place.

Anyway, the Cumberland sausage has been requested by a potential client and who am I to stand in the way of progress. The sausage is normally presented in a large coil and then either baked whole or sold in lengths, it's ideal with mash and gravy. The raw ingredient for this was the Cumberland pig, a breed that died out in the 60's but has since been re-created genetically.

The Cumberland sausage's main characteristics are a courser mince and a reliance more on spice than herb although I think I will have to go there to find out.

To make 1 kilo, more or less. By the time butchers have finished adding bits and with rusk and water it can come in at 1.5k but the spice mix is constant;

900 gm pork shoulder

100gm fat

100 ml water

The mix;

20 gm salt

10 gm black pepper

3.3 gm nutmeg

.3 gm marjoram

1 gm ground cayenne pepper

.5 gm sage

100 gm rusk

Get your butcher to coarse-mince the meat and fat once, they can also just mince it once with their normal plate, end of story, sometimes a butcher might be reticent to start taking his mincing machine apart at 12:30 on a Saturday midday with a counter full of anxious shoppers, none of whom want to make sausages. This is where having your own little machine comes in handy.

Make up the mix and add to the meat.

Add water, just enough to make it 'sticky' but not enough as to turn it into a paste - way too much.

Chill the meat, drink cider, talk to women, watch Star Trek, footie, rugby...This process is quite important as it allows the mix to permeate and there are some discreet chemical things happening too and I'm not talking about the mixture of cider, women and Star Trek.

Stuff into hog casing.

As with most sausages, they are best left overnight in the fridge to 'bind' before cooking.

Sausage Fest in The Irish Rover

We are going to have a massive sausage fest on Sunday 7th Feb. The 'ad says it all. There will be photos.

Spanish Chorizo from the village beside where Alba's granny lives

Right, finally cracked a Spanish Chorizo recipe. Thanks to Alba's Granny. This has a had one or two changes but it meets with approval. This is a fresh sausage so don't hang it up in your kitchen and expect to enjoy it over the coming months - you might get more than you bargained for.

Chorizos del pueblo al lado de donde vive la abuela de Alba;

1k - Pork shoulder (Magro)

1k - Beef (Magro de ternera)

200g - Pork fat (Tocino)

60g - Paprika, not too hot - the authentic is 'Pimienta de la Vera'

3g - Alcaravea, if you can't get this substitute fresh ground fennel seeds.

10g - Fresh ground black pepper (Pimienta negra molida)

5g - Cayenne

40g - Salt

2.2g - Thyme (Tomillo)

2.2g - Cumin (Comino)

4 cloves garlic, crushed and lightly boiled in white wine for three minutes, strain and discard the wine (Cuatro dientes de ajo, machacado y rehogado en vino blanco durante tres minutos, colar y tirar el vino).

The meat and fat should be minced using a big diameter plate, combine all the ingredients, leave in the fridge for about 12 hours and stuff into hog casing.

The combination of the beef and the chunky mince give this a very tender, meaty flavour.