Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food (22 page)

For the onion gravy

Wash the pig’s caul in running cold water, then leave it in a bowl of water to soak for a couple of hours.

Mix the pork belly, bacon, liver and hearts together in a bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, salt and black pepper and stir with your hand for about 5 minutes until the mix firms up,
then set aside.

Heat the rapeseed oil in a frying pan over a low heat. Add the onion and fry, stirring, for at least 5 minutes until softened, but not coloured. Remove the onion from the pan and
leave to cool. Mix the eggs, sage and cold onions into the faggot mix. Shape the mix into 6 or 8 balls. Drain the pig’s caul and use it to wrap around the faggots. Double wrap them so the mix
doesn’t leak out or to prevent them falling apart if the caul rips. Place the faggots into an ovenproof dish and then into the fridge for 1½–2 hours to rest.

Meanwhile, start the onion gravy. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Heat 2 tablespoons rapeseed oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the halved onions,
cut sides down, and fry for 8–10 minutes until blackened. Transfer the onions to a roasting tray lined with a piece of kitchen foil large enough to wrap around them and sprinkle with the
demerara sugar and thyme. Drizzle with a little oil and seal the foil up as a bag. Place the roasting tray in the oven and roast the onions for 2 hours until they are really caramelised and soft.
When the onions are cool enough to handle, but still hot, scoop the flesh into a food processor and process until a rich brown pulp forms, then leave to one side.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the flour and stir for 1–2 minutes to cook out the raw flavour and make a roux. Add the onion pulp and brown chicken stock and simmer, stirring occasionally, over a very low heat for 30–40 minutes, until it has reduced by about one-quarter.

When you are ready to cook the faggots, reheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Put the dish with the faggots on the middle shelf and roast for 15 minutes. Turn them over and
roast for another 15 minutes. Pour the onion gravy over and continue roasting for a further 20 minutes, or until the gravy is bubbling and thickened around the edges of the dish. Serve with steamed
cabbage, mashed potatoes and English mustard. This is proper lush.

Pork faggots in onion gravy

This is a very rustic-looking dish, but my God it tastes amazing! This is a real chef’s dish, full of peasant-style cooking that is at the root of all gastronomic cooking. I
wish all posh-looking food tasted as good as this! This goes very well with crushed swede or mash.

Food like this dish is one of the reasons the great British pub scene is looking very rosy these days.

Serves 4

Mix the flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg whites, then gradually add the water and mix until a dough forms. You might not need all the water. Wrap the
dough in clingfilm and transfer it to the fridge to rest for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 150°C/Gas Mark 2.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until about 1cm thick, then cut into 2 pieces. Place a pork knuckle on each piece of dough and brush each knuckle with mustard.
Place a few sprigs of rosemary on top of each, then wrap the salt crust around and seal. Make sure it is well sealed. Just press the dough together and it should stick, but you can add a little
water, if necessary.

Transfer the pork knuckles to a roasting tray. Place the roasting tray in the oven and bake the pork knuckles for 4½ hours. Remove the tray from the oven and leave the
pork knuckles to rest for at least 1 hour.

When you take the pork out of the oven, turn the temperature up to 190°C/Gas Mark 5. Melt the butter in a roasting tray over a medium heat. Add the onion and bacon and stir
around until the onion has started to soften. Add the bay leaves, carrot and thyme. Place the cabbage quarters on top and pour over the stock. Bring to the boil, then cover the tray with kitchen
foil. Transfer the tray to the oven and braise the cabbage for 25–30 minutes until it is tender.

When the cabbage is cooked, transfer it to a bowl and keep hot. Place the tray, with the bacon, carrot and onion still in it, on the hob over high heat and boil the cooking
liquid until it reduces to a sauce consistency.

After the pork has rested for an hour, open the salt dough crusts and flake the meat from the bones. Divide the cabbage between 4 bowls and top each with the bacon, carrot and
onion. Pass the sauce through a fine sieve and spoon it over the top, add the pork and serve.

Mustard-flavoured salt-baked pork knuckles and roasted cabbage

This recipe gives you so many big, powerful flavours on the plate, all working together. Think of this as the best mushy peas and bacon you’ll ever eat.

I think a whole piece of bacon is an overlooked alternative to a joint of meat for a Sunday roast, and it is very easy to cook. Plus, if you don’t eat it all warm, it makes
ace sandwiches.

Serves 4–6

For the pease pudding

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Put the piece of bacon in a roasting tray and cover with the honey. Place the tray in the oven and set a timer for 10 minutes. After 10
minutes, baste the bacon with the honey, then return it to the oven and reset the timer for another 10 minutes. Repeat the basting and put back into the oven. Set the timer for 5 minutes and repeat
the process. Keep basting and roasting for 45–50 minutes in total until the honey is thick and has glazed the bacon all over. Transfer the bacon to a chopping board and leave it to rest for
25 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the pease pudding. Place the dry split peas in a saucepan with enough cold water to cover and bring to the boil. Drain in a colander, then repeat the process.

Melt 75g of the butter in a pan over a low heat. Add the onion and fry, stirring occasionally, for at least 5 minutes until softened, but not coloured. Tie the rosemary, bay
leaves and thyme together with string, then add this to the pan with the split peas and stir. Add the white wine vinegar, bring to the boil and continue boiling until the liquid reduces to a glaze.
Add the ham stock or chicken stock and return to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 45 minutes until the peas are very soft.

While the bacon is roasting, mix the malt vinegar, sugar and chilli flakes together in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove the pan from the
heat and leave the liquid to cool, which will take at least 20 minutes.

To finish the pease pudding, remove the herbs from the split peas. Add the remaining butter and use a hand blender to blend the peas until they are smooth. If it is too thick,
add a little more stock. Stir in the mint and season.

Add the 2 tablespoons chopped mint to the malt vinegar mix. Slice the warm bacon and serve with the malt-vinegar-mint sauce spooned over the top and the pease pudding
alongside.

Tom’s Tip

Don’t forget to use the timer when you are roasting the bacon. The longer you cook the bacon for, the more chance you have of burning it. I have learnt this from
experience!

Honey-roasted bacon and malt-vinegar-mint sauce with pease pudding

The curing of meat is normally associated with pork, but brisket and other cheaper, slower-cooked pieces of beef really benefit from the brining process as
well.

Once cooked, salt beef is great to have in the fridge. You get so many uses from it, hot or cold: serve it with mash, Pease Pudding (see
here
), lentils, in
a sandwich with mustard or in these cream cheese bagels with pickled vegetables.

For the brine

Braising vegetables

Seven days before you plan to cook, make the brine. Mix all the brine ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the salt, sugar and
saltpetre. Boil for 5 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and leave the brine to cool to room temperature.

Pierce the beef brisket all over with a skewer and then place it in a non-metallic container. Pour over the brine, making sure that the beef is completely covered. It may need
weighing down. Cover the container and put in the fridge for 7 days.

After 7 days, remove the beef from the brine and rinse it in running cold water.

Place the beef in a large saucepan and add all the ingredients for the braising vegetables. Pour in enough cold water to cover the ingredients and bring to the boil, skimming the
surface, as necessary. Turn the heat down to low and leave to simmer, uncovered, for 2½–3 hours until the beef is tender. Remove the pan from the heat, and leave the beef to cool
completely in the stock, uncovered, which will take a couple of hours.

When cool, remove the salt beef from the liquid and pat dry. Cover and chill until needed, when it can be sliced and served hot or cold. Keep some of the cooking liquid to reheat
the beef in if you’re planning to serve it hot.