YOUR NATIONAL CUISINE - post recipes here (bacon content)

[bassybill]

My Italian recipe thread got a few appreciative comments, but I took some flak in it for being British and daring to comment on food! So, nuts to you guys - here's a fantastic recipe to show you that us English can do some real tasty grub when the mood takes us. I guess this should have a heart disease warning with it, but you ain't going to eat it every day and it does taste SO good. Try it and then tell me you don't like English food.

Pork with bacon and cider sauce!

VEGETABLES
Red potatoes - scrub, cut into 4 lengthways
Small carrots (of course) - scrub, leave whole
Small turnips – scrubbed, whole
Parsnips – peel, cut lengthways
Banana shallots – top and tail, remove outer skin, cut lengthways
Extra virgin olive oil

PORK
Good roasting joint – I like loin on the bone because it doesn’t dry out during cooking and the crackling is just fantastic!

FOR THE SAUCE
English cider, chicken stock, whole grain mustard, honey (optional), crème fraiche OR thick cream OR plain yogurt (also optional), bacon lardons, sea salt and ground black pepper, flour (this may not be necessary – see below).

GARNISH
Fresh sage leaves

METHOD
Heat some good olive oil in a large roasting tin on the hob, then give all the veg a good stir round in it for few minutes until they’re just starting to brown.
Dry the pork with kitchen paper, rub a good amount of the salt into the skin, then lay it on top of the bed of veg in the tin. Add a good sloosh of cider (about half inch deep) – don’t pour it onto the meat, you’ll wash the salt off!
Stick the lot into a medium oven for an hour or so, depending on how big the cut of meat is.
While the meat’s cooking, start to make the sauce. Pour chicken stock and cider into a pan, stir in a dollop of the mustard and a teaspoon of honey if you’re using it, and simmer it for a good hour or so until it’s reduced down by 60-70%.
About half way through cooking, take the tin out of the oven, turn the veg round a bit and baste the meat with the juices. Add a little hot water if the bottom of the pan has gone dry; this is unlikely with decent quality meat. You can use some of the juice from the meat in the sauce, too – make a roux with some flour if you don’t think the sauce will thicken up enough to your taste in time.
Cook the bacon lardons in a frying pan until really crispy (really, really crispy if you’re American).
After an hour or so, turn the oven up hotter (not too much, though) and cook the meat until the crackling goes good and crispy. When it’s ready, take it out and let it rest on a carving plate in a warm place while you’re finishing the sauce.
Stir some meat juice or your roux into the sauce. Then stir in the bacon. Let the sauce cool slightly and then stir in your cream or whatever if you’re using that. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Don’t let it get too cold!

TO SERVE
Remove the crackling from the meat and cut it into strips with scissors. Carve the meat into fairly thick slices and serve on very warm plates with the crackling strips, roasted veg, a good old drizzle of the sauce and garnished with sage leaves.

You'll love it. Sorry, no veggie alternative available at bassybill's place today.

Okay, what have you guys got?

[Ziltoid]

Canadians recipes:



With anything.

[Linas]

This is a Lithuanian artery clogger know as a Cepelinas aka Zeppelin because of its shape. What this is is a piece of pork, surrounded by ground potatoes that have been worked into that shape. You garnish this with bacon and sour creme. This can also be deep fried.

[bmc]

Fondue
Raclette
Rosti

Basically, most dishes revolve around cheese, potatoes, ham, pickles, cheese, potatoes and more cheese. Then, the Swiss have alternative dishes of which the main ingredients are cheese, with occasional potatoes or sometimes ham and pickles. Bread is sometimes used, along with cheese and occasionally cheese.

Are there any questions?

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Chicken Balmoral.

Chicken stuffed with haggis and wrapped in bacon.

[TheDarkReaver]

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

Chicken Balmoral.

Chicken stuffed with haggis and wrapped in bacon.

What about the deep Fried Mars Bar?

[Ayliffe]

Originally Posted by TheDarkReaver

What about the deep Fried Mars Bar?

http://www.ilike.org.uk/images/deep-fried-mars-bar.jpg

Favorite thing ever, along with battered deep fried dill pickle spears.

[CrispyDelicious]

Originally Posted by bmc

Fondue
Raclette
Rosti

Basically, most dishes revolve around cheese, potatoes, ham, pickles, cheese, potatoes and more cheese. Then, the Swiss have alternative dishes of which the main ingredients are cheese, with occasional potatoes or sometimes ham and pickles. Bread is sometimes used, along with cheese and occasionally cheese.

Are there any questions?

I love it when my mom makes swiss dishes (she is swiss/dutch). No lie, EVERYTHING involves some sort of cheese/cheese sauce/cheese filling/cheese stuffed cheese. And I love me some fondue

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by TheDarkReaver

What about the deep Fried Mars Bar?

That lacks bacon! Duh

But, you could wrap a mars bar in bacon before the batter and deep fry the lot. Hmmm.

[chrisisnotevil]

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

That lacks bacon! Duh

But, you could wrap a mars bar in bacon before the batter and deep fry the lot. Hmmm.

We searched Perth high and low for a deep fried mars bar last time we were on tour up there. Then it was explained we have to provide our own mars bar. Next time, I'm taking bacon too. On a serious note, Bill's recipe looks AWESOME.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

That's a bit of an odd one. Most chippies tend to sell sweets aswell and will just crack open a mars bar for the frying there and then.