THIS LITTLE PIG!

New Zealand Listener, Volume 23, Issue 583, 25 August 1950, Page 22

THIS LITTLE PIG!

OAST pork is always a popular item on a menu, though whether the meat itself is really so flavoursome without the accompanying stuffing and apple sauce is a moot point. In olden times in Great Britain, every small farmer kept at least one pig; and the Irish peasant felt safe with a potato patch and a pig. Practically no part of the pig was wasted; brawn was made from the head, and the hams were homecured and smoked. The trimmings were made into traditional Raised Pies. Raised Pork Pies To make the pastry shell: 14 oz. flour, 14% teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt. Place in a large bowl, make a well in the centre, and into it pour 5 oz. boiling lard to which has been added 1% pint boiling water. Knedd to a rather stiff paste, and if not enough liquid, add more boiling water. Must be worked quickly before getting cold or it will crack. Mould each one round a wooden mould, or jam jar made warm. Make a lid to fit a little larger, to allow pinching. Meat filling: Equal weights lean and fat pork, cut small. To every pound add % teaspoon each of ground cloves, ground nutmeg, cayenne pepper, ground mace, and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix well. Add a few cooked peas if liked (dried ones soaked dnd cooked a little will do). Put meat, seasoning, etc., into pie shells, pour over liquid jelly made from 1 pint boiling stock to % oz. gelatine. Put on lid, pinch well. Brush over with egg, and make a small hole in the lid for steam to escape. Let pies stand until crust sets, then place in hot oven for a start, reducing the heat when crust is partly cooked; and bake for 2 hours. These pies are usually eaten cold. Pork Chops with Kumaras Put a layer of sliced raw kumara in a buttered casserole. Sprinkle with brown sugar, pepper and salt. Repeat till dish is 2-3rds full. Pour on enough warm milk just to cover, lay pork chops on top, put on lid and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. Remove lid, add pepper and salt and put back to brown chops. : Pork Pie with Apples Half pound flour, 3 oz. good dripping or lard, 1 dessertspoon water, 2 teaspoon salt, 1 gill milk, 2 oz. fine breadcrumbs, 1 lb: pork sausage’ meat, 1 Ib. lean cooked pork, 2 stewed apples, sage and grated onion. Sift flour and salt, bring milk and dripping to boiling point, pour over the flour and mix to smooth paste. When cold enough to handle, roll out 2-3rds of pastry and line a tin. Put in meat, apples, breadcrumbs and seasoning, piling high in centre, Roll remaining pastry for a lid. Make a hole in centre. Bake in a hot oyen about an hour. Pork Brawn This is a traditional recipe from Cumberland. Half @ pig’s head, 2 pigs’ trotters, 2 sheeps’ tongues, 1 tablespoon sharp sauce, 2 carrots, 2 onions, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Wash meat, and put it in. pan with enough water to

cover it. Bring slowly to the boil, then add sliced carrots, and onions and salt. Simmer gently until meat leaves bones. Teke out tongues, and skin when ten der. Remove bones from head and trotters. Put back in stock and boil this until reduced to about % pint. Season stock to taste, and add sauce. Strain. Cut up meat, and put in a basin, which has been rinsed in cold water. Pour some of the stock over and let it set. Turn the brawn out, and decorate with parsley. — ; Pork and Apple Pie This is a Yorkshire dish. One pound lean pork, 2 large apples, 2 large onions, 2 lb. potatoes, 1 teaspoon powdered sage, pepper and salt, 1 teacup stock, dripping. Cut pork in small pieces, grease a piedish, and put in the meat, Season well with pepper and salt, and

sprinkle over it the powdered sage. Slice thinly the apples, onions, and tatoes. Add alternately to other ingredients. Pour over stock, dot on knobs of dripping, cover with another dish or lid and bake approximately 144 hours. Remove top dish, and allow to brown nicely for last 10 minutes or so, Pork Chops with Pineapple : Parboil some kumaras, and _ peel thinly. Dust chops with pepper and salt, dip in beaten egg and milk, roll in flakes or breadcrumbs. Grease casserole, lay in chops, put kumaras round. Put half or whole slice of pineapple on each pork chop, then a slice of apple. Sprinkle with sugar, add a knob of butter, and enough boiling water to cover bottom of dish. Bake 4%-% hour at 375 degrees, till brown and cooked. Barbecued Spareribs Spareribs are breast and rib bones, with only a little meat between, but that little is rich and delicious in flavour. Average weight, from 11% to 3 lb. First prepare the barbecue sauce. Combine, in a saucepan, 1 cup vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, 3 tablespoons Worcester sauce, 1 teaspoon each of salt, dry mustard and paprika (Mexican pepper), Yeth teaspoon ordinary pepper, 1 minced peeled clove of garlic. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Meanwhile place spareribs, rounded side up, on a rack in large baking pan. Bake in very hot oven (500 degrees or regulo 10) for 10-15 minutes. Then reduce heat to 325 degrees (or regulo 3), and bake, covered or uncovered, from 1-144 hours,

or until very tender, brushing frequently on both sides with the barbecue sauce. Before arranging the spareribs on ‘serving dish, cut into individual servings of 2-3 ribs each. Pour remaining sauce over them. Serve with potatoes. Breaded Pork Tenderloin Tenderloin is a long tapering piece of lean meat from the underside of the pork loin. For 6 servings, get 3. fresh tenderloins about %%4 Ib. each, and cut into pieces for serving: Rub lightly over with a cut clove of garlic (if desired). Dip in seasoned flour, then into 1 egg slightly beaten with 2 tablespoons of water, then into fine breadcrumbs, Have % cup of fat or salad oil hot in a pan, and brown the pieces golden cn al! sides. Then cover, and cook over low heat for 30 minutes or till tender. Serve with tomato sauce.