The Hackney Butchers Association

Ok, so not the prettiest thing you've ever seen, but might tasty none the less! This smoked pigs cheek set me back the princely sum of £3. 3 hours of poaching in unsalted water later... and with the main skin (& hairy bits) removed... I now have a slab of incredibly tasty meat.  It has a very tender texture & can be eaten hot or cold.  It will keep for at least a few days in the fridge, and can be used instead of pancetta to flavour other dishes, or in small chunks with pasta etc.  It has a deep bacony flavour, with a pork belly texture.  It would be a shame to waste it. Unsmoked, the Italians call this cut Guanciale (meaning 'cheek').  There's a curing recipe on this site, CLICK HERE. Today I fried up a few slices in some olive oil with some left over cooked chard and a small sprinkling of cumin seeds.  Thankfully no one else was around, I could have got territorial.

Beautiful tender meat infused with Caraway seeds and garlic, with a mountain of crispy crackling. This has to be one of the cheapest cuts of meat and massively under-valued.  The ones I bought yesterday (from Theobalds ) were £1.80 per knuckle.  There is a lot of meat on them, a big one can easily feed two hungry & greedy people, that's porky-heaven at 90p per person!  It's a fatty cut so not for everyone I guess.  It's like a cross between gammon & pork belly.  You can use them for a classic pea & ham soup, or braised Chinese style with cinnamon and star-anise, or plain roasted like they do in Germany.  The last route is the one I did last night.   Yum... The cooking time is quite long, 2-3 hours, so this would be perfect for a lazy Sunday lunch on a cold winter's day.  Log burning fire... bottle of wine...or two... mmmnnnn CLICK BELOW FOR RECIPE:

This is a real treat.  We cooked this recently for a party and not a scrap was  left.  How much meat you get depends on how big your pig is!...  The last one we cooked was 8-10kg with head  trotters still on.  It easily fed about 16 adults and gaggle of kids. You should probably cook this on a rotisserie to get the real drama, but here's how to do it if you only have an oven.  This way gets amazing crispy skin and unbelievably succulent pork. I got my pig from http://alternativemeats.co.uk/. They do a massive range of game, goat, mutton and loads of really interesting meats like Crocodile, Buffalo, Kangaroo, Kudu, Springbok, Blesbok and Zebra.  This pig was £90, so not cheap!  But it goes a long way, and in in this instance it's worth splashing the cash! CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE:

Dead simple & delicious.  For a slightly Chinesey-vibe.  This came from a Nigel Slater recipe. It serves 4, but would be incredibly easy to scale up for many more. RECIPE BELOW:

This is a Nigel Slater jobbie.  It's very simple, but gives a tiny twist to a mid-week quick dinner. RECIPE BELOW:

Guanciale is salt cured Jowls.  It is the traditional cut used for Carbonara & all'amatriciana.  It has a rich, porky flavour.  Yum. Similar to bacon, this is really easy to do.  Next time I'm at the butchers I'm going to get 1kilo of pork jowl and try it out.  All you need is salt, string and 1 month's patience. I found this great & simple explanation on the Babbo Restaurant (NYC) website .  Gotta love it! For smoked pork jowls CLICK HERE .

It's straightforward stuff, and can be done in under a week.  The end result will last for a week, or can be frozen for 3months. Use Belly for Streaky Bacon. Loin for 'Back Bacon'. I found this good site "The Accidental Smallholder" , that clearly explains the process of both wet-curing and dry-curing.  Another great site The Cottage Smallholder has a really simple way of doing unsmoked bacon.  It only takes 4 days and uses molasses & less salt. When it comes to smoking, use only hard wood chips.  Evergreen woods can give an unpleasant flavour. Wood Characteristics Apple Slightly sweet, fruity smoke that is mild , but capable of flavoring bacon Cherry Slightly sweet, fruity smoke that is mild , but capable of flavoring bacon Hickory Strong hearty taste Oak Strong, earthy smoke for a robust bacon Maple Sweet smoke – good for bacon ...

This mad and noisy shop never ceases to amaze...  I love it. Last night I saw that they now sell, trotters, pig's ears, pig tripe, bags of pork blood etc etc.

This is a warming, filling, spicy treat.  The pork can be replaced with salmon, chicken, beef or soya.  It will be just as fantastic. I used some Rau Ram, Vietnamese Coriander (Cilantro).  It's like a milder version of coriander with a slight lemony taste.  I think normal Coriander gives a more interesting flavour, but thought I'd give the real Mcoy a go this once.  I always use galangal rather than ginger. RECIPE BELOW:

For the cider and apple sauce (makes enough for 4 servings, or 1 really greedy one) 20ml groundnut oil 500g pork bones (ask your butcher), chopped small 1 large onion, peeled and chopped 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped 1 celery stick, chopped 2 garlic gloves, peeled and crushed 1 bay leaf 1 thyme sprigs 2 sprigs tarragon 1 granny smith apple, chopped 300ml dry cider 400ml chicken stock Method: To prepare the cider sauce. Place a heavy-based pan over a medium-high heat and heat up, and then add the oil. When it is almost smoking, add the pork bones and cook, stirring frequently, until they are deep golden in colour. Add the vegetables, garlic and herbs, lower the heat and cook for 8-10 minutes or until softened and golden. Add the chopped apple and cider. Bring to the boil and simmer to reduce by half, and then add the stock. Bring back to the boil, skim and simmer again for 20-25 minutes. Pass the sauce through a fine sieve into a clean pan and simmer to reduce by...

This is a Jamie Oliver recipe. It's a dramatic roast. I've done it quite a few times and look forward to doing it again. I'm hungry just thinking about it. The main flavours are paprika, rosemary & red onion. It smells incredible as you cook it. Even my kids love it... I always roast up a load of mixed peppers with it & serve up some irony greens. It's great. HERE IT IS... I make lots and then freeze any left-over beans. They make a great instant meal another time. I made amazing pork scratchings by roasting up all the pork trimmings with chilli seeds and dried mixed herbs. I know it's not exactly health food, but worth it...

This is so easy & totally delicious! 5 garlic gloves 2 tbsp fennel seeds 3 tbsp chopped parsley 2 teaspoons sea salt olive oil Pork loin 2-3kg on the bone (preferably rib end) 1. (5mins) Finely cut & bash up the PARSLEY, FENNEL SEEDS, GARLIC and SEA SALT. Add just enough nice olive oil to make a paste & rub on any joint of pork. Leave uncovered overnight in the fridge.... Next day cook pork as normal. Serve with roasted spuds etc. It's so damn good.... BIG FLAVOURS & ROUGH EDGES was the Eagle Pub's first book. It's was reprinted in 2009 as The Eagle Cookbook: Recipes from the Original Gastropub.