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Sharing meaty skills

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Yesterday I held a skill-share, organised by Food in Community and Transition Town Totnes, with some meat enthusiasts many of whom had never tried offal. We talked about our various’ knowledge and experience of offal – from total inexperience to memories of childhood meals. One of the participants is from South Africa where offal is widely eaten and she told us about some interesting cooking methods and traditions.

All the ingredients I sourced for the workshop were local; the veg was all Devon-grown and organic from Annie’s and the meat I bought from Luscombe’s Butchers in Totnes.

The group of keen cooks and one newly non-vegetarian gathered round the kitchen counter while we shared the stuffed lamb breast I had made at home. Most offal recipe’s require a slow cook which is one of the reasons why, I suspect, they have lost favour with many people, so I had slow roasted one for 3 hrs before the skill-share. They really enjoyed the flavour and had never tried lambs breast. It was lovely to talk about food I love and to share a recipe I often make for friends as a hearty winter warmer.

We then set about making our own. I cut the very large breast into sections and each participant filled and rolled theirs to take home and roast for their dinner. The one lambs breast will serve 4-6 people – and cost £3.40 for each length of meat! That’s 70-50p a portion!

Stuffed Lambs breast;

x1 length of lambs breast, the fat trimmed off as much as possible
a length of butchers string
Stuffing:
175g breadcrumbs
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1/2 small onion finely chopped
1 stick small leek, finely chopped
pinch of salt and pepper
a tblsp of oil
a tblsp of water

Now you can add what you like; chopped apricots and fresh thyme, chopped dates and a tsp of cinnamon, lemon zest and parsley, roast garlic and rosemary – whatever you like.

Combine the stuffing ingredients and smooth over the full length of the meat. Roll it as tightly as possible, tucking any escaped stuffing in then tie the breast tightly and place in a roasting tin, covering with parchment paper and foil. Roast in a low – medium oven for 2.5 hrs, remove the parchment paper and foil and roast for a further 30 minutes on medium – high. Allow the meat to rest for 5 minutes then slice and serve with whatever suits the stuffing choice you made – I like to make a Moroccan spiced filling and serve with a vegetable tagine and cous cous.

We then sampled the braised stuffed lamb’s heart which raised some concerns and interest in the group – no-one had tried heart before and it was sufficiently unusual to be quite an experience. It was a huge hit! Everyone was very pleasantly suprised and loved it. So we cracked on with making one ourselves.

Stuffed lamb’s hearts:
x2 hearts, with some of the fat trimmed off.
a length of butchers string
stuffing
70g free-range pork sausage meat
80g breadcrumbs
1/2 stick celery, finely chopped
1/2 small onion finely chopped
pinch of salt and pepper
a tblsp of oil
a tblsp of water
8-10 rashers smoked streaky free-range bacon
Braising sauce
1 small carrot, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 stick celery, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
a glug of red wine
1 tin of tomatoes
a couple of sprigs of thyme and rosemary
a pinch of salt and pepper

Combine the stuffing ingredients and stuff the ventricles as much as you can. If there is left overs of the stuffing, press it into the top of the heart. Heat some oil in a casserole pan and brown the hearts. Set aside to cool.
Make two ‘squares’ of latticed bacon and lay each heart on the bacon and wrap, leaving none of the heart exposed. Tie them up and set aside. In the pan you used to brown the meat, fry the onions then add the garlic, celery and carrots, brown a little but don’t let them stick to the pan. Slosh some wine in and add the tomatoes and herbs. Place the hearts in with the sauce and braise on a low heat on the hob or in the oven for about 2 hrs.

Serve with roast root veg and steamed kale and a glass of red wine! Again, a hugely affordable meat – one breast could feed x2 if there were plenty of veg accompaniments, or for one if you’re a particularly meaty eater – it’s quite rich and filling. Each heart cost 40p! The bacon and sausage meat were far more expensive than the main component.

Finally we together made liver and bacon. Another big success with everyone. The huge piece of liver was only £2.50 and the amount we made could easily feed 4-6 people.

Liver and Bacon
1 large onion, sliced length-ways
400g fresh lamb’s liver
400g smoked streaky bacon, sliced
2 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste
fresh thyme
glug of balsamic or red wine vinegar
glug of red wine
1/2 cup or more of water

Trim the liver of any gristle and slice. Dust the liver slices with the flour and seasoning and any herbs you like – I used fresh thyme leaves. Fry the onion on a low-medium heat, add the bacon and let the fat melt a little. If the pan is a little dry, add a drop of oil then add the coated liver and stir, stopping the meat from sticking to the pan. Once browned, add the vinegar, then the wine and stir some more. Pour in some water, little by little so you have a gravy consistency – not thick and sticky, but not runny. When the liver starts to ‘bleed’, you’re nearly ready. Test a piece – it should be soft and the centre not too pink.

Serve with mashed carrot and swede, steamed greens and roast potatoes.

We then discussed some other recipe ideas I have either tried before or would like to; devilled kidneys, poached tongue with butterbeans, lemon and herbs, steak and kidney pie or pudding, brawn, liver pate, oxtail stew (which requires an epic 5 hours to cook!), frito misto of different types of offal, braised pork cheek – to name but a few!

Everyone really enjoyed being involved, tasting meat they hadn’t before and talking about food. If you’re interested in learning more, I’d be happy to hold another skill-share in Totnes – please contact laurams@mweb.co.za to register your interest. Check out the Transition Town Totnes website for info about other upcoming foody skillshares.

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