TRADITIONAL FAGGOTS FROM OUR OLD SPOT PIGS

Childhood Memories from a Mouthful 

Our beautiful and gorgeous outdoor field reared rootled and romped Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs who have given us the greatest pleasure on a daily basis are now giving us their bounty.  These traditional gorgeous punchy faggots updated with a good glass of brandy and hint of juniper bring them up a notch to a more superior dinner, the first mouth full of our own raised pork faggots took me straight back to my childhood, this is what I love about food most, memories in a mouthful.

Always a emotional moment when a pig leaves the farm but my husband reminds me that we have given them a longer life full of freedom in a grass field to do what they do naturally and we have loved spoiling them daily with seasonal foraged some scrumped! apples and pears, home grown carrots and root vegetables and foraged acorns from the woods, along with daily brushing, rubbing and dry shavings baths, this always helps balance those emotions of them leaving and the excitement of the meat coming back.

Prep Time 10 minutes / Cooking Time 20 minutes / Equipment Mincer

Ingredients

(makes 12 faggots, serves 4-6)

750g Natural or Organic pig liver trim out ventricles and dice

1 pigs heart trim out ventricles and dice

2 pork kidneys trim out ventricles and dice

750g pork belly diced

500g pork shoulder diced

1 onion finely chopped

1 tbsp chopped thyme leaves

2 tbsp chopped parsley

2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

250g fresh breadcrumbs

2 small glasses of brandy

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

6 garlic cloves grated

6 juniper berries ground

1 tbsp coconut or olive oil for frying

Serving Suggestion

Buttery Mashed Potatoes

1kg King Edwards peeled

100g butter

1 tsp white wine vinegar

Boil the potatoes until fork tender, drain and mash add a generous amount of butter, more than your think you should, a dash of white wine vinegar and good pinch of sea salt and white pepper.

Onion Gravy

1 onion finely sliced

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp oil

2 tbsp sugar

500ml water or port

2 tsp cornflour

In a frying pan melt the oil and butter, pan fry the onions for 15 minutes, add the sugar and cook for another 5 minutes, then add the water and bring to a simmer, mix the cornflour with a tsp of water to form a paste, add to the onions and stir in well, this will thicken the gravy, season the onion gravy with salt and pepper and maybe another knob of butter to add a glossy shine and richness,

The Faggots

In a large bowl combine the liver, heart, kidneys, pork belly, shoulder, onion, breadcrumbs, sea salt and black pepper, thyme and parsley, turn over a few times by hand to roughly mix and then pass through a mincer, I use a 8mm die plate a little more robust but the 6mm will give you a slightly finer and more smoother texture.

To your mince add the the rest of the ingredients, stir through and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill. 

Divide the chilled mixture into ball, each around the size of of a larger golf ball, place in the fridge to chill until ready to cook, preferably the same day.

Heat a heavy based frying pan over a medium high heat, add the oil and wait one minute before adding the faggots, sear both sides for one minute only then turn the heat down to a low medium heat, gently cook for a further 20-23 minutes, I like to add a egg cup of water 3 minutes before the end of the cooking time then crank up the heat to medium high and pop a lid on the frying pan, so that the faggots get a quick steam bath, after 2-3 minutes immediately take off the heat and leave un-touched while you plate up the mashed potato, place the faggots on top and drizzle over the onion gravy, this is a dish that will not disappoint.