NEW PORK, PALE ALE & DILL SAUSAGES

As you might have noticed, we're a little keen on coming up with great new sausage flavour combinations. This month we've been working with Green Beacon Brewery in Teneriffe to come up with this great combo using their 3 Bolt Pale Ale.

We hope you guys like them as mush as we do.

CLOVELY ESTATE WINES

Have you noticed our lovely new wine racks in the shop? After a lot of (not so fun) paperwork, we now have a licence to sell Clovely Estate wines. We're really excited by the opportunity to support another local Queensland business and help change that 'out of date' perception that Queensland doesn't make good wine.

Earlier this week we held a staff wine tasting & food matching session with Mr Peter Marchant. Wines were paired with several different flavours & meat dishes and we found some winning combinations. It was a great night. As well as being informative, it was also great to be able to socialise together over great food and wine. It's definitely something we're planning to do more often.

INCREDIBLE ROASTED SHOULDER OF LAMB

with loads of garlic and rosemary...

 

 

You've got to love Jamie Oliver's recipes. They're usually quite simple and easily adapted to your own tastes. He has a great deal of respect for good meat too.

I love cooking lamb shoulder slowly on the bone like this. The flavour is like nothing else and the way the soft, rich meat falls from the bone gets me every time. The sauce in this recipe is the perfect accompaniment too. It's got a little zing from the capers and red wine vinegar and then a little freshness from the mint - lamb's best friend.

 I substitute button squash or sometimes broccoli for the swede in the smashed veg and then for the greens, I'll cook up whatever is looking good at the fruit & veg shop. Curly kale is a bit of a favourite of mine at the moment and brussel sprouts are really good right now too. Bon Appetit!


CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE
.

CHRISTMAS ORDERS

Did you know it's a little more than 6 weeks until Christmas? Our Christmas order forms are available in store now.

Choose from Billy's very own double smoked, free-range leg hams in different sizes, including an easy carve option and completely boned out. Billy is making his Turduckens again this year too! Turkey, duck and chicken boned out, basted with herbed butter and then rolled into one delicious roast! This comes in a smaller breast meat only option also.

Turkeys and chickens are available in free-range or organic options and we have a great selection of pork, lamb and beef roasts to suit everyone.

Where possible we prefer to take orders in the shop or over the phone as opposed to email. We like being able to discuss the finer details with you in person and answer questions you might have to ensure that our options best suit your needs.

MOROCCAN MEATBALLS

These guys are quick becoming a best seller at Meat at Billy's. Quick and easy to cook.

We make these using seasoned lamb mince and then stuff a piece of fetta into the centre. We then brush over some of our very own Moroccan marinade and then sprinkle with a little parsley and parmesan.

Simply bake these guys these guys in the oven and serve with a green or roasted veg salad & couscous dressed with Suzanne Quintner's Chermoula Dressing. Or serve with baked potato and herbed natural yoghurt with a dollop of spicy harissa.

TIPS FOR THE BEST CRISPY CRACKLING

crispy
crunchy
salty
fatty
rich
delicious pork crackling.

Customers often ask us how to get really good crackling and honestly, it's super easy. The easiest way to ensure awesome crackling is to plan ahead.

Step 1: Leave your pork cut uncovered in the fridge overnight before cooking.This dries the skin out which is the important step. This pretty much guarantees maximum crunchiness.

Step 2: Before cooking, rub a little olive oil or butter and a good amount of salt into the skin.

Step 3: Preheat your oven to 220 degrees and cook at this temperature for the first 20 minutes of your overall cooking time. Your cooking time is obviously going to depend on which cut of pork your roasting and the size. (*more info below)

Step 4: Drop the oven temperature back down to your recipe's suggested cooking temp.

Step 5: Check on the crackling 30 mins before end of cooking time. If it's not crisped up enough simply turn the temperature back up to 220 degrees again for the final 30/20 mins.

Step 6: Remember to let your roast rest for 10/15 mins before serving.

Step 7: Get in quick and steal all of the crackling!



*Pork cuts & cooking times:
Talk to our butchers about what cuts might suit you best.

Cuts like belly & shoulder have great flavour and benefit from longer cooking at much lower temperatures.140 degrees is great for slow cooking.

Pork leg & loin roasts are a little leaner and can be cooked on higher temperatures.

BBQ BEEF CHEEK & COLESLAW BURGERS

Cape Grim beef cheeks really are the best we've ever come across. Cape Grim Beef's cattle graze on the green pastures of Tasmania's north-western point, and represents some of the best of its type in Australia. It's also hormone free, antibiotic free, GMO free, British breed beef only and graded to the four highest MSA tenderness grades.



People often think of beef cheeks as a colder weather cut of meat but really, it can be used all year round.

This is an easy meal for when you need to feed a lot of people. I like to use fresh herbs in my coleslaw although I know that's not to everyone's liking. Sometimes I like to throw some fresh apple in the mix too!


Serves 6

BEEF CHEEKS
*4 x Cape Grim beef cheeks
500ml beef stock
*¾ bottle of NZ BBQ Peppercorn Sauce
TBSP Tomato Paste
TSP Dijon Mustard
1 onion sliced

COLESLAW
1/8 cabbage thinly sliced
1 large carrot grated lengthways
Half red onion, sliced thinly lengthways
Fresh coriander or dill (optional)
*1 tub d’Lish aioli
*Dash of Lirah Sweet Apple Vinegar


Place ingredients for beef cheeks into a slow cooker and cook on low setting for approx 8 hours. Remove cheeks from liquid. Place liquid into a saucepan on medium heat and reduce liquid by half. Place cheeks back into the reduced sauce and shred apart using two forks. Allow to cool slightly.

To make coleslaw, place vegetables in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix aioli with a good dash of the sweet apple vinegar, some salt & pepper and taste. Add more vinegar or salt & pepper if needed. It should have a good tang! When ready, mix through the vegetables.

Serve the beef mix & coleslaw on well buttered, soft hamburger buns with the remainder of the NZ BBQ & Peppercorn sauce on the side. 

*Available at Meat at Billy's

Knife Sharpening - Saturday 20th July

Troy from A Wicked Edge Sharpening will be here on Saturday, 20th July from 9am until 12pm bring your blunt knives back to life.

$8 per knife - cash only (paid to Troy, not Meat at Billy's).

If you can't make it here on the day, you can drop your knives in to Meat at Billy's prior to the day, wrapped safely & securely in a bag with your name on it containing the correct money/payment amount.

He also sharpens -Scissors -Food Processor Blades -Secatears -Axes -Machette-Martial Arts-Shovels -Chisels -Mattocks -Planer Blades-Mower Blades -Hedge Trimmers -Industrial Blades -Clipper Blades-Thinning blades

BUTTER CHICKEN - THE RANGOON RACQUET CLUB

These Rangoon Racquet Club Indian Curry Sauces are new to Meat at Billy's and we're loving them. We thought we'd start off with this recipe because everyone loves a good Butter Chicken don't they?

If you like your curry sauces hot & spicy - try the Vindaloo. That one is guaranteed to warm you up!

Serves 8 people
Ingredients
 1.5kg chicken thigh fillets
 1 jar of Rangoon Racquet Club Butter Sauce
 ghee or vegetable oil
 150ml cream
 bunch of fresh coriander
 toasted almonds
 fried schallots
 steamed rice

Method
1. Cut chicken thighs into four pieces.
2. Heat ghee or oil in a fry pan and brown chicken.
3. Add Rangoon Racquet Club Butter Sauce and heat through.
6. Add cream and reduce to the thickness of double cream.
Serving suggestions
Sprinkle with freshly chopped coriander, toasted almonds and fried schallots on top of steamed rice.

STICKY BOURBON BBQ CHOPS

This recipe comes courtesy of the Australian Pork website www.pork.com.au


Ingredients:
4 pork forequarter chops
Salt and pepper

Sauce: 
1 cup barbeque sauce
1 cup brown sugar
2 tblsp tomato paste
½ cup water
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced finely
100ml bourbon whiskey

Cooking Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 170°C.
2. Cut the pork forequarter chops in half and season with salt and pepper.
3. Combine the barbeque sauce, brown sugar, tomato paste, water and ginger in a saucepan and stir over a medium heat until the liquid boils. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, before removing from the heat and cooling.
4. Barbeque or fry pork chops on a griddle pan for 4 minutes each side then place the chops into a greased baking dish.
5. Stir the bourbon into the prepared sauce and pour half the sauce over the pork chops. Bake the pork chops in a pre-heated oven at 170°C for 25 - 30 minutes turning and basting frequently.
6. Serve hot with extra sauce on the side.

Note: delicious served with potato salad and coleslaw.

KNIFE SHARPENING - SATURDAY 25TH MAY

KNIFE SHARPENING

Saturday 25th May

9am-12pm

$8 per knife

Troy from A Wicked Edge Sharpening will be here to sharpen your knives and give them new life. He does such a good job, we even get him to do all of our butchering knives.

DRY AGED BEEF

 

Dry aged beef is a term you might have heard more and more of in recent years. Put simply, it's a piece of meat hung in a strictly controlled environment and left to age for anything up to 80 days. Why would you do this? Well... it's all about the flavour. During the aging process, the meat's natural enzymes go to work breaking down certain structural muscle proteins and fat strands. Once this has happened, the beef then starts to dehydrate and this is what really intensifies the overall flavour of the beef. This dehydration element also effects the texture making it rich and dense.

The image above is a 36 day dry aged, 150 day grain fed, Angus Rib on the Bone. Billy took this home to try the first day we got some in and was just amazed by the intensity of flavour. Dry aged beef is something that Meat at Billy's is hoping to be able to offer more of in the future. Stay tuned!

Neil Perry, who is an expert on the subject (there are 15 tonnes of beef ageing in his three Bar & Grills at any one time) says, "the most important thing with good dry-aged beef is not to overcook it. The meat shouldn’t be cooked at more than medium-rare, and don’t rest it too long: there is little juice in the steak and it will dry out. So there you have it: a steak with amazing flavour and intensity and all it took was 80 days of patience. Oh, and did I say you need to start with amazing beef? So don’t try this at home, but go to butchers who age it for you".

Read more on the subect from Neil Perry here:
http://travelinsider.qantas.com.au/neil_perry_and_dry-aged_beef.htm

 

MOROCCAN SLOW COOKED LAMB

We use this Moroccan Tagine Intense Flavour Paste a lot in the shop. It's made right here in Brisbane by a lady named Suzanne Quintner, who has been making Moroccan marinades, pastes & preserved lemons since well before it was popular to do so (-:

This is what we use on our our insanely popular, Moroccan lamb shanks that come pre marinated. We also sell it instore so you can try using it to marinate different things at home. It's made from onion, tomato, preserved lemons, Moroccan spices, honey, Australian vinegar, garlic, ginger & rose water.

I often get asked if you need a tagine to cook with this paste. The answer is absolutely not. While a tagine pot/dish looks beautiful, it is simply not required to cook these types of meals. A heavy based pot, casserole dish or slow cooker works in pretty much the same way.

Try the tagine paste with anything slow cooked - beef cheeks, lamb shanks, oxtail or even poultry. Try brushing a little on some quails before grilling them.


MOROCCAN SLOW COOKED LAMB
Serves 4

*Pick and choose your own vegetables here, there's no rules. You can use normal potato, throw in some pitted green olives & dates, cherry tomatoes - whatever takes your fancy really.

750g 3cm diced lamb shoulder
Half a jar of Suzanne Quinter Moroccan Tagine Paste
half a sweet potato chopped
1 brown onion cut into large chunks
3 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
eggplant cut into large chunks
Cup of chicken stock or water
bunch of fresh coriander
natural yoghurt (I prefer Meredith sheep milk yoghurt)

OVEN METHOD
Preheat oven to 160 degrees.
Throw everything into heavy based casserole dish and cook for a couple of hours or until the lamb is soft and falls apart.

SLOW COOKER
Throw everything into the pot and turn it on. You might need a little more liquid for this method.

STOVE TOP
Throw everything into a casserole pot. Bring to a gentle simmer with the lid and leave for a couple of hours or until the lamb is soft and falls apart.

*Serve on rice, cous cous, quinoa or freekah topped with fresh coriander and a dollop of yoghurt on the side.

SLOW COOKED PORK BELLY IN MASTERSTOCK

This Masterstock from the Stock Merchant is a new favourite ingredient of mine. While it's probably simple enough to make yourself at home, in reality I usually just don't have the time.

Master Stock is traditionally used in Chinese cuisine to marinate, braise and poach meats including chicken, duck and pork. Well known chefs including Neil Perry and Kylie Kwong use Master Stock extensively in their cooking.

The Stock Merchant version is made by simmering their Free Range Chicken Stock with soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, a touch of sugar and eight different spices including star anise, mandarin peel, ginger, cassia bark and Sichuan pepper.

The result is an authentic and ready to use Master Stock, perfect for poultry, beef, pork or tofu.


SLOW COOKED PORK BELLY IN MASTERSTOCK
Serves 4

This recipe really is super easy to prepare and cook. 2.5 hours might sound like a long time but you'll be rewarded with a soft as marshmallow, rich flavoured pork dish that your dinner guests will just love! The greens make it healthy too. Obviously.

INGREDIENTS

1kg pork belly
500ml The Stock Merchant Free Range Masterstock
2 cups jasmine rice
2 bunches bok choy
2 finely chopped spring onions
diced fresh red chilli
handful of coriander leaves

METHOD

Preheat oven to 140 degrees

Place pork belly into a heavy based casserole dish. It needs to fit snuggly in the pot. Pour the masterstock in over the pork belly. It needs to cover the pork so add a little extra chicken stock or water so it is just submerged in liquid. Cook for 2.5 hours.

While pork is cooking, prepare the rice and vegetables.

Serve the pork and vegetables on the rice and garnish with spring onions, chilli & coriander.

BEEF CHEEKS - My favourite recipe from Movida

Have you ever cooked beef cheeks before? If you haven't you are missing out. It's another one of those cuts that requires a little bit of pre planning as you have to cook it, slow & low. It'll take a few hours cooked at a very low temperature and you'll be rewarded with a 'melts in your mouth' full flavoured cut of beef. You won't even need a knife!

I've cooked beef cheeks a few different ways over the years but I always come back to this recipe from the first Movida cookbook.

All of the ingredients are very easy to source except for the Pedro Ximenez sherry. For this you'll have to go to a decent bottle shop. The good ones will have a range of them differing in price. For this recipe, a cheaper one is absolutely fine. You're looking at around $27 for a 750ml bottle. Be sure not to use any other type of sherry, especially the dry ones. It has to be Pedro Ximenez to get the right results.

The left over sherry is lovely to sip on after a meal. Its sticky, sweet & raisiny in flavour and goes beautifully with dark chocolate. Or, pour a little over some good vanilla ice cream for an easy dessert.

Here's the link to the recipe.
http://movida.com.au/slowly-braised-beef-cheeks-in-pedro-ximenez-with-cauliflower-puree-carillera-de-buey/

How do you cook your beef cheeks?

FRESH THYME & VERJUICE ROAST CHICKEN WITH DUCK FAT POTATOES

Who doesn't love a good ol' roast chook? It's comfort food at its best. The beauty of it is that really, it's like a blank canvas. Chicken loves being cooked with a multitude of different flavours so you can use almost any fresh herb to change it up a little and make it different each time if you want to.

This will be the first of many roast chook recipes we'll post because there are so many different ways to do it. This method is fairly fool proof and of course the exact cooking times will also differ depending on the exact size of your bird and also your oven.

How will you know if it's cooked? My mum taught me to pierce the skin down near the thigh joint and if the juices run clear, then it's cooked. Be sure to catch all of the juices though.

Another fool proof way is to invest in a thermometer. The $10-$20 is a clever investment in my opinion. It takes all of the guess work out and you'll never ruin a fantastice piece of meat again. This way you won't lose any of the juices either. Measure the temperature of the thigh, close to the bone. There are differing opinions on this (just google and you'll see what I mean) but you want it to be at around 72-75 degrees according to health regulations. Maggie Beer, bless her, likes her chook cooked to no more than 68 degrees. Heston Blumenthal reckons 60 degrees is enough! See what I mean... It's confusing.

INGREDIENTS

1 x Dakota Vale Farm free range chook* (approx 1.6-2kg)
verjuice
duck fat
olive oil
fresh thyme
4 large potatoes
bunch of asparagus
8 Swiss Brown mushrooms

For the gravy
 20ml dry white wine
 250ml chicken stock
 1 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)
 1 sprig of thyme

Method:

Remove chicken from fridge 30 mins before cooking. Preheat oven to 220 degrees. 
Peel, cut into required size and par boil potatoes (half cook). Drain and leave to dry. 

Place chicken in a roasting pan place a few sprigs of thyme into the cavity and then drizzle a little olive oil & verjuice, salt & pepper in there as well. Place a few sprigs of thyme between the leg & wing bones. Rub the outside of chicken with olive oil then drizzle verjuice all over the bird & season with salt & pepper.  Place chicken in the oven and reduce heat to 180 degrees. Cook for 1 hour & 20 mins. Remove from oven, cover loosely with foil and let rest for 15 mins before serving.

The potatoes require approx 1 hour cooking time. Heat 2 tbsp duck fat in a roasting tray. Coat potatoes in heated duck fat, season liberally with salt & pepper and roast until golden & crunchy, turning once or twice during cooking.

Grill asparagus on a medium heat with olive oil & a dash of verjuice. Sautée mushrooms in olive oil with some fresh thyme, salt & pepper.

If making the gravy...
Remove chicken from roasting pan to rest. Place pan on a medium-high heat. Add the white wine and stir, gently scraping the crunchy bits off the bottom of the pan (this is called deglazing). Add the chicken stock & some chopped thyme leaves and cook until liquid reduces to a sauce. Before serving, stir in the mustard if you're using it and warm through. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

MOROCCAN MEATBALLS

Recipe courtesy of Jacqueline Guglielmino www.everydaycook.com.au

INGREDIENTS

 500g lean minced lamb

 1 finely chopped onion

 2 garlic cloves crushed

 2cm chunk root ginger, grated

 1 tsp of chilli power

 2 tsp ground cumin

 1 cinnamon quill

 2 tsps of tumeric

 good pinch of saffron threads

 olive oil

 2 pieces of preserved lemon

 2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes

 200ml chicken stock

 ½ bunch coriander, chopped

HERB COUSCOUS

 200g couscous or quinoa

 50g butter

 350ml chicken stock, boiling

 ½ bunch coriander , chopped

 ½ bunch parsely, chopped

Method

 1. Put the lamb, onion, half the garlic, half the ginger and half the spices in a bowl and season well. Mix (clean hands are best) and form into little meatballs (you’ll make around 30).

 2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick pan and add the meatballs in batches, frying until browned all over. Scoop out, then add the rest of the garlic, ginger and spices and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and stock and season. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add back the meatballs and cook for at least another 20 minutes until sauce is thickened. Stir in the coriander. Save some coriander for serving to sprinkle on

 3. To make the couscous put in a bowl with the butter and some seasoning. Pour over the chicken stock and cover with glad wrap. Leave for 10 minutes. Stir the herbs through and serve with meatballs. If you choose quinoa, you must wash the quinoa first, thoroughly and then gently simmer win the chicken stock and butter until softened. Add herbs before serving.

HUNGARIAN GOULASH

Recipe courtesy of www.thestockmerchant.com.au

 

A soup or stew of meat and vegetables, goulash is a deeply satisfying comfort food and almost all families in Hungary have their own special or inherited recipe. Our goulash has a few twists to it. First, we prefer to use olive oil instead of lard to sweat the onions and cook the beef. Second, we add a dash of smoked sweet paprika which gives the dish a little something special, perfect for those cold Hungarian (or Australian!) winter nights.

Serves: 2-3 people

Requirements: A large pot, preferably with a heavy base
Preparation and cooking time: 45 minutes or 2.5-3 hours

INGREDIENTS

5 tablespoons extra virgin Australian olive oil
2 onions, diced
3 or 4 carrots, peeled, quartered, cut into 2 centimetre sections
1 medium red capsicum, cut into chunks
1 medium green capsicum, cut into chunks
500g free range grass fed beef (use chuck or blade). Trim the fat, and cut into 4-5 centimetre cubes.
2 tablespoons flour
500ml The Stock Merchant Free Range Beef Stock
3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 can of diced tomatoes
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
½ teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
Generous seasoning of salt
Dash of freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

 1. Finely dice onion and fry gently in 3 tablespoons of olive oil until soft.
 2. Add carrots and capsicums. Stir until mixed and cook for 5 minutes.
 3. Remove the vegetables with a spoon and set aside.
 4. Brown cubed meat in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
 5. Sprinkle flour over beef, stir until flour is cooked.
 6. Remove from heat, add stock and stir.
 7. Return over heat and add potatoes, tomatoes, paprika, salt and pepper.
 8. Combine and turn down the heat to its lowest level and let it simmer for 30 minutes. For really tender beef, braise for 2-2.5 hours.
 9. If you want your vegetables well done, throw them in now. If you’d prefer them to still be crisp and fresh, add them during the last 15 minutes of cooking.
 10. Plate the dish, serve with crusty bread and Pepe Saya butter.

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BENITO'S POLPETTA (ITALIAN MEATBALLS)

Recipe courtesy of Jacqueline Guglielmino www.everydaycook.com.au

 

For the meatballs

500 grams of pork mince
500 grams of beef or veal mince
3 tablespoons of Pecorino cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup of chopped continental parsley
1 cup of breadcrumbs
salt and pepper

For the sauce

Diced garlic (up to you how much)
2/3 of the bottle of Passata sauce
1 clove of garlic diced
some beef stock if the sauce becomes to thick

Method
Place all the meatball ingredients together in a bowl and mix really well. Roll into small balls, the size is up to what you prefer.

Put two tablespoons of olive oil in a large deep fry pan and fry the meatballs gently. Turning over so all sides are cooked.

Then add the diced garlic and 2/3 of the bottle of the Passata sauce on top of the meatballs. Place the lid on the fry pan and leave to simmer for thirty to forty minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

When serving grate fresh pecorino on top of the meatballs and sprinkle with more chopped continental parsley.

Serve with bread or pasta.

Bellisimo!!

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

Recipe courtesy of www.thestockmerchant.com.au

Serves 3-4 people

INGREDIENTS

3 tsp olive oil or Pepe Saya butter (Australia’s best cultured butter)

700g free range grass fed beef, preferably chuck or blade, cut into large chunks

100g smoked streaky free range bacon (sliced)

350g shallots or pearl onions (peeled)

250g brown mushrooms (about 20)

2 garlic cloves, sliced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

500ml red wine (a Shiraz or Merlot is perfect)

500ml The Stock Merchant Free Range Beef Stock

METHOD

1. Heat a large oven proof pot (like a Le Creuset) and add 1 tablespoon oil or

butter. Fry beef a couple of pieces at a time until browned on all sides, transfer

meat to holding pot when finished, use more oil or butter if necessary.

2. After finishing beef, fry bacon, shallots, mushrooms, garlic and bouquet

garni until lightly browned. Mix in tomato puree and cook for a few minutes,

return beef and juices to pot.

3. Pour wine and stock into mixture, bring to boil and either simmer on stove

for 3 hours or put into oven at 150C. Ensure that the pot is covered with foil

with a downwards cone in the middle (so condensation drips back into the

mixture). Ensure lid is on.

4. Cook for three hours or so. Take out of oven and if the sauce is still watery,

let sauces thicken by simmering on oven with the lid off. Add a slurry of flour

or cornstarch to further thicken if required.

5. Serve with mashed potatoes or rice.

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BEEF & LAMB KEBABS

 

Meat Kebabs

250g Minced Lamb 
250g Minced Beef

tblsp tomato paste (optional)

1 small red onion, grated

2 tblsp coarse chopped flat leaf parsely

½ tsp dried wild Greek oregano

Garlic Yoghurt

250g natural yoghurt

garlic clove or 2 grated finely/pureed

good dash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Pinch or two of salt

To serve

Lebanese flat bread or tortillas

Chopped ripe tomatoes

Red onion slices

baby spinach

lemon quarters

In a bowl, thoroughly mix minces, tomato paste, grated onion, parsley, oregano and 1 tsp of salt. Divide into 4 or 6 (depending how big you want them) and roll into a sausage shape.

Preheat your frypan to medium/high, brush meat kebabs with a little oil and cook until a light crust starts to form (3-4 minutes). Turn over and repeat on other side. Be careful not to overcook the meat and dry it out. One of the best things about these kebabs is the moist, juicy meat.

Whilst the meat is cooking, mix together the yoghurt, garlic, EVOO & salt.

To serve, spread the garlic yoghurt up and down the centre of the flat bread leaving a 3cm space at one end. Add the tomato, onion, baby spinach and a meat kebab. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the meat and then sprinkle with a little salt & pepper. Fold the 3cm end up and over the fillings, grab one side of the flatbread and turn it up and over the filling. Keep a firm grip on the filling and keep rolling over until you’ve got a perfectly wrapped kebab!

Enjoy…

CUMIN CRUSTED LAMB RIBS

Serves 2-3 

Serious meat eaters will be in heaven with these soft, fatty full flavoured ribs.

The flavours in the Greek(ish) salad work really well as a side. The vinegary tomatoes & cucumber help to cut through the richness of the ribs.

INGREDIENTS

2kg lamb ribs

approx 2 racks (8 ribs 10cm length)

Spice Rub

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried mint

2 garlic cloves pureed

2 tbs olive oil

1tsp salt

1tsp ground pepper

Greek(ish) Salad

*use whatever quantities you like. No rules here.

cherry tomatoes chopped in half

1 Lebanese cucumber chopped

Snow pea sprouts

chopped feta

half small red onlion sliced thinly

handful kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

Handful flat leaf parsley

EVOO & Red wine vinegar for dressing

Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 140 degrees.

In a bowl, combine the spice rub ingredients. Cut rib racks into individual ribs and toss well through the spice mixture ensuring all of the ribs are coated. If you have time, leave to marinate for a few hours. If not, don’t worry about it and get them in the oven in a single layer on a roasting tray, covered tightly with alfoil.

After 1.5 hours, take the alfoil off, turn up to 180 degrees and cook for a further 30 mins. This will crisp them up nicely.

Serve with the Greek(ish) salad.

ROAST PORK LOIN WITH APPLE GRAVY

Serves 4-6

 

Leave pork uncovered in the fridge overnight or a
few hours prior to cooking for the best crackling results.
 

INGREDIENTS

Pork

1.5kg rolled pork loin (skin on)

2 apples (cored, cut into large chunks lengthways)

2 carrots (quartered, cut lengthways)

10 peeled cloves of garlic

1 large brown onion (cut into large chunks)

tsp fennel seeds (toasted & lightly crushed)

oil

2 tbs butter

gravox (optional)

Mashed potato

4-6 large potatoes

1 cup of milk

tbs butter

 

Lemon & Parsley  Green Beans

500 green beans (topped and tailed)

juice of 1 lemon

EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

chopped flat leaf parsley

METHOD

Preheat oven to 220 degrees.

 

Remove pork from the fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking. Rub butter, fennel seeds and plenty of salt into the pork skin.

In a roasting pan, make a bed of  apple, carrot and onion for the pork loin. Place pork on top, add half a cup of water and a glug of oil to the pan. Cook for 20 minutes and then drop temperature to 180 degrees.

Check crackling after an hour. If not crispy enough, increase temperature again to 220 degrees and cook for a further 20 minutes otherwise leave temp at 180 degrees for the final 20 mins.

Remove pork from the pan and cover loosely with alfoil to rest while you make the gravy. Place the roasting pan on a low heat. Drain off some of the excess fat firstly if you wish. Remove carrots & onion, leaving the apple pieces and garlic in the pan. Now just make the gravy as you normally would using gravox.

While pork is cooking, boil potatoes until tender. Drain water and mash with milk, butter, salt & pepper in the saucepan over a low heat so it doesn’t go cold. Steam or blanche beans. Serve warm dressed with the EVOO, lemon juice & parsley just before serving. If you dress with the lemon juice too early, the beans will turn brown on the cut ends.

 

Slice the pork and serve with the mash, beans, carrots, onion & gravy.