Recipes

This is the Beef Brisket we have been serving in March at The Ethicurean- Star Anise carrots and celeriac with beef gravy.

Beef Brisket Cooked in Coffee Ketchup with Roast Potatoes and Black Salsify

Jim and Rosemary Blair have farmed the 226 acres that make up Whitfield farm in Gloucestershire for more than 40 years, with full Organic status for the last 10. They run a suckler herd of 170 Aberdeen Angus X cattle on a permanent pasture. The herd is fed entirely on grass, given as silage or hay during the cold winter months. Jim and Rosemary should be admired for their commitment to a natural way of farming. Nothing is brought onto Whitfield part from straw, which is used as bedding and eventually compost. They are effectively using a perma-culture style of farming, a rotational style that attracts bees, birds and natural food chain systems. By choosing to farm this way the Blair’s are choosing a carbon friendly root.They chose the Aberdeen Angus breed for their hardy character and the beautifully marbled meat that they produce. The entire finishing process for each animal is conducted locally, giving the customer unrivalled traceability. We regularly work alongside Jim Blair at Thornbury farmer’s market and recently met Claire Moreton who is working with Jim to carry forward Whitfield’s success for many years to come.

Last week we bought a large beef Brisket and promised Jim and Claire an interesting recipe. Here it is;

Serves 5

1 kg Whitfiled Farm beef brisket

4 quartered onions

6 cloves of galic

Coffee Ketchup

Small tin of Tomato Puree

.5 cup cider vinegar

.5 cup brown sugar

tbs paprika

tbs smoked paprika

double espresso shot of Extract coffee, Peru el Guabo

tsp salt

tsp pepper

.5 bottle milk stout

Roast Potatoes

10 large King Edward potatoes

course sea salt

handful of rosemary

150 rapeseed oil

Salsify

3 (Somerset) black salsify roots

Old Demdike ewes milk cheese

handful of parsley

Beef-

Sear the beef on all sides. Combine the listed ingredients to make the coffee ketchup and spread over the beef.

Cook for 3 hours on 140 C on a bed of quartered onions and 6 cloves of Garlic. During the final hour uncover and baste every 20 minutes.

Spuds-

Cover with cold water, throw in 1.5 tbs of fine salt. Cover the pan and bring to the boil over a high heat, then drop the heat down to medium. Simmer the potatoes for 15 minutes, you should be able to pierce the potatoes without breaking them up. Preheat the oven to 200 C fan or 220 C/ gas mark 7.

Drain the potatoes in a colander, shaking them to get a rough texture on the outside. Return them to the pan and over the lowest flame allow them to steam off any remaining liquid for 5 minutes. Alternatively, if your feeling passionate, score the outside of each potato with a fork. While you prepare the spuds ask your kitchen partner, kindly, to heat the rapeseed oil in a large roasting dish in the oven until very hot. Place the potatoes in the hot oil into the oven. To get the best roasties you will want to turn the potatoes every 10-15 minutes. They will need to roast for around 40 minutes, until crisp and golden on the outside. Sprinkle them with some sea salt half way through.

Salsify-

Peel under running water, then chop the root diagonally into slices. Cover in water in a container with a splash of lemon juice until you are ready to cook. The beef will need to rest for 10 minutes, you can use this time to cook the black salsify. Drain the salsify and place in a pan with a generous knob of butter on a medium to high heat for 10 minutes. The vegetable should be slightly al dente. Throw the chopped parsley into the pan and then grate a little Old Demdike cheese on top.

Pure Pig Salami

We were lucky enough to meet the producers behind Pure Pig at Midsomer Norton farmers’ recently, their product is sublime and the pigs have a great diet, including a good serving of cream. Along with some pork shoulder we had a large pork belly and bag of pork livers. The belly and livers are destined for a traditional country terrine, I can see the slab of meat and chutney piled on a crusty baguette, lovely. In the usual fashion Pure Pig seem to have no website or information on the web, it always seems to be the best producers who avoid any forms of advertising. I reckon this could be largely due to the fact they spend all their time making the best product, good on ‘em.

With the shoulder and a generous amount of pork back fat we decided to make a few salamis. These cured sausages really are one of my favourite things. When I’m out foraging or out on a proper walk in the woods I make sure I’ve got one with me, along with a ripped piece of baguette and chunk of cheese. With a knife you can score the skin and cut off a piece and pass it to next person. In a few minutes three people can demolish a whole salami.

By the time it takes for these to mature, in about a month, the list of wild foods we can forage will grow, we’ll be out in the country- side even more and we need a good snack.

1kg pork shoulder, lean meat, roughly minced
300g pork back fat, cut into small pieces
200ml red wine
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove garlic
35g salt
half teaspoon saltpetre, or commercial cure mix.
half teaspoon acidophilus powder, (probiotic)
casings, Ox runners 50-80 mm beef middle, rinse these clean before you use them.
Butchers string.

Mix the minced pork shoulder, back fat, black pepper, salt, and saltpetre. Dissolve the acidophilus powder in 1 tablespoon of water and throw it into the mix.

Stuff the mince mix into the casings. Ideally you want your salamis to be 30cm in length, cut off the end of the casings leaving enough on the end to tie a knot, then tie a piece of string on the inside of the knot.

Hang your salamis by their string loops in a well-ventilated spot, ideally the temperature should not rise above 12 C. Keep your salamis away from each other and any objects around them.

The Salamis could be ready from between a month and 10 weeks after you have made them. It is really up to you, and how you like your salami. If they feel relatively firm to the touch they are ready for your bouche! When the Salamis are at an age when I like them the best I will keep back any mould on their skins by rubbing them with a little bit of brandy on some paper, it works a treat.

You can catch up with Pure Pig at the Somerset Farmers Markets