Tag Archives: meat

Never Too Early To Think About Turkey

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Sebemina| 3 Comments

Think about it. For many of us here in Britain, Christmas dinner is one of the most important meals of the year. And what’s the most essential part of that family feast? A turkey of course! So why is it that the actual turkey chosen is so often a last minute purchase with little thought put into the welfare, origin and flavour of their selection?

Copas Farm, Berkshire

The folks at Copas Farm in Berkshire, where the turkeys (all 40 some odd thousand of them) live a free range life roaming about in cherry orchards, are hoping people spend a little more time and money on their purchase of a Christmas turkey this year.

The family has been living in Cookham, Berkshire since the late 1600s but it wasn’t until 1901 that they started farming and not until 1957 that they got into the turkey business. What began as a new project for the just out of school Tom Copas is now the primary family business, whose turkeys are sold at quality stockists throughout the UK as well as at their farm on December 23rd for ‘Farm Gate Day’.

Although Copas produces its turkeys for the traditional end of year season only, it’s still a year round job.

The birds they rear are aged between five to seven months as opposed to the industry standard of two months as they believe a fuller life results in a superior meat. Based on a recent visit to the farm, I can attest to the juiciness and deliciousness of the Copas turkey.

It was a bit odd having a Christmas dinner in early October (especially with the sunny record breaking hit and having my meal preceded by a Pimms and lemonade aperitif). Nonetheless, it was probably the tastiest turkey I’ve ever had. The firsthand knowledge of the health and welfare of their flocks added satisfaction to the feast as did realising there’s a real family behind the product adhering to traditional farm values.

Take a look at our best turkey recipes.

www.copasturkeys.co.uk

By Chris Osburn

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To get better at cooking, cook with the best

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Food Network UK| 2 Comments

Breadmaking with Richard Bertinet

Cooking from recipes is all well and good, but the best way of picking up new, long-lasting skills is to spend some time with hardened professionals – and the easiest way of getting that time is signing up for a course.

It’s amazing what a difference even a couple of hours at a specialist session can make to both your repertoire and confidence: a mere four recent hours have given me a decent understanding of croissants and pastries and a demon method for smoked haddock chowder.

A good extended course, meanwhile, will set you up for the rest of your life; your horizons will widen far beyond your culinary safety zone. You will have the tools to become a fully accomplished cook, and the ability not only to impress guests but to endlessly delight yourself. How can that not be money well spent?

I’ve gathered together a few of the best cookery schools available. Not just a neat bit of self-development, these are an inspired gift idea for birthdays, Christmas (it’s closer than you think) or just random expressions of love…

The Bertinet Kitchen, Bath
Originally from Brittany in North West France, Richard Bertinet is perhaps best known for his breadmaking courses (from £145 for a day to £800 for a 5 day course) which have turned many of us from stroppy failures into nearly-artisan bakers. But beyond baking, the Kitchen also offers classes in everything from knife skills to South East Asian cooking, as reflected in his new book Cook, in which some very delicious recipes (such as that smoked haddock chowder number) are mixed with some blindingly simple yet useful tips (like “when do you chop or crush garlic”?).
www.thebertinetkitchen.com

The Cookery School, London
Tucked away on a side street just off Oxford Circus, this is both a convenient place to get to (well, it is for me anyway) and a treasure trove of culinary know-how. Courses range from 6-week masterclasses tailored to all levels, to 2-hour sessions in subjects such as Baking for Breakfast. I recently completed the latter: in what was merely the length of an extended lunch break we learned about croissants, pain au chocolat, brioche and pastry butter.
www.cookeryschool.co.uk

River Cottage, Dorset
Here, as you’d expect at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s nerve centre, is meat. Lots and lots of meat. But also plenty other painfully tempting things including mushrooms, bread, vegetables, cider making and fish skills. Even beekeeping. In fact. Committed learners can spend four whole days at Park Farm, while busier types can just do the courses online (but of course you then can’t actually sample the unctuous sauce being prepared in front of you).
www.rivercottage.net

RSJ, London
At the monthly Sunday morning sessions with Ursula Ferrigno, you learn useful Italian cookery techniques, from foccacia to pasta-making to fish-stuffing, but there’s a twist. Once you’re done, you then head upstairs to eat your meal with a room full of guests. Not just any guests: paying guests. Nothing quite matches the applause from a packed restaurant as you take your bow before accepting your starter.
www.rsj.uk.com/events_cookery.htm

By M. Cosworth

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Love Salumi? Salumiamo!

Posted on July 2, 2010 by Food Network UK| 1 Comment

Courtesy of Rubber Slippers in Italy's Flickr stream

When cordially invited to ‘a celebration of Italian Cured Meats in Europe’ by the Italian Trade Commission and the Istituto Valorizzazione Salumi Italiani you don’t think twice, you simply say ‘RSVP me please’! A grateful grazie might be a good idea too.

The festa di salumi was held in the early evening at Giorgio Locatelli’s Refettorio restaurant near Blackfriars in London. A seemingly endless array of some of Italy’s finest cured including delectables such as Prosciutto di San Daniele, Prosciutto di Parma, Culatello di Zibello.

Speck Alto Adige and Mortadella Bologna were served to an appreciative crowd of food journos and food industry insiders. And with Francesco Mazzei and Giorgio Locatelli at the helm taking turns slicing the culatello and mortadella, quality bits of delicious pork were guaranteed!

When looking to purchase Italian cured meats, the Italian Trade Commission and the Istituto Valorizzazione Salumi Italiani suggests keeping an eye out for the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) seals of recognition. At present, there are 32 Italian cured meats marked PDO and PGI. Such distinction is attributed to the centuries-old traditions behind these products, which represent a third of the total PDO and PGI meat-based items in Europe.

Visit www.salumi-italiani.it for more details.

By Chris Osburn

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Masterclass with Gordon Jones: The season to be merry…even if you are a chef!

Posted on December 23, 2009 by Food Network UK| Leave a comment

December is the month when most people go out and let their hair down to enjoy the festivities, at the same time most chefs are pulling theirs out. Yes the festive season is a month that most chefs dread! Turkey dinners every second night, copious amounts of mince pies and then the good old Christmas pudding with brandy anglaise, it really is a long month and it can be a true nightmare if you’re not properly prepared.

We normally start making the Christmas pudding mix and mince meat towards the end of April and then box it up to let it mature in a cool dark place for six months before cooking the puddings. December sees the start of the fish and meat prep, making sauces and stocks and prepping those god damn brussel sprouts, oh I almost forgot pigs in blankets how could you possible have Christmas dinner without those bad boys!

Every year in the first week of December, which is normally quite quiet for us, I try to have a little social outing for all the boys in the kitchen. I find this is a really good moral booster and sets the lads up for a positive Christmas. We normally go to the local park and have fireworks and mulled wine, now it’s the mulled wine that has become legendary at this yearly event so I thought that I would share it with you. But beware it creeps up on you fast and some truly bizarre things have happened after my mulled wine has been consumed but I won’t say anymore about that, it will be my little secret! Enjoy and remember drink responsibly.

Mulled wine, serves anything from 8-15 people depending how bad you are with hangovers.

Ingredients:

4 bottles of red wine (I normally use a Merlot which has smooth tannins and is normally strong)

250ml of Cointreau

250ml of Marsala

250ml of Sloe Gin

250ml of Amaretto

5g cloves

1 stick of cinnamon

3 star anise

½ a vanilla pod

200g runny honey

3 whole oranges

10 plums

To finish 200g of chopped prunes and 200g of golden raisins.

Method:

You will need a large heavy bottomed pan. Pour the wine, spirits, honey and all the spices into the pan and gently bring up to 55 degrees, infuse for 45 minutes, then add the oranges and plums that have been cut up and cook for a further 10 minutes. This is important as you don’t want your mulled wine to taste stewed.

Pass through muslin cloth and add the chopped prunes and golden raisins, leave for a further 10 minutes so the wine cools slightly and the dried fruit plumps up and serve.

A little tip: I use my water bath at work as it can keep an exact temperature for as long as you like. If you boil the wine you will lose almost all the alcohol content and then you might not have as much fun!

By Gordon Jones

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Masterclass with Gordon Jones: The great sandwich

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Food Network UK| Leave a comment

With the great British public fast becoming labelled as the fattest nation in Europe and Christmas fast approaching, I very much doubt that our waist lines are going to get any smaller. There are many reasons that we have found ourselves in this uncomfortable position; ready meals left, right and centre, takeaways and home deliveries from every and any cuisine in the world, and our healthy drinking habits do not help the cause.

Take for instance your lunch break at work. Where do you go? What do you eat? I bet for many of you a quick trip to any well known high street coffee shop or deli is common, once inside you are straight away faced with a selection of pre packed sandwiches and so-called goodies but don’t be fooled by these lovely looking delights or so-called lovely delights.

Current legislation has led to almost all pre packed foods being labelled with figures showing how much fat, salt, sugar and calories are in the product. Now, I think it’s very good that this information is available to us but how has the humble sandwich managed to get to this: two slices of chemically improved bread like things and a filling that isn’t instantly recognisable to the human eye? I’m not sure myself but obviously I must have missed a trick, as the selection is fast becoming wider and wider.

So I have decided to take a leaf out of our European friend’s book and go down the open sandwich road and believe me it’s the best decision I’ve made in a long time. So here are a few for you to try at home or better still take them to work with you for lunch. By the way do remember to wrap each one in tin foil or you will have to re-assemble them in your lunch break which is a pain. Enjoy.

Open Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 baguette

Olive oil

½ a clove of garlic

Salt and pepper.

Toppings:

Smoked Salmon, horseradish, lemon crème fraiche and dill.

Feta cheese, cucumber, mint and roaster red peppers.

Beef pastrami, dijon mustard, chopped gherkins and wild roquette.

Roast winter vegetables, coriander humus, balsamic vinegar.

Method:

Cut the baguette on the angle and rub the surface with garlic, then drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Lightly toast on both sides on a low heat but be careful not to toast for too long or they will break your teeth! Then it’s just a simple or not so simple choice of what you want to put on them.

Remember you can be as adventuress as you like, when I was in Finland I had cold smoked loin of horse with gherkins and mustard, yum yum!! All meat consumed was from responsible sources.

By Gordon Jones

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