Category: pork

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Roast Outdoor Reared Pork

Yesterday we had a lovely piece of roast pork. It was a outdoor reared pork roasted on a bed of vegetables (and apple).  It was lovely and tender and covered in crispy crackling.

My technique is relatively simple, set oven to the highest temperature. Place the pork on some root vegetables (this time I used carrot and parsnip). I do add some olive oil onto the skin of the pork. Once I have put the pork in the oven, I turn the temperature down to about 160℃.

Cook for about an hour, I then baste the pork and add more chopped vegetables to the pan, onion, carrots, mushrooms and parsnips. Place back in the oven.

When the pork is cooked, allow to sit for a while to rest.

I served the pork with roast potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted parsnips and some steamed green vegetables.

I made a delicious gravy using the cooking juices and beef stock.

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Okay you can eat the pork (and the beef and drink the milk)

In an attempt to restore public confidence in Irish pork following the recent discovery of dioxin contamination, the Irish government (according to the BBC) have announced how they will do this.

The Republic of Ireland’s agriculture minister has announced how supplies of Irish pork are to be restored.

Brendan Smith said special labelling will confirm pork as having had no association with contaminated feed.

Of course the reality is that consumer confidence has been shattered and generally it takes more than a special label to reassure the majority of consumers.

Northern Ireland’s Health Minister has also attempted to reassure consumers.

It is safe to consume pork, beef and milk despite a scare over contaminated feed, Northern Ireland’s health minister had said.

It’s interesting to read the following BBC article in which it says:

The news broke on a Saturday afternoon in Dublin, but amazing as it may seem, while pork was being cleared off the shelves there in a matter of hours, it would be a full 24 hours before Northern Ireland consumers were being advised on what to do.

Of course it wasn’t just Northern Ireland consumers, in the rest of the United Kingdom.

So are you going to buy Irish pork and sausages now?

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Don’t eat the pork!

The pork crisis in Ireland is hitting headlines all over the UK.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is currently saying

Pork from the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland should not be eaten at the moment due to contamination fears.

 

One of my favourite foods at the moment are Paul Rankin’s Irish Pork Sausages which are made in Ballymena, Northern Ireland by Doherty & Gray Limited.

How do I know this I looked at the packaging and this has the physical and web address on it.

Paul Rankin’s Irish sausages

No update or advice on their website about their products. If you are going to have a website, ensure that you use it to let us consumers know what is happening.

So how can Waitrose say:

Waitrose has withdrawn two sausage lines sold under Northern Irish celebrity chef Paul Rankin’s brand as a precaution, although a spokeswoman for the supermarket stressed that the origin of the meat was still being checked.

I would have thought it was obviously Northern Ireland, though I am guessing that this is not 100% certain it is Irish pork, I would hope that it was otherwise I am feeling I have been misled in buying the product – dioxin contamination aside.

Doherty & Gray should in my opinion at least post something to their website to let consumers know what is happening. I am seeing a large number of people visit this blog who have concerns, but I am in the same boat as them.

Disappointed to also see that the online arm of Waitrose, Ocado is still “selling” the Rankin sausages on their website.

No idea if you actually order them that they would deliver them.

Like others who have commented on my blog, I have recently eaten Paul Rankin’s sausages (just yesterday) and my family and I eat them on a regular basis. Despite the FSA assurance that the “risk” is slight, it is still a risk. If it isn’t a risk why are they now saying don’t eat the pork!

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Irish pork recalled

BBC reports on possible pork contamination:

All pork products made in the Irish Republic since September have been recalled over fears they are contaminated with a toxic substance.

The action was taken after dioxins were found in slaughtered pigs thought to have eaten contaminated feed.

Tests showed some pork products contained up to 200 times more dioxins than the recognised safety limit.

Why am I concerned?

Well I do like Paul Rankin’s Irish Pork Sausages.

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Ooh nice sausages

I seem to have been buying the same sausages for ages, so the other day seeing Paul Rankin’s Irish pork sausages on the shelf the other day, decided, oh lets try them.

Paul Rankin’s Irish sausages

I was slightly hesitant as sometimes you wonder if you are paying more for the “name” than the quality of the ingredients. I did wonder if I would get cheap salty tasting sausages which though made with “succulent cuts of pork” was actually made with cheap succulent cuts of pork!

However I did remember that I use the buy Sainsburys Taste the Difference steak which was endorsed by Jamie Oliver at one point and I really could taste the difference!

So what about Paul Rankin’s sausages?

Well they cooked perfectly with very little shrinkage or water loss. They had a good texture and tasted really good. Sometimes good quality sausages can be very salty, so all you can taste is salt, with these I could taste the pork.

I will certainly be buying these again.

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Slow Roasted Pork

Went out for lunch yesterday at my local pub. This is a typical chain type pub with menu to match. Really nothing special, but some interesting stuff on the menu. It use to be so much better, but in the last few years has gone downhill.

On the specials board though this time was Slow Roasted Pork, so I ordered that.

It arrived and I was quite impressed.

Slow Roasted Pork

I had swapped the mashed potatoes for chips, but I think boiled new potatoes would have been a better option.

The pork was tasty, the crackling was crispy and the veg was crunchy.

I really enjoyed it.

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Pork with apple and basil wrapped in pancetta

This is a nice dish for a dinner party and can be prepared quickly and easily.

Take some pork medallions (thick slices of pork tenderloin) and place them on slices of apple – I peeled and cored the apple. Place a basil leaf and then wrap round a slice of pancetta bacon.

Place in a roasting dish and splash with olive oil and season with ground black pepper.

Pork with apple and basil wrapped in pancetta

Roast in the oven for twenty to thirty minutes until cooked. I made one mistake which was to roast them in a pan, when they really needed a grill pan.

Pork with apple and basil wrapped in pancetta

Serve.

Pork with apple and basil wrapped in pancetta

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Pasta with Pork and Cream

Cooked a nice simple pasta dish tonight.

In a hot pan, cook off some pancetta, now add some diced (or sliced) pork and brown.

Now add some finely chopped red onion and add some Italian herbs.

In another hot pan, add a splash of olive oil then cook some sliced mushrooms, they will cook and taste much better than cooking them with the pork and onions.

Cook some fresh pasta in a pan of rolling boiling water.

To the mushrooms add some freshly chopped parsley.

Then add the mushrooms to the pork, add a tub of creme frache, some grated parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.

Drain the cooked pasta, and add the pork and cream mixture on top.

Add some more grated parmesan to taste.

Serve.

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Kebabs

Tonight we had some really nice kebabs.

Took some cubed pork tenderloin and on wooden skewers interspersed the pork with onion, red pepper and mushrooms. These were grilled for about fiftteen minutes after brushing them with olive oil.

I served them with a nice selection of salads including home made coleslaw.

Very nice.

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National Trust Cafe

I had an excellent meal yesterday at the National Trust cafe in Swindon (next door to the STEAM museum and the Swindon shopping outlet). It’s part of their headquarters.

National Trust Headquarters, Swindon

I ordered the pork chop with tomatoes and mushrooms served with vegetables and seasonal potatoes.

The chop (which was boned or boneless) was grilled to perfection, too often with this kind of dish you find some cafes cook it in advance and keep it warm which usually means that the pork dries out and is very tough. This pork chop was full of flavour, tender and delicious. The chop was covered with a chunky sauce made form tomatoes and mushrooms which was well flavoured and for me perfectly seasoned (which means it wasn’t salty).

The vegetables were okay, the carrots tasted as though they were cooked from fresh, but I have a suspicion that the peas and sweetcorn were cooked from frozen (which isn’t surprising and they tasted fine).

The potatoes were roasted new potatoes which were well cooked and very tasty.

My other half went for the red pepper flan (okay read quiche) which was served warm with potatoes and salad. She said the flan was really nice, I was almost too focussed on my pork to ask her for a taste.

For afters I had the treacle tart, too often these can be over sweet, but this was just right in terms of sweetness, but I did find the pastry somewhat tough.

The pork chop dish was very reasonable at £5.95, the flan was only £4.95. I did think the treacle tart was sightly overpriced at £3.25 (especially as other cakes were only £1.50). However overall it certainly was value for money.

Compared to the food offerings in the shopping outlet, if you are out Swindon way, pop over to the National Trust cafe and enjoy a delicious meal in peaceful and pleasant environment.