We stopped at a butcher in Swabia and got some “oyster-cut” pork cheeks, carefully trimmed of all fat and connective tissue. Marinated in Port wine. Floured, seasoned, and seared golden, then flamed with Calvados. Tipped into the slow cooker on top of caramelised shallots, garlic, and big chunky carrots, with a bit of beef broth. Served alongside crispy rösti and sauteed spinach. Tender and tasty!
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Just being reading I’m experiencing the flavours.
Cheeks are underrated. They take a little work–even the “clean” oyster collups need to have the strong fiber membrane removed before cooking. I was glad to find them; normally they come clad in fat and membranes, so there’s more waste and work. However, once cleaned, the collups themselves have no visible fat. But their texture and flavour is exceptional, and they take to many different flavours. Next time I’ll try Thai curry, coconut milk, and lime leaf. Yum.
they’re staple food where I come from.
cooked on red wine. During my trips in africa, I discovered that the hump of some of the races of cows have the same texture & taste…but I wouldn’t know even where or how to ask for it…
that reminds me when I lived in London – i wanted to prepare something also from my region " lentejas con los 7 sacramentos", so I went to the local butcher in Marylebone to get some pigs’ ears, pig tail, trotters and some other “ungodly” stuff… the butcher asked me… " for your dogs?" , to what I answered, “no, for me”. He was shocked! He told me that he couldn’t sell them to me, as they were ‘not for human consumption’
and said that for those things, I should go to Chinatown…
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Some experimentation with what was already in the kitchen here…spicy sweet corn, tomato, and chili soup with crispy shards of bacon on top. Had a packet of quail eggs and went all fiddly with devilling them. Used up the ripe Hass avocadoes in a mousse with lime and dill, topped with curls of smoked salmon-trout, a sprinkling of black sesame, and more dill.
Now you are just messing with us.
Nope, this is everyday food around here…tonight, moules with tomatoes, Pernod and aioli. I am totally untrained, and my knives are shockingly dull.
I used to get very frustrated trying to make bacon crispy until I found laying them on kitchen paper on a plate and giving them two or three minutes full blast in the microwave.
Had my first test run with my euro 39 air fryer from Amazon yesterday.
Salmon steaks turned out soft and juicy but wil cut the cooking time in future to keep more of the texture
Crispy potato wedges evenly cooked plus carrots and peas, some of the peas were overcooked so also reduce their time.
We get really thin bacon here…it’s easy to fry it slowly until it renders almost all the fat and becomes crispy shards. I’ve been resisting a Ninja Crispi because I already have a great micro-grill, but air fryers make cooking for only two really easy, apparently. Here’s an article about air frying, including The Air Fryer Kitchen, which may help you with your timing.
Air Fryer Nation: How a Popular Appliance Is Changing the Way We Cook (and Eat) - CNET
Only one pan to wash
Thanks for the link
Welcome to the dark side.
Try the chicken thighs next.
Having a bit of a fanily do tomorrow and after showing my son in law my cheap Chinese sausage filler I thought it would be a treat to make cumberlands.
1 kg shoulder
1 kg pork belly
(I got the cut offs from the butcher, the same things they make their sausages out of.)
Bacon
Bread soaked in red wine
Nutmeg
Mace
Thyme
Oregano
Curing salt and lots of pepper
This time I did half the mix with the big hole disk and half with the small hole.
I love this Swiss army meat wolf, bought in CH back in the day it makes short shift of 2 kgs of meat and is really nice to crank.
Got the mix all mixed and after a cuppa its time to stuff my meat into the skins.
Actually this kind of meat wolf is no longer allowed because you can trap your fingers in the screw, but I recogn that when it starts to hurt I stop cranking.
Two kilograms of Cumberlands.
I know they should be spirals, bur you require skins with a narrower diameter to do that, maybe nexttime.
Oh! And I made a Parkin.
Fried up one that didn’t come out right, fresh bread, home made pickeld onions, a bit of salat and a beer.
You are are an example for us all of health and safety
I was planning to make raclette tonight but visited the local traditional Christmas lights switch on with wines and soup
Then fell into a bar so Raclette but with cauliflower not potatoes tomorrow
OMG…even my German OH was appalled!

Ok, lets unpack that.
Colour: Check
Spoon in mug: Check
Bloated teabag body floating face down: Check
Its a perfect cup of tea, any tea lady would be proud to have a brew like that on her trolley.
By the way, turkey trotter out of the airfryer, rubbed in with curry, soy sauce, pepper and Döner spices, 40 minutes. The trick is to use olive oil out of the spray can.
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