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Easy Instant Pot Salsa Verde using green tomatoes
Do you plant tomatoes? We plant a lot. Along with onions, garlic and wine 😁 they are a staple for us. I can make many meals with this combination - the wine is for drinking lol.
I used to buy a lot of tinned tomatoes but last year I decided I was only using fresh and frozen tomatoes. The frozen are perfect for my "homemade tomato pasta sauce". Although the skins come off easier once they are frozen I don't bother taking them off - I just blitz them with an immersion blender after they are cooked.
Right now we are waiting for some ripe tomatoes but in the mean time I am going to make a recipe that one of our lovely customers sent me.
It’s a Chicken Salsa Verde from Kenjis cooking show - I substitute green tomatoes because I don’t grow tomatillos (and I can’t get them locally anyway)
Tomato storage tips -
Do not refrigerate.
Store at room temperature, stem side down (out of the sun)
Freeze whole washed tomatoes in a ziplock bag. These are perfect for sauces, purees and salsas.
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5 things you need to know before buying a side of pork
5 things you should know before buying a side of Pork!
When you want to know how your food is raised it just makes sense to buy direct from a farmer.
Usually this means you have to buy in bulk and have to buy a half an animal.
Dealing with the farmer is usually the easy part.
Dealing with the processor can be intimidating - the terminology is weird and you don’t know what you don’t know!
It is totally different than going to the store and buying a pack of pork chops.
What is a side of pork?
How is it sold
What does hanging weight mean?
What is cut and wrap?
How much meat is half a pig?
Even with over 25 years of experience farming & working in the meat industry (both here in Canada and back home in the UK) I have seen so many differences between processors and their charges.
Many have additional charges you didn’t know you needed to ask about - I joke with my processor and ask when he will be charging a smiling charge lol - at the moment a smilke is free!
What is a side of pork?
This is half a pig. (Not to be confused with side pork which is pork belly). Sometimes it is called a half hog,
2. How is it sold?
This varies from farmer to farmer. Some will give you a set price but most sell based on hanging weight.
Then cut and wrap is usually done by a processor and costs extra - many farmers let you deal with and pay the processor.
(We differ from most farms - we talk to our customers to help them get the cuts that are right for their families and we talk to the processor on their behalf so there is nothing lost in translation.)
You will notice a huge difference in hanging weight prices from farmers - this is because every farmer has different input costs.
3. What is hanging weight?
This is the weight after the animal has been dispatched and gutted. It is sometimes called rail weight.
The farmer and processor both usually charge on hanging weight.
Some processors will weigh the animal with with skin and head on.
Some hanging weights are skinless.
This can make a huge difference to the price you pay for the product you get back. Depending on the size you could be paying for and throwing 50lb away
4. What does cut and wrap mean
There are hundreds of variations between each processor and often you don’t know what to ask or expect.
We have experienced many extra costs that we didn’t know we needed to know. E.g packaging types, labelling, boxes, de-boning, outdoor raised pig charge, carbon tax - I am still waiting for that smiling charge lol
The processor will - or should cut and wrap your pork how you want - some will do a standard cut and you get what you get - they may even automatically de-bone everything and even throw the fat away - which is a crime for us as that is a ton of flavour they are throwing out.
You may have wrapping choices
Brown wrap
Double wrap - cellophane around the meat then brown wrap. - this is what we choose because the product lasts longer
Vacuum pack - this is great but the bags tend to blow, especially if they vac seal bone in products - then you have to use the meat quickly or it will freezer burn - this also usually costs more - we have been charged anything from 10c/lb on the meat put in the vac pack to $1/lb hanging weight (additional to cut and wrap charges ) - again it depends on the processor
Your processor should label the packaging for you with what is in the package - they don’t all do this.
5. How’s much meat do I get? Is a side too much?
Even though we are just a 2 person family I don’t find a side of pork too much meat. Our pigs are around 200lb hanging weight so a side is 100lb which will give us 70+lb meat the way I get ours cut and wrapped.
Having a good selection of pork at my fingertips means I can create an awesome dish any night of the week and I often substitute pork for beef.
Your meat yield will depend on the cuts you choose.
If you choose everything boneless you will get a lot less weight back than the original hanging weight. Plus you are losing flavour.
Sometimes you can get back the offal - liver, heart and kidneys - though this is not usually in the hanging weight because it is removed before weighing. You would have to check with your farmer and the processor.
An e.g of one of our sides of Berkshire Pork standard cut is
100lb hanging weight @ $6.95/lb including processing fees.
The way we cut and wrap ours we get about 70+lb meat back
At our todays prices that’s $695 for 70+lb pork (bacons, ham and sausage processing is extra)
If you would like more information about our Berkshire Pork feel free to get in touch
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Instant Pot Jerk Pork 2 ways
Doesn’t time fly - we have been in Canada almost 18 years now and we just celebrated our 21 st wedding anniversary. It was lovely to dig out our wedding photos. We had a small wedding ceremony and a large fancy dress party at night where Carl dressed as Henry the 8th and I went as Catherine Parr (the last of King Henry’s wives - I didn’t want to be one of the beheaded wives)
We saved most of our wedding budget for our honeymoon in the Caribbean. It was an all inclusive holiday so all you can eat and drink - soo much that I can’t remember what we ate but we drank lots of cocktails.
I wanted to make a Caribbean inspired meal to celebrate - I have no idea where the inspiration came from to call it “ Drunken Jerk” maybe I have said those words before lol.
I made a drunken jerk pulled pork using the instant pot with one of our Boston butts and used the juices for a jerk bbq sauce and the rendered pork fat to roast the potatoes. Omg it was sooo good!
We enjoyed it so much I made it again using one of our boneless pork legs. This time I used homemade pork stock because I didn’t have any beer.
Both were a big hit with plenty of leftovers.
The pork shoulder leftovers I made pizza using the bbq sauce (instead of a tomato base) I topped it with pulled pork, cheese, onions and tomatoes.
The leftovers from boneless leg were enough to give us plenty of Sandwiches and a huge pot of jambalaya.
I used the Instant pot but you can make it in a slow cooker or in the oven too.
Tip - Cook potatoes in the jerk stock before roasting them - they are so good and why waist all that delicious flavour.
I also froze the left over jerk stock just for cooking potatoes in.
I also did a small 90 second video on Instagram with some of our wedding pics and memories. (You don’t need to be on Instagram to watch it) It should work if you click the link is below.
If you watch until the end - that is what we feel like now lol.
How to cook an Easter Ham or Gammon plus 2 of my favourite glazes
When we were kids we usually just ate Easter Eggs, no special meal on Easter Sunday because we were in the middle of lambing - this means all our sheep were having their babies and it’s all hands on deck for 6 weeks.
We were very good at fending for and feeding ourselves. Cereal was kept in a cupboard that we could reach and we would often make toast if we were hungry - there is nothing like toast made on an Aga (a massive cast iron cooker common in many farmhouses back home - it also doubles as a heat source and most farmers I know used them to revive hypothermic or sick lambs. We used to sit on top of it and warm our legs in front of the top oven when we were cold - first back in the house got the warm spot! - this also meant that we had let all the heat out so mum wouldn’t be able to cook in it until it got back up to temperature.)
Those days are long gone for me and I do have time to cook an Easter meal - though I don’t yet know what it will be yet this year. I am sure mum still doesn’t cook anything - and I can’t ask her because she will be busy in the midst of lambing! If I could I would send her one of our part cooked Hickory smoked hams as they basically only need reheating.
Tips
You can slow cook a smoked ham - it’s really easy, my friend Christie always cooks her smoked ham from frozen. She said she takes it straight from the freezer, puts it in the slow cooker in the morning and in the afternoon it’s done and delicious! You can’t get easier than that!
You can precook your gammon and glaze it just before you need to serve it - I never do this because Carl eats it all before I get a chance to glaze it! The upside of that is the whisky maple glaze is great on ice cream lol! -It’s my new favourite glaze!
You will need a longer glazing time for a precooked cold ham. Approx 45 mins from a room temperature.
Before carving your cooked ham, let it rest 15 minutes to redistribute juices and firm up the meat.
Cola Ham
Ingredients
4lb Cobblestone Farm Bone-in Gammon
1 onion (peeled and cut in half)
2 litres coca-cola - must be the full sugar stuff and this is the only time I buy cola & it is Christmas
Cloves for studding the fat
Directions
Put the gammon in a pan, add the onion, then pour over the Coke.
Bring to the boil, reduce to a good simmer, put the lid on, though not tightly, and cook for 2 hours. Or Cook in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours.
If the gammon's been in the fridge right up to the moment you cook it, you will have to give it a good 15 minutes or so extra so that the interior is properly cooked.
Make your favourite glaze.
Score the fat with a sharp knife to make fairly large diamond shapes, and stud each diamond with a clove.
Carefully apply your glaze
Finish in a 450F oven for about 10 mins until glaze is bubbly.
Oven-baked Smoked Ham
Ingredients
4lb Cobblestone Farm Smoked Ham
Glaze of your choice
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degree F
Score the fat.
Put ham in a roasting pan cut-side down.
Brush with your favourite glaze.
Tent it with foil.
Bake it for approx 20 minutes per pound until it reaches 160 internal temp.
Every 20 minutes or so, brush the ham with more glaze and baste it with the pan juices.
To finish, remove the foil tent, brush the ham with glaze and pan juices one more time, and turn the oven to broil.
Broil for about 3-to-5 minutes until the outside glaze is deliciously caramelized -- but watch it closely so it doesn't get too dark.
Whisky Maple Glaze
Ingredients
¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup of maple syrup
¼ cup of whisky - I used salted caramel whisky, it was delicious - I don’t know if you can stiill get that
Salt and pepper
Directions
Whisk together ingredients
Carefully pour over ham
You could use rum instead of whisky.
Honey Mustard Glaze
Ingredients
1 heaped tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons English mustard powder
2 tablespoons turbinado or brown sugar
Directions
Carefully spread the honey over the fat.
Gently pat the mustard and sugar onto the sticky fat.
Patricias boiling bacon
Last year one of our customers, originally from Ireland, asked for some bacon ribs and a boiling bacon joint (we call it a joint in the UK). The boiling bacon is a popular St Patrick’s day dish - though obviously, you can eat it anytime,
Years ago I used to make sweet and sour ribs with the bacon ribs, you just don’t see them here nor do you see boiling bacon. Basically, it is cured shoulder or loin, the ribs are cured ribs. We had some made and Patricia, one of our Canadian customers tried one and loved it and was kind enough to share her recipe, which sounds delicious! You could also use gammon in this recipe.
Patricia’s Boiling Bacon with apple cider
Ingredients
3-4 lb Cobblestone Farm Berkshire boiling bacon joint
1 tbsp caraway seeds
5 or 6 cIoves garlic
1 lb carrots sliced
1 small cabbage chopped
1 chopped onion
4 celery stalks, chopped
Small palmful caraway seeds
Apple cider (hard or regular)
Directions
Put the boiling bacon and 1 tbsp caraway seeds in a large pot on the stove and cover with water.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour
Remove the boiling bacon from pot, (reserve the stock) and put in slow cooker with, onion, celery, cabbage and carrots and a palmful of caraway seeds
Cover with a 50/50 mix of cider and the reserved bacon stock
Slow cook until the bacon falls apart.
Serve with boiled potatoes.
Tip save the stock for soups
My pioneering spirit comes from my mum, a first generation farmer of the 50’s
Deciding to Raise Free Range Rare Breed Berkshire pigs thousands of miles from the farm I grew up on back in the UK has to be one of the craziest ideas I had - even my mum who is a pioneer of her time thinks I am a bit nuts lol. I am sure people thought the same of her when she wanted to start her own farm in the 1950’s.
My gran used to send mum to local farms as a child or put her on the milk float to help with milk deliveries but that is as far as her farming experience went.
With no farming background but determined to farm, she went to Agricultural college then with the help of her sister and a college friend she started Farming In 1957 on a 300 acre farm in Gisburn, Lancashire.
Starting with a small sheep flock of 40 ewes (breeding female sheep) and 10 dairy cows which gradually increased to about 60.
In 1965 she married my dad - when I was born the hospital asked her what her occupation was - she said Farmer, Fathers occupation - she replied Farmers husband - lol!
Together they raised sheep, cows and pigs. Dad also raised ducks and pheasants and we had a few chickens when we were small - I always remember asking if we could have chicken for Sunday dinner and we were told to go and catch one - I’m not sure if we did they were bantams and likely wouldn’t have had much meat on them anyway.
A lot of farming is learn as you go and trial and error - they taught themselves how to shear sheep from a book - dad shearing and mum frantically turning the pages to tell him what his next move was lol - I can only imagine the profanities!! It took them 20 mins to shear their first sheep.
In the early 1970’s they took some Hampshire (breed of sheep) tups (male sheep) to the Great Yorkshire Show - which is one of the biggest events in the agricultural calander. If you have ever seen a sheep show you will know that the sheep are led into the show ring on halters. This takes some training, normal people would do this before getting to the showground! I guess they didn’t have time so they trained them on the day - mum said they followed every class down the alleyways to the show ring. By the time it was their class the tups were trained! The judge even commented on how well trained they were and they came away with 3rd prize.
When we fed the sheep in the field dad used to put us In what was called “the box” it was a metal rectangle that hitched on to the tractor and was used to take bags of feed up the field for the sheep.
Us kids would open the bags and spill the food off the back for the sheep to eat while dad drove the tractor. It was always so bitterly cold and after we emptied the feed bags we would get in them to keep warm, I never remember having gloves.
Mum said she didn’t remember us doing that but she did remember putting us in a dustbin (garbage can) !! I was a bit shocked because I can’t remember this. Then she explained that it was only while they were milking and it wasn’t every day - oh that makes it ok then lol - maybe this is why I choose to block it out 😂😂😂. The bins weren’t especially for us they were used for cattle feed - lol not sure how that makes it better - I imagine we used to eat a lot of the feed! We were lucky we actually had a bin each we didn’t have to share! I am sure I don’t have any long-lasting damaging effects from that experience lol.
When the dairy needed a lot of expensive upgrades and repairs they sold the dairy herd and bought a few pigs, which they sold in 1980’s. Mum started to build up a small pedigree Simmental (breed of cow) herd along with some cross-bred beef cows.
I always remember when we moved the cows from field to field there was one that was always last - every time it was at the back of the herd. This is my last memory of our beef herd.
In May 2001 our farm suffered the devastating loss of all the cows and sheep to Foot and Mouth. 200 cows and 500 sheep plus lambs - some were born on the morning of their slaughter - this took a terrible toll on my dad - carrying the newborns to the vets and slaughter guys.
Mum said on Sunday morning they called the vet to check a potential foot and mouth case and by 4 pm the next day everything had gone. All the animals had been put down and the remains incinerated and cleared away.
Even after that terrible tragedy they built the farm back up - starting with a small flock of sheep. Now they are back up to around 450 breeding ewes and 120 head of cattle for finishing (they buy young beef animals and take them up to butcher weight)
Nowadays she spends a lot of her time keeping on top of the paperwork that British farmers have to do while my brother does the labour side. She lets him run the beef herd but she still actively keeps an eye on her sheep flock. She is a numbers woman and keeps track of all her sheep and lambs. It’s easier now that she has an electronic ear tag reader - my brother said she is like Darth Vader with a light Sabre when she goes out to the sheep pens to read the ear tags. In the old days we were the light sabres reading ear tags and mum wrote it down with a pen and paper.
An inspiration to us all mum has been farming for over 65 years and is the driving force behind her farm - and we all know who the boss is lol!
A quick tip on the best way to pull pork from Prairie Smoke & Spice
With spring fast approaching I am looking forward to digging out my BBQ - yes it is actually buried under 8 ft of snow right now! I am craving some BBQ pulled pork and yes I know I can make it in the house but my stove broke before Christmas so I am limited to my cooking options right now.
For pulled Pork I just sprinkle salt and pepper onto one of our Berkshire Bone-in Pork Butts and cook it low and slow - but I never knew that how you pull it makes a difference.
For the best BBQ tips I follow Rob Reinhardt at Prairie Smoke & Spice on Instagram. Last week Rob did a quick video about the best way to pull pork. Who knew there even was a best way?
Sometimes the simple tips are the best! No need for forks or after-market tools just use your hands. They pull thousands of pork butts every year and Rob says that pulling pork into thumb-size chunks gives a better end result that doesn’t leave you with dried out pork.
Based in Regina, Prairie Smoke & Spice are Canadas most decorated BBQ team with
23 Grand Championships
2 World Championships
over 250 awards
If you want to learn from the best Rob also does BBQ classes starting on March 2022
Roast Leg of Berkshire Pork
Remember when Sundays were a Lazy day?
When we were kids we always had a family Sunday dinner when it was ready which was about 2 pm. After all the animals were fed, watered and checked we would have the rest of the day off. Lunch, maybe a movie & always boiled eggs for tea. It actually was a day of rest.
When you live at the same place you work, on the farm, it’s really hard to take time off. We can always find something to do and it is usually means working.
Over Christmas I realized we needed to get off the hamster wheel and slow down. Since the beginning of the year we have managed to have old fashioned Sundays, it’s been great! Proper Sunday Roast dinners in the middle of the afternoon and then doing nothing.
Last weekend I also realized that I couldn’t remember when I last cooked a Roast leg of our Pork. How bad is that for a Pork producer lol. Omg, it was delicious. just a sprinkling of salt on the scored fat - yum.
Lazy Sundays and Roast dinners are definitely back on our menu.
Roast leg of Berkshire Pork
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Pat skin dry. Score the fat with a sharp knife about 1/2 “ intervals.
Rub salt into skin and fat.
Put in a roast pan and roast at 425F for 20 mins uncovered.
Then reduce temperature to 375 F and cook for 30 minutes per lb, plus an extra 30 minutes.
Do not cover pan.
Cook to internal temp 165 -( the old way is to make sure juices run clear).
The drippings make the best gravy. I make a roux with the pork fat (equal parts fat and flour) then add juices from the roast and either pork stock or water from any veg I have cooked) Once it has boiled I add soy sauce and pepper. The soy sauce adds a wonderful flavour as well as colouring the gravy.
Tip - for the most delicious crispy fat and to be honest our favourite - grind equal quantities of fennel seeds, black pepper and sea salt in a pestle and mortar and sprinkle on scored fat…. It’s delicious!
Home made “not baked” beans an easy to make Comfort Food recipe
When it comes to comfort foods I have a long list - I just love food! A full English Breakfast has to be close to the top - bacon, sausage, black puddings, eggs and baked beans. Really it's good at any time of the day not just for breakfast.
Admittedly I could leave out baked beans but Carl likes them so I always used to try and have a tin in the pantry. When we were craving a proper full English breakfast and didn’t have any I had to make beans from scratch.
Now the law has been passed by Carl he said the home made are way better than Heinz beans - I just made myself more work lol. They are easy to do so I just make up large batches and freeze them now.
It's a great recipe for using up saved bacon fat or smoked ham bones (even the small ones in a ham steak can be added for a great smoky flavour)
This is not baked but made on the stovetop and you can freeze the leftovers. It works well with both tinned and dried beans - we like dried navy beans, it just takes longer to make.
You can also add some leftover cooked sliced sausages to the beans. Top with some bacony breadcrumbs (Pulse 3 or 4 slices in a food processor with a small amount of melted bacon fat and a clove of garlic) Put under the grill to crisp up. Quick, easy and Delish!
These are also great served with sausage rolls or cheese and onion pie.
(Not Baked) - Baked Beans
Ingredients
9 oz dried beans (or 1.5lb drained beans) - You can use any you like - I use dried navy beans or tinned black beans
1 dried bay leaf
1 tbsp bacon fat/butter or lard
1 large onion diced
1 stick celery
2 cloves garlic grated
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2tsp smoked paprika
3⁄4 tsp dried oregano
3⁄4 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tin whole tomatoes
1 tbsp molasses
500 ml berkshire pork bone broth
1⁄4 - 1⁄2 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1.If using dried beans cook them according to package instructions with the bay leaf.
2. In a separate large pan heat bacon fat (or lard or butter) over medium heat and fry diced onions for about 10 mins until soft.
3. Stir in celery, garlic, spices and herbs and cook gently for 5 mins.
4. Turn up the heat and add tomato puree, tomatoes, molasses, pork bone broth, salt and pepper and cook for 30 mins
5. Add the beans and simmer with a lid on for 30 mins. Remove lid towards the end to thicken the sauce if needed.
6. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter then add tamari - it is salty so add a bit at a time and keep tasting before adding more. Tips - For a smoky flavour you can add a smoked ham bone or use smoky bacon fat.
enjoy!
Delicious Berkshire Pork and Apple Burger
Here is another of my favourite ground pork recipes. Is so good as a burger but you can also use it as a stuffing. We have ours with potatoes cooked in bacon fat - delicious!
Berkshire Pork & Apple Burgers
1lb Berkshire ground pork
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp dried sage or 5 sage leaves finely chopped
2 dessert apples
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup fresh pressed sweet apple cider or 1 small apple peeled and cored (i liquidized it)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp lard or oil for frying.
Directions
Toast coriander seeds and black peppercorns for 1-2 mins in a dry pan until fragrant. then crush them in a pestle and mortar until well crushed.
Peel, quarter and core 2 apples then chop into 3- 4mm cubes and squeeze lemon juice over them
Liquidize 3rd apple if you don’t have apple cider
Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly.
shape into 4 burgers and chill for at least 30 mins.
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add lard.
Add burgers and fry for 10-15 mins until cooked through (165 degrees F)
Remove from pan and let rest for 5 mins.
Enjoy.
Variation - Put a piece of mature cheddar cheese in the centre of the burger before you cook it.
If you make this recipe I would love to know what you think - you can leave a comment below.
Berkshire Pork Pernil
I saw this on Guy Fieris big bite and it is so good - Our new favourite pork shoulder recipe.
I set out with the best intentions of following his recipe to the letter but as always I got distracted and forgot to put it in the oven so had to use the Instant Pot to speed up the cooking time, then I finished it off on the bbq…. and I even managed not to burn it! (unlike my sausage rolls - they just did not work on the bbq)
It was delicious. I also used 1/2 cup orange juice instead of fresh squeezing it and I didn’t have chipotle so just used the adobo sauce. To be honest it is just as good without the adobo sauce.
Ingredients
1 Cobblestone Farm Berkshire pork shoulder - bone-in, (5 - 6lb)
6 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
1 small bunch fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon ground cumin
4 limes, juice (and zest if you feel like zesting them)
2 oranges, juiced or I used 1/2 cup orange juice
1 chipotle in adobo, plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce (optional)
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon pepper (black or white)
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Place the Berkshire pork shoulder, fat-side up, on a cutting board. Score the fat in a criss-cross pattern, making diagonal cuts about 1 1/2 inches apart and cutting into the meat (but not right to the bone) so the marinade can penetrate.
Put the pork shoulder in a large re-sealable plastic bag set over a baking dish or you can use a bowl.
Put the garlic, oregano, cilantro, cumin, lime juice, orange juice, chipotle and adobo sauce, salt and pepper, olive oil in a blender.
Blend until pureed. Pour the marinade all over the pork and make sure it gets into the deep cuts. Seal the bag and refrigerate overnight - up to 24 hours (I turned mine and squished the marinade around a couple of times)
Oven method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Add 1/2 inch water to a roasting pan fitted with a roasting rack. Remove the pork from the marinade and place in the center of the rack.
Cover with foil and roast for about 3 1/2hours - Remove the foil and roast for 30 mins more until fat is deep brown in colour.
Transfer the pork to cutting board and let rest for 20 minutes before slicing into thick pieces. Spoon any remaining pan juices over the meat to serve.
Instant pot method & Bbq Method
Put pork and marinade in Instant pot - I rinsed the bag out too to get all the flavour
Cook on high pressure for 1 hour
Let pressure release naturally
Preheat bbq to 350
Put the pork in a roasting pan - or any tray you can put on bbq
cook uncovered on bbq for 1 hour until fat is crispy
BBQ Berkshire Pork Gammon Steaks with Charred pineapple salsa
Gammon Steaks are one of Carl’s favourites. Usually we have it with a slice of pineapple & cheese sauce or eggs and chips but it’s way too hot right now.
When we came to Canada we couldn’t find Gammon so we made our own. A true British favourite made from pork legs that are cured but not smoked.
He loved this new pineapple salsa twist, especially as he had a massive 2lb gammon steak plus chips and pesto mushrooms on the side. Of course this is enough for 2 people.
INGREDIENTS
1 large Berkshire Pork Gammon Steak
1 tbsp honey
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon melted butter or olive oil
For the Salsa
8 oz fresh pineapple
1 tbsp olive oil or melted butted
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 crushed garlic clove
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 scallions or 1 shallot finely chopped
2 red chillies, de seeded and finely chopped (or sriracha sauce to taste)
10 fresh basil leaves finely sliced
salt and pepper
Directions
Make 1” Slices in the fat all around the edge of the Berkshire Pork Gammon Steak. This will stop the Steak from curling when you cook it.
Mix together soy sauce, honey and melted butter/olive oil and brush on either side of Berkshire Gammon Steak.
Cook Gammon on bbq for about 8/10 mins on each side until internal temp is 160F
Take the top and bottom off the pineapple and remove skin
Slice pineapple into 1/2” slices and brush with melted butter or olive oil
Barbeque for 3 - 4 mins per side until golden and charred.
Put orange juice, sugar, garlic, white wine vinegar, chopped shallots/scallions, chillies and sliced basil into a bowl.
Chop pineapple into bite-size pieces and add to the rest of the salsa ingredients.
To serve, pile the pineapple Salsa onto The Gammon Steaks and serve with chips (fries) and grilled mushrooms.
We love ham and pineapple together but it’s another of those great debates - Fruit with meat- what do you think?
Enjoy xxx
Basil & Garlic Rubbed Berkshire Pork Chops
I went a little overboard with my basil this year and have so much growing in the garden right now - it seems a perfect time to make this!
Basil & Garlic rubbed Berkshire Pork Chops
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 bone-in Berkshire pork chops
2 cloves garlic (peeled)
1 cup fresh basil (packed)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
With machine running, drop garlic through feed tube of food processor to mince.
Add fresh basil, and process until chopped.
Add lemon juice, oil, salt, and pepper and process to make thin wet rub.
Spread both sides of pork chops with basil mixture. Let stand 15 to 30 minutes.
Heat bbq to 400F.
Grill chops, over direct heat, turning once, 8 to 10 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit, followed by a 3-minute rest time.
Berkshire Pork Sausage Rolls
Who doesn’t love a sausage roll? Especially one that doesn’t have a soggy bottom!
I don’t usually make a lot of pastry but this recipe adapted from a Julia Childs recipe worked so well that I ended up making Quiche Lorraine, Garlic mushroom Quiche, Sausage rolls and Quail egg and sausage rolls.
I use a food processor but of course, it can be made without one.
Ingredients
1 level cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
3oz frozen butter
2 tablespoons Berkshire pork Lard
¼ cup iced water
4 Cobblestone Farm Breakfast or Cumberland burgers/sausage
1 Cobblestone Farm Free Range egg beaten
Directions
Food processor. Pulse fat into dry ingredients then with the motor running pour in cold water until the ingredients come together. Stop the machine as soon as the dough starts to clump together. Don’t overmix
Take the pastry out of the processor and form into a ball - go to step 6
OR Put all dry ingredients into a bowl
Cut butter into chunks and add to dry ingredients with lard
Add most of the water and bring the dough together - you may need to add the rest of the water
Wrap the pastry in parchment and put it into the fridge for at least 2 hours to chill.
After chill time preheat oven to 400 F
On a lightly floured board roll out the pastry into a rectangle shape ⅛” thick.
If you are using sausages you can remove them from their skins otherwise shape burgers into a fat sausage shape.
Put sausage in the centre of the pastry rectangle. Make sure the pastry can cover it then dab water along the pastry edge. Fold pastry over and seal edges with a fork.
Prick the top of the sausage roll with a fork every inch or so.
Brush pastry with beaten egg and place in the oven for about 30 mins until golden brown and the sausage meat is 165 internal temp.
Leave the sausage rolls on the tray to cool - there will be fat that has leaked out. This will go back into the sausage roll and you won’t have a soggy bottom.
HP or Ketchup?
African Pork and Peanut Stew
Do you ever get in a recipe rut? I love to cook but hate deciding what to cook. I will take out a pork shoulder and start searching through about a million pulled pork recipes. Not that there is anything wrong with pulled pork, I just want to cook something different.
To mix it up a bit I decided to cook by Country instead of cut of meat. Now Carl has challenged me to do 80 recipes in 80 days! He doesn’t ask much! He didn’t say 80 consecutive days lol so I might be able to stretch it out a bit!
The first one is African-inspired Pork & Peanut Stew - I cut up one of our bone in pork shoulder roasts and threw the bone in for extra flavour.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons Berkshire pork lard - or peanut oil
2 lb Cobblestone Farm Berkshire pork shoulder cut into 1” cubes
1 chopped onion
1 teaspoon garlic powder (not salt) or 2 cloves fresh chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon chili flakes
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups Berkshire pork bone broth - or you can use chicken
3 tablespoons tomato puree
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup peanuts
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
Heat lard in a large skillet on high heat.
Add pork cubes and brown on all sides.
When pork is browned add the chopped onion and spices and cook on med heat for 1 min.
Stir peanut butter into stock and add to the pan with tomato paste & chopped tomatoes.
Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 45 mins or until pork is tender.
Stir in the peanuts.
Serve with rice and garnish with fresh coriander.
Getting ready for another winter storm and Carl finds a new place to hide!
Of course, we are having second winter in Saskatchewan, or is it first winter and we had a false spring last week? Maybe it’s fall - I saw geese flying south!. Who knows where we are at - at least it’s not minus 50!
We have many shelters and buildings for the pigs to go in to get out of the snow. Last year we added an extra coral and even if it’s snowing they seem to love it there. We have been putting lots of straw on the south side and they just bury themselves in it.
With a lot of snow being forecast Carl went to check on the straw pile. I think he would have happily stayed there. He said it was lovely and warm!
Guess where his new napping/hiding place is!
Cumberland Sausage with Beer & Cheese Fondue
Apparently, I cook with a lot of booze - sometimes you just need to - so let’s not break the habit. Sausage, beer and cheese - what’s not to love!!!
Cumberland Sausages with Beer & Cheese fondue
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 large onion, peeled & thinly sliced
1 lb ish (4) Cobblestone Farm Berkshire Pork Cumberland sausages
2 garlic cloves grated
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 can your favourite beer
¾ cup water
Cheese Fondue
1/2lb quality Mature English Cheddar (We use Cricketers) - grated
1 oz smoked cheddar - grated
1 cup liquid from cooking sausages
1 tablespoon English mustard
1 tsp cornstarch
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Toast coriander seeds in a dry pan over a medium low heat - until they are fragrant… be careful not to burn them - Then grind in a pestle and mortar.
Put onion slices, sausages, ground coriander seeds, mustard seeds & garlic in a frying pan with beer and water.
Put a lid on then bring to boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 5 mins or until liquid is reduced by half.
Strain & reserve beer liquid from sausages.
Gently cook sausage until skins are brown - you can add oil or lard if you need to.
For the fondue - Mix together the grated cheese, cornstarch & English mustard
Bring reserved beer liquid to a boil and add the cheese and mustard stirring all the time.
Season to taste
Serve sausages on a bun with onions and fondue
Dublin Coddle - Sausage, bacon and potatoes - what's not to love!
This time last year we celebrated St Patrick’s day with some traditional Irish Food - Dublin Coddle.. A stew made of Sausage, bacon, onions and potatoes that would use up whatever was left at the end of the week (It sounds like my sisters Sausage Casserole - only she would only put 1 sausage in it - it would be like finding the sixpence in a Christmas pudding if you got a piece of sausage.)
My recipe is likely not traditional because I put a can of Guinness in it - who has leftover Guinness? - no one I know!
DUBLIN CODDLE
2lb Berkshire Pork Sausages (I use our Cumberland)
4 oz unsmoked British style back Bacon (you can use smoked bacon if you like)
2-3lb potatoes
2 onions
1tsp cracked black pepper
1/2tsp salt
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 x 440ml can Guinness
1 cup pork stock (I always use pork neckbone Broth) but you can use chicken stock
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 F. & put a large casserole pan on med heat.
Dice bacon and add to the pan, fry for 2-3 mins until the fat starts to render out.
Cut sausages & potatoes into bite-size pieces.
Slice onions.
Add sausages to bacon. Fry over med heat until browned
Then add sliced onions & potatoes. Season with salt, pepper and sprinkle of parlsey.
Pour in Guinness and bring to boil. Then add 1 cup pork stock and bring back to boil.
Cook in the oven for 2 hours.
Serve with crusty bread.
Do you have a favourite Irish dish? Let me know in the comments below.
Berkshire Pork Bone Broth
I use our Berkshire pork neckbones all the time to make bone broth. It’s very easy to make and you can use a slow cooker, instant pot or make it on top of the stove (this is easy but more time consuming and needs a bit more attention, which is why I don’t do it this way.)
This broth is delicious and gelatinous, which makes it perfect for the jelly in a traditional pork pie if you don’t want to use trotters.
It is also perfect as a substitute for both chicken and beef stock.
You can roast the neckbones first if you prefer. I use whatever veg and herbs I have but have made it with just bones, salt, pepper and onion.
Ingredients
2 lb ish Berkshire pork neckbones
1 onion peeled, and quartered
1 celery stalk, washed & cut in 4 pieces
1 carrot washed & cut in chunks
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 tbsp black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
you can add more herbs too - sometimes I add sage and thyme and extra garlic - it depends what I have available.
Directions
Instant Pot
Put all ingredients in the instant pot. Cover with water - keeping below the max fill line.
Close lid and set vent to sealing. Cook on broth for a minimum of 3 hours. Allow broth to naturally release.
Strain broth through a colander.
Put in the fridge to cool. The broth will become quite gelatinous and any fat will rise to the top and set. This can be skimmed off and used for frying.
You can freeze the broth for up to 6 months to store. Put the broth into freezer bags. I lay the freezer bags in a small tray so they are all the same shape and stack better. Or use yoghurt pots, ice cube trays or even ice lolly moulds.
Stove Top
Place ingredients in a large stockpot. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil, skimming any foam that rises to the top.
Turn heat down to medium-low and gently simmer for 12 hours. As the broth cooks you can reduce the heat down to low and add water as it evaporates. I wouldn’t leave this broth unattended for any length of time.
Follow steps 3 from Instant Pot for straining and storage.
Slow Cooker
Place ingredients in crockpot. Cover with cold water and cook for 12 hours.
Follow steps 3 from Instant Pot for straining and storage.
You can use the broth for making yummy gravy, soup, stews, cooking rice or pasta in or even drink it! Enjoy!
Let me know if you make it and what is your favourite use for it.
If you like this post and would like to buy me a coffee that would be greatly appreciated!
Berkshire Pork Bourguignon - a delicious Berkshire Pork Shoulder Recipe
Recently a friend of mine inspired me to make Julia Childs beef bourguignon. I had always thought it would be too difficult to make - I found it easy but very time-consuming but omg it is sooo delicious. I am now so obsessed with it I am even curing my own small slab of bacon just for this recipe.
Our beef supply is low so I tried it with some of our Berkshire pork Shoulder. (Searches on the interweb told me that pork doesn’t work in this recipe - maybe commercially raised pork won’t but our Berkshire pork shoulder was amazing.
I have also made this in the Instant pot and finished it in the oven - It was delicious even straight out of the IP - though it doesn’t have the nice crust and doesn’t thicken.
To make the pork in the instant pot -
Saute the meat following the directions for browning then put on meat setting for 1 hour - let pressure release naturally.
Take out some of the extra gravy to cook the onions in and then put the meat in the oven while you prepare the onions and mushrooms.
I am sure this will also work in the slow cooker too - I melted mine so I need a volunteer to test it for me lol.
Ingredients
For the Berkshire Pork
6 ounces unsmoked Berkshire bacon (British style) cut into small pieces
2-3 pounds Berkshire Pork Shoulder or leg cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon lard or olive oil
1 carrot peeled and sliced
1 small onion peeled and sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups red wine full-bodied
2-3 cups stock or broth (I usually use homemade pork or chicken stock)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves garlic crushed
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
For the onions
6 ounces pearl onions peeled
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 sprigs parsley (or 1 tbsp dried parsley)
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 bay leaf
1/2 cup broth or stock
For the mushrooms
1 pound white mushrooms quartered
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450°.
In a large dutch oven, heat the lard or olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook for several minutes until lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon (leave the bacon fat in the pan to brown the pork.)
Brown the Berkshire pork shoulder in the bacon fat/lard - don’t overcrowd the pan - brown in batches and put browned pork with bacon. Continue until all the pork has been browned.
Add the onions and carrots to the dutch oven and brown them, stirring occasionally.
Return the pork, bacon and any drippings to the dutch oven.
Add the salt and pepper and stir to combine. Sprinkle with the flour and stir until the meat and vegetables are well coated. Put the dutch oven uncovered into the hot oven and cook for 4 minutes. Stir the contents of the pot and continue to cook for an additional 4 minutes. (this will give the meat a nice crust).
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°.
Add the wine to the pot and add enough pork stock to barely cover the meat. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, thyme and bay leaves. Cover the pot tightly with a lid and place back in the oven. Braise for 3-4 hours or until the pork is tender.
While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.
For the onions
In a large frying pan, heat the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat until the foam has subsided from the pan.
Add the peeled onions and cook until they are lightly browned. Add the herbs, bay leaf and stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to a medium-low, cover and cook for 30-40 minutes -- until most of the liquid has evaporated. Transfer the onions to a bowl and set aside.
For the mushrooms
In a large frying pan heat half the olive oil and butter until the foam from the butter begins to subside.
Add half the mushrooms to the pan and cook until browned. They will first absorb the oil, and then begin to brown... do not crowd the mushrooms in the pan.
Transfer cooked mushrooms to the same bowl as the onions. Continue with the remaining mushrooms, by heating the oil and butter until the foam subsides, adding the mushrooms and then browning them evenly.
When the meat is tender, take out the bay leaves and add the mushrooms and onions
Heat the contents through on the stovetop and serve with crusty bread and a good red wine.
I also served this with buttery mashed potatoes and Yorkshire puddings - it would also make a great pie filling!
Let me know if you tried it!