Sous Chef

My goodness it’s been all go in our house for the last two weeks, what with the hen’s party and the wonderful wedding on Saturday it’s no wonder that the whole family flaked out after lunch yesterday. Everyone loves a wedding right? so here’s a peek……

The beautiful bride and her father

Himself with our daughter Gilly

Anyway, back to food. I have never cooked pickled pork before, I noticed it was on special at R29.99 a kilo and I asked the butcher how you cook it. “You boil it” he said shortly and walked away….okey dokey then!  Food Lover’s Market might like to remind their staff that the customers pay their salaries. Anyhoo, despite his attitude, I bought one and immediately referred to Lynn Bedford Hall and her book Food with Flair for guidance.

I joint of pickled pork, in this case a shank that was just over 1.2 kgs

1/2 onion sliced

1/2 carrot sliced

1 stalk of celery chopped

2 or 3 bay leaves

1/2 tsp black peppercorns

2 or 3 bay leaves

You can add some parsley if you like

Before you do anything you have to soak the meat overnight in water in a cool place.

Soak the joint overnight in a cool place

The next morning, drain the water off.

Place the joint in a pan and cover with water and all the remaining ingredients.

The joint about to be cooked

Bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer and let it cook for an hour and 30 minutes.

The glaze

2 TBSP apricot jam

2 TBSP brown sugar

1 TBSP thick soy sauce

Combine all the above ingredients in a small saucepan and heat gently, stirring until it all dissolves.

Leave the meat to cool, remove skin and baste with the glaze and pop into the oven or under the grill to brown, keep an eye on it and baste every couple of minutes until you achieve a nice colour.

Similar to gammon, this meat is good with salads and baked potatoes.

Pickled Pork Shank

The piece I cooked served 4.