Pulled Meats ...

About 8 years ago I went to a chefs forum in Dublin and a meat supplier was there with an American chef who was showing us a pulled pork recipe using the neck fillet of pork. I had seen it before with shoulder of pork but at the time I was sceptical about whether Irish people would take to pulled meats. I thought people would consider them to be mangled and overcooked but personally I like them.

It seems I was very wrong, pulled meats are everywhere. Lots of places have a BBQ pulled pork dish on lunch menus and sandwich bars, Bord Bia did a Ham Sandwich promo during the summer and the winner was a pulled ham wrap, even KFC have a pulled chicken burger on their menu.

I may put up a pulled pork recipe in future but really the trick is to buy a good shoulder of pork 

(I always use the shoulder as the muscle fibres are long) I prefer to take skin off then brown it in pan . Put it in an oven dish and wrap it all up tight with 2 layers of tin foil then stick it in the oven as hot as it will go and immediatly turn oven down to about 150oc for 5 hours. 

After this pull the meat off the bone and discard the fatty bits, Shred with 2 forks and thats it... Done..

Of course there are lots of seasonings you can use before oven and sauces after pork comes out but the principal is same every time.

For our BBQs I prefer to do Pork Belly (because I absolutely love it, see older blog posts for my twice cooked recipe) but the odd time I do pulled pork or lamb at clients request.

Will it still be as popular in a few years maybe not as prevalent but I think pulled meats are here to stay.

Beetroot Chutney..

Potbelly Foods first started by selling chutneys, dips and dry rubs at farmers markets years ago. Now the main end of the business is catering so I dont make them as much but when my veg producer dropped in a box of organic vegetables on Thursday the first thing that jumped out at me was the 3 beetroots in with the root vegetables.

I haven't made my Beetroot Chutney recipe in years so its great to make it again for my own consumption rather than a 20 litre pot of it.

The ingredients in this recipe can be messed around with and substituted within reason so you should have everything you need in your cupboard.


I used

3 Beetroot
1 Onion
4 tablespoons of Sugar
200ml of Sherry Vinegar
100ml of Red Wine (Italian Rosso)
1 teaspoon Paprika
2 teaspoons Cumin
Decent splash of Hot Sauce

Here is the best part chuck it all in a pot leave it simmer for an hour.. Done..

Dont be worried about ingredients just grate beetroot then add sugar & vinegar that's your basic after that you can add what you want I always add sliced onion but apples , parsnip, carrots,
pears, anything really can be added. with spices you can play around with whatever is in cupboard just done put too many spices in or you'll lose beetroot flavour.

I sterilise the jar by first putting it through dishwasher on intensive setting the baking it in oven at 180oc for 5-8 mins.
 By doing this the chutney will last for 3 month but once opened it will last in fridge for 2 weeks.


If you do try this let me know how it goes on twitter.. @potbellyfoods

Lamb Shoulder

Easy as anything .. A monkey could do this one.

As always get your Lamb of your craft butcher, its traditional an Easter lunch dish but I think its at its best late summer when the lambs have had time to fatten up. The shoulder is a great roast as its far cheaper than the leg and takes a long time so as long as its prepared properly you cant really overcook it.

My butcher rolls the shoulder up for me but any way it goes in oven is fine.

First step.Leave it out of fridge for a few hours, as you know from my other blogs I try to always cook meat from room temperature its a good habit to get into even with this dish that cooks for a long time at low temperature.

Marinate the shoulder. In the pictures shown I used garlic, salt, mint sauce, English mustard, wholegrain mustard and olive oil give it a good rub and get it into all the nooks of the joint. Do this the night before or when you take it out of fridge in morning.

Get a heavy based frying pan smoking hot and seal all the sides of the joint don't worry if some of the marinade goes black just make sure there is good dark colour all over.

Next step it to prepare your vegetables, for this recipe I use all root veg, butternut squash, carrots, parsnip & swede, cut them all into large chucks. I fry them in the same dirty pan from lamb and add water, about half a pint should do. This veg and water goes into a roasting tray then lamb on top and seal it very tightly with tin foil.

The only thing that can go wrong with this dish is that the water and juices will evaporate in oven so make sure the tinfoil is tight.  

Put it in a hot oven 250oc or as high as it will go then once lamb is in oven turn it down to 140oc for 4 hours. Plenty of time to do whatever you do on Sundays walk the dog, go to the pub, shopping etc

After 4 hours is done drain off the juices for your gravy (ill put up a blog for fresh gravy soon but if you thicken the juice with gravy granules and some water it will be fine)

The vegetables at bottom of tray will taste brilliant you can serve them as is or I like to mash them with potato masher.

The meat will not slice its far to tender at this stage so just pull it off with a thongs, add your rich gravy and serve with roast or mash potatoes..

Easy..............

Making Fresh Pasta...


Ok this might sound like a lot of effort but its a great way to spend time in kitchen, you have complete control on the quality of ingredients and most people will be more than impressed when they see you doing it.




First step is the dough. You need to find and buy type 00 flour and fine semolina. I buy a few kilos at a time so I don't have to go looking in shops. Its not in every supermarket but they can be bought in specialist food shops and deli's. They only other ingredients are eggs I use free range organic ones from my mother in laws hens (thanks Molly!!!) because they are far better than any supermarket ones but any eggs are fine.

To make the dough I try to keep it simple so for every 2 people 150 grams of type 00 flour and 50 grams of fine semolina then bind with 2 eggs... that's all ... no salt nothing. This gives 2 very large portions

you need to bind these together with your hands until all the flour in absorbed then knead for 5-10 minutes the. It will eventually become a ball of smooth dough so don't worry when its lumpy and dry at start it will all be fine after a lot of kneading. Wrap it in fridge in cling film and leave it for at least half an hour but if you can an hour.

I use this time to get a bit of fresh tomato together sauce in a pan than have a coffee.

The next step is to roll out the pasta either with  rolling pin or a pasta machine. I use a machine but don't let that be an excuse just roll it as thin as you can then slice it about quarter of an inch thick to make Tagliatelle. If you have a pasta machine just follow the instructions they cost less than €30 so not that big an investment.

Finally the golden rule for cooking pasta is about a litre of water per every 100 grams of pasta so for 2 people a large pot with 2 and a half litres of water it it on a very high boil. Add a large teaspoon of salt but don't add oil. A lot of recipes dictate adding oil to the water to stop it sticking together but this just makes pasta oily when cooked. The best way to stop pasta clumping is to just stir regularly for first minute of cooking

Boil your pasta for 2 to 5 minutes until its cooked to your liking then strain into the sauce (I always put a few teaspoons of pasta water into the sauce also). Toss it altogether then serve with a generous grating of parmesan.

A fresh made dough will keep for a week so make the dough ahead of time if you wish so that way you can have a restaurant quality pasta dish in minutes when you come in from work...

Stocks!!!

Home made stocks are easy, nutritious, very tasty and the best way to use up you leftover meat and vegetable trimmings.

While I was a commis (apprentice chef) I was working in a high end restaurant in Dublin and we made fresh stocks every day for demi glazes and reductions, all very posh and fancy. The head chef would be very particular about how they are made , the ingredients that went in and how we separated the fat from stock. He had good reason as the stocks had to be clear, shiny and flavourful on the plate.

At home all this goes out the window I have 2 objectives get flavour and use up trimmings to avoid waste. It might seem extra work but its really not. here is the idiots guide to doing it,

Firstly there is no measurements here use as much our as little as you have you need. Any type of bones will do bit I prefer pork, lamb or beef but chicken or turkey is fine.

First roast your vegetables and bones until its a good colour, not just golden but properly dark brown colour. Make sure your bones are cut small enough for the pot your making stock in.You should try to include celery and carrots with the vegetables but always onions any other vegetables is fine. Most chefs wouldn't put swede or squash in but my attitude is if its going to waste chuck it in. When it comes out of oven into a pot it goes into a pot cover with cold water and bring to boil the leave it simmer for at least 2 hours but no more than 4 hours for chicken or turkey stock or no more than 6 hours for anything else.

Keep an eye on it and be careful not to leave it simmer dry.

Strain and leave reach room temperature
then chill in fridge. Once cold scoop the fat off the top and your stock is ready to use in soups , sauces, gravies anything you wish.

If it sounds like to much work just taste it compared to a stock cube.

You will see why its worth the effort

Eat in season!!!

The months leading up to Christmas are my favourite for seasonal produce. From September onwards all the good root veg comes into season. This means less salads and more veggies on the diner plate. Its important to eat in season for a few different reasons the first is the produce is more abundant therefore it costs less. Just as Wexford Queens Potatoes are at their cheapest in July other veggies become cheaper when they are in season. Another reason is that through tens of thousands of years people cultivating crops we associate seasonal foods with dishes we eat at different types of the year for example at this time of year we tend to cook more stews and casseroles with root vegetables, apple pies in late September & pumpkin soup in October.
But the most important reason to buy produce in season is the flavour. If you buying fruit and veg off a local veg shop or farmers market they will only have local grown produce not some tasteless poly tunnel grown vegetables that have travelled halfway around the world just because they look the part or consumer demands means there is a market for them.
The vegetables you buy that are produced locally will taste great but no as good as the ones you grow yourself if you have the time and commitment (which I don't to be honest). 
There are lots of resources to tell you what's good to buy when my favourite is website is bestinseason.ie but my normal way of doing things is to stroll into my local greengrocer and ask him what's good, the dishes I produce at home and menus written by Potbelly are dictated by this.

Try this autumnal recipe out....
2 tblsp olive oil
30 g butter 
1 butternut squash, chopped into half inch chunks
Small bunch fresh rosemary 
1 red onion, sliced
1 stick celery diced
1 small carrot grated
300 g  fresh farfalle pasta
250 g tub ricotta or cream cheese 
50 g freshly grated parmesan

• 
  
• 
  
• Heat up the oven to 200C . Melt the oil and butter in a pan then fry off the squash until golden transfer to roasting dish and roast for 15 mins
• Throw in the rest of the veg and rosemary, salt and pepper then give it another 10 mins in oven stirring every few mins

while this is roasting boil a large pot of salted water put in the pasta for 2 mins only (it will be slightly hard dont worry bout that) Take out the roasting tin then put in the pasta (drained but keep a few tablespoon of cooking water throw that in aswell)

Stir in the cream cheese  mixing well, have a taste and season with a little salt and pepper if needed

sprinkle over the parmesan and back to the oven for 10 more minutes

Serve with garlic bread and / or a green salad.......

Pork Belly !!!!!

Belly of Pork is one of my favourite cuts of meat. It is indulgent, comforting and has always been a staple on our catering menus.

As always the best place to purchase it is from your local craft butcher, talk to your butcher about what meats you like what way you like to cook them. Maybe give your butcher a few days notice for the belly as they wont always have it in stock.

What your looking for in a good pork belly is for the fat to be white, dense and creamy. Large scale produced pork has a porous fat on it, this should be avoided. I prefer rind off for most recipes but the rind on will give a great crackling if you like it.

When preparing I normally just trim a bit of excess fat off, it usually gets more fatty at one end, then I just season with salt and black pepper place in a deep sided roasting dish. I put about a half inch of water in the dish then cover with greaseproof paper & then tin foil. Pop it into the oven at about 180 degrees for 3 hours.

The next bit is where my method differs from just about everyone else's. After 3 hours take the pork out and leave it rest in its own juices for about 45 minutes still covered with foil. At this stage the pork should be cool enough to handle. I wrap the pork completely and tightly in cling film. This will keep in all the juices but be careful as it will also slow down the cooling so leave it another half hour before you put it in the fridge. I normally leave it in fridge overnight but after bout 4 hours it should be ready to slice.

I slice the belly about an inch thick (I am a glutton like that!) then fry it in a very hot thick based pan. The pan doesn't need oil as the fat will render off the belly slices. This process does 2 jobs. First it will render the fat out of the slices and believe me you will see exactly how much fat comes out into the pan .Secondly it will crisp up the slices . Once the slices are crispy on bot sides pat them down with a paper towel and serve. I usually serve them with the Potbelly recipe signature BBQ sauce (that's a blog for another day) but the are also great as a roast dinner with potatoes vegetables and gravy, with Hoi Sin sauce and Noodles, with fried rice or with Sweet Chilli in a wrap...

The advantages of doing this compared to say ribs is that in my experience people shy away from ribs on the bone at parties as its messy to eat them but because the belly is boneless they can be eaten with a knife and fork.

I can honestly say they are our most popular item at barbecues I get asked a lot for the recipe so here it is...