As I’ve mentioned a few times lately, I recently moved into a new place in Bow. I decided to try and take advantage of the good weather we’ve been having as well as the shared garden we have out the back of our flats. I decided to have a few friends over for a BBQ/Housewarming/Gin party. I stocked up on Meat from Turner & George (I got a voucher after their event lately and you can read about that here) and my friend Erica (I’m Being Erica) came round a couple of hours beforehand so she could make some poached chicken and summer rolls (or at least the bits she could do one handed since she broke her pinky and they stuck it in a cast). I also made a pretty good Summer Berry Pie but I got a bit drunk and forgot to photograph it, what you gonna do aye?
As I mentioned in my post about my chocolate tart I was invited by the guys at Selfridges to attend a Burger Masterclass up on their rooftop terrace and hosted by the butchers, Turner & George. As many of you know, I take my burgers fairly seriously (there’s a whole column in my restaurant spreadsheet dedicated to patty quality) and for me to get an invite to see how they go about making their famous Black Label Burger was a pretty great chance.
Warning, this post is not suitable for vegetarians (this isn’t here as a joke, it contains raw meat)
My apologies for the lack of updates, or at least, the lack of food related ones. I will be running the 3rd and final part of my Scotland trip soon (it may go full George RR Martin though and be split into parts 1 & 2 of the same post), and I’ve a video in the works, yup you read that right! But in the meantime, I’ve been struggling with my new oven. It’s only temporary, which is a huge bonus, as it is ridiculously unreliable and seems to be completely unpredictable. My food posts over the next couple of months may be quite scarce and may include more food than baking. However I’m actually signing for a new flat today. I’ll be a resident of Bow Road from July 1st and can’t wait. The room is small but the flat is huge.
Well, it’s time for my second post from my trip to Devon last week. I’d intended to get this up last week but unfortunately life got in the way and I just completely ran out of time. That should mean you have a double recipe week now though.
Now, you’ve already seen my quick, if lackluster write up on arriving in Hope Cove and presenting my friend with is cake. If not, you can read that here. Day two dawned with the unexpected joy of the sun poking it’s head out. It had been overcast the day before and I’d not had high hopes for the Sunday weather. Out of nowhere the British summer decided to momentarily revive itself. I grabbed a cup of tea and headed down to sit by the sea and enjoy not being in Leeds. I was in charge of the evening’s food and had opted for a Maple and Mustard Pulled Pork. It’s perfect for a largish group and great for an occasion like this as you can just stick it in the oven and come back to it about 6-7 hours later.
After a fairly lazy morning I took out the meat (which I’d prepared the night before) and stuck it in the oven at about 12. After this we were free to do anything until the evening. We opted to head up onto the headland and prepare an area for a campfire to have later that night, before coming back down to the flat and doing a nice afternoon session of centurion in the sunshine.
After that came sea-kayaking, which I’d have to say, probably isn’t the best thing to do after you’ve done a full game of centurion. We capsized, but no one died so it’s fine, right?
The evening was spent stuffing out faces with the pulled pork, which was sided by Isobel’s sweet potato wedges, homemade garlic bread and some creamed corn. After filling our bellies we headed up to the campfire spot, where we all proceeded to fall asleep next to the fire (too much food and a packed day didn’t really do much for our energy levels). All in all it was a great way to round the weekend off.
This recipe is great because it doesn’t require a slow cooker, or for the pork to be completely submerged in liquid, which means that all you need is a standard roasting tin, rather than a slow cooker or pot. It still falls apart amazingly and the sauce it creates is beautiful.
Mix the sea salt and 200g of the sugar in a large food bag, add the pork and coat it well. (If you don’t have a bag, rub over the pork in a dish and cover with cling film.) Leave in the fridge overnight.
The next day, remove the pork and wipe down the meat with kitchen paper. Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Mix the remaining sugar, the maple syrup, mustards and some ground pepper. Rub half the mixture over the pork and sit it on a rack in a roasting tin. Roast for 6 hrs.
Spoon the remaining maple mixture over the pork and roast for 1 hour more.
Rest the meat for 30 minute on a plate loosely covered with foil. To serve, tear the pork into big fat chunks and, after skimming the surface, spoon over any juices from the tin.
