Meat Juices Gravy

When you've gone to all the effort and cost of making a roast dinner with a light and crispy Yorkshire Pudding, using whatever is your favourite meat, what better way of using those unctuous juices than in a proper gravy, the way my mum taught me to make it.

Meat Juices from your roast (approx. 250ml)
1 stock cube/Knorr stock pot
45ml (3tbs) Yorkshire pudding mix
30ml (2tbs) Bisto gravy powder
200ml Cold Water
2 or 3 splashes of Tabasco sauce

1. In a saucepan, place your meat juices and stock cube/stock pot.
2. Bring to the boil until your stock cube/stock pot is fully dissolved.
3. Mix the Yorkshire pudding batter mix and your Bisto gravy powder into a paste then add the cold water and mix thoroughly.

4. Pour this into your meat juices and bring to the boil, stirring continuously to prevent lumps forming, until thickened.
5. Add additional boiling water, if the gravy is too thick.
6. Turn the heat down to a simmer and taste.

7. Add a couple of splashes of Tabasco and taste again.  Add an additional splash of Tabasco, one at a time, until you've got the most amazing flavour that you can imagine.
8. Serve poured generously over your Sunday roast!

*It's essential that you stir your gravy continuously when you pour in the Bisto thickened batter mix, or lumps will form as it cooks unevenly. If you don't and the worst does happen, then whisk briskly until they've been broken up. Lumpy gravy is not appetising in the slightest!!!

Sunday Dinner

Traditionally when we grew up, mum always made a proper Sunday Roastof a joint of meat, vegetables, roast and/or mashed potatoes with a light and crispy Yorkshire pudding and home made gravy.

Since I married many, many years ago and then with a growing up family of our own to feed, it's our favourite meal of the week.  Family time to enjoy amazing food, lovingly prepared, to be the final meal of the weekend before the working and school week commences the following day.

I've broken my Sunday roast dinner down for you into three parts:

The pork and sage stuffed chicken.

The gravy.

The Yorkshire pudding.

Just add your vegetables, sit down around the table with family, friends and loved ones and enjoy!

Rosie

x

Pork and Sage Stuffed Chicken

I don't generally buy stuffing mix as it's really easy to make yourself. The only time that I do use it is as a crumb coating for chicken portions, but that's for another day. Today is all about getting stuffed!

1 medium Onion, finely chopped
225g Pork stuffing meat
4tbs dried Breadcrumbs
1tbs dried Sage
2tbs boiling water
1 whole chicken

1. Oven to 190˚C/170C ˚fan.
2. In a medium sized bowl, add all of the above ingredients and thoroughly mix together with your hand (or for those of a squeamish nature, you can use a spatula).
3. Use the mixture to stuff your chicken cavity.
4. Weigh your stuffed chicken and cook for 25 minutes per 500g plus an additional 25 minutes.
5. To check if your chicken is cooked through, pierce the thickest part (generally where the leg joins the body.  If the juices run clear, then your chicken is cooked.  If there is still some colour to the juices, cook for another 25 minutes and check again.
6. Allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
7. Serve with gravy made from the meat juices.

*The pork stuffing meat I've used here is the type that you get in a long plastic tube, sealed at each end with a metal clip, usually about 450g in weight.  Alternatively you can use ready made sausages which are your favourite and omit the Sage.

Pulled Pork and Pears with Central England Co-op

Recently I was invited to take part in producing a dinner time recipe by the Central England Co-Op.  The best bit was that I wasn't limited in what I could come up with; I was given free range to produce an amazing plate of food for you, so I chose to do one of my all time favourite meals - a good old Sunday roast!  Come and share my creation and enjoy!

2kg Pork shoulder joint.
5ml Sea Salt
Fresh Thyme
2 Onions
For the gravy
400ml Pear Cider
80ml Double cream
Black pepper to season
For the pears
25g Butter
10ml Rapeseed Oil
4 Pears
15ml Demerara sugar

1. Heat your oven to 180C/160C fan.
2. If not already done by your butcher, score the skin of the pork through the rind, but not right the way through to the flesh.
3. Pat the skin dry, then season with the salt and rub in well.
4. Tuck pieces of the thyme into some of the slashes in the rind.
5. Peel and quarter your onions and use these as a 'trivet' in the base of your roasting pan.

6. Place your pork joint on top of the onions, add 250ml of water and cover tightly with foil.
7. Place in the oven and cook for 3-3½ hours until the meat is cooked through.
8. Remove the meat from the oven, along with the onions.
9. If you want to make crackling, then at this point, turn the oven up to 220C.  Cut through the strings securing the pork joint and cut the rind away from the flesh.
10. Cover the meat and onions with foil and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
11. Place the pork rind on a wire rack in the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes until it has bubbled up and is crispy.
12. Add the pear cider to the roasting tin over a medium heat and stir to remove all the residual flavours (you'll often hear this called 'de-glazing' the pan).
13. Transfer the gravy to a saucepan and bring to the boil, and then add the cream and reduce to a simmer. Don't worry if it starts to look as if it's splitting, it will come back together as it reduces.
14. Allow the gravy to simmer gently, stirring occasionally.  Season with freshly ground black pepper, to your own personal taste.
15. Meanwhile, melt the butter and the oil in a pan then add the demerara sugar and stir through.
16. Quarter the pears lengthways and remove the core (I left the skin on mine).
17. Gently heat the butter and oil then cook the pears until they're tender.

18. Using two forks, 'pull' the pork apart (rather than slice it).  You'll find that it's lovely and tender and will do this easily.
19.  Serve the pulled pork with the pears and the pear cider gravy and a piece of crackling.
20.  I accompanied mine with gorgeous, crispy, roast potatoes and freshly steamed broccoli.

Enjoy!

I was sent £25 of food vouchers from the Central Co-Op with which to create my meal recipe.  I also purchased additional pears and apples, along with some vanilla ice cream and made a crumble for dessert.

Sour Cherry Chutney

5ml Rapeseed oil

1 onion, finely sliced

1 x 350g jar Morello cherries in syrup

50ml Balsamic vinegar

50g Sultanas

1 star anise

1. Heat the oil and gently cook the onions for 10 minutes until transparent but not coloured.

2. Add the cherries (including the syrup), balsamic vinegar, sultanas and star anise.

3. Bring to the boil then simmer for 45 minutes until reduced and thickened.

4. Serve warm as an accompaniment to pork or duck.

You can also allow this to cool and serve with cheese, pâté or cooked meats.