After a rather dubious conversation, which propriety prevents me from including here, the combination of Staffordshire pork products that formed the heart of the dish resulted in the delightful name of the Lichfield oink being coined for the main dish.
If you are in the beautiful city of Lichfield, please go and visit their gorgeous shop, I can't guarantee they'll have any Oink to taste - Joe will have eaten it all - but they may have Netherton Foundry products and a wide range of kitchen goodies to offer.
We were also delighted that Tamara from Street Food Sat Down came along to help out - I couldn't have managed without her. It has to be admitted that Tam is just a little bit obsessed by good kitchen ware, so her high opinion of our pans is much appreciated by all of us here at the Workshops.
I was also rather embarrassed when she described the food we served up as the "most appreciated recipe she had ever seen" - only wish we could have captured the expressions on the faces of the numerous tasters - some of the staff at the George Hotel, where we were based seemed to alter their route in order to pass by our table more times than was strictly necessary.
We had the Town Crier ringing his bell and declaring the Lichfield Oink a joy to be savoured, and I seem to have ended up being unofficially "married" to the lovely Natalie from I.O. Shen Knives, based on feeding her nibbles of the Oink throughout the day.
Lichfield Oink
500g minced pork
200g good quality pork sausagemeat - the best you can lay hands on
I used pork and leek sausages and "extruded" the meat from the sausage skins
100g bread, soaked in water - this is a great way to use up stale bread*
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp ground cinnamon
Ground black pepper
4 rashers bacon, optional
2 tblsp oil
200ml sherry
500ml chicken or vegetable stock
*be warned, soaking white sliced in water will simply give you wallpaper paste
Drain the bread and squeeze out as much water as possible.
Place in a large mixing bowl.
Add the pork, sausagemeat, fennel, cinnamon and pepper.
You shouldn't need any additional salt, as there is generally enough in the sausagemeat.
Mix together thoroughly - the easiest way is to use your hands!!
Place the cast iron slow cooker bowl on the hob and add the oil.
Heat until hot.
Meanwhile, lay out the bacon on a board and using the back of a spoon stretch it as thinly as possible.
Lay the rashers side by side, with each one just overlapping its neighbour.
Place the meatloaf mix on top and roll the bacon round to form a parcel.
You can omit the bacon and simply form the mixture into a loaf if preferred. If you have made the sauce in advance, you can spread a little on the bacon before rolling.
Place the loaf into the hot oil and cook for 4 minutes.
Turn the loaf over and cook for a further 4 minutes to create a brown crust.
Pour in the sherry and the stock and cover with a lid.
Place the bowl onto the heater base and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.
This can be served as we did at Lichfield - described below - or with mashed potato, the residual gravy and kale; left go cold and sliced with salad and pickles, pickled red cabbage would be wonderful; stuffed into pitta breads................
We created a devilshy delicious damson sauce and served the Oink and sauce on pan fried flatbreads, both as mini morsels and pizza style.
Damson sauce
200g damsons
1cm ginger, peeled and grated
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tblsp soy sauce
1 tblsp soft brown sugar.
Place the damsons in a pan and add just enough water to cover the base of the pan.
Cover and cook on a gentle heat until soft.
Balance a sieve over a bowl and pour the damsons into it.
Push the fruit flesh through the sieve using a wooden spoon.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the fruit puree and return the mix to the pan.
Heat through gently to dissolve the sugar.
Leave to cool.
Flatbreads
Most bread recipes need to be precise to give good and consistent results, but this is particularly forgiving.
450g unbleached white bread flour
15g fresh yeast (or dried yeast as per the instructions on the pack - I have used 1 dessertspoon fast acting yeast with good results)
1 heaped tsp salt
250ml water
2 tblsp natural yogurt
Olive oil
Pour 100ml of the water into a bowl and add the yeast.
Leave for 15 minutes.
Add all the other ingredients, except the olive oil and bring together, either by hand, with a wooden spoon or in your food mixer/processor.
Add enough olive oil to make a soft, but not over wet dough and knead well.
Cover with cling film, a damp tea towel or the lid of your processor and leave to rise for at least 2 hours - I left mine overnight.
At the festival we cooked these in a crepe pan on a Kitchen Companion base, demonstrating the versatility of this lovely piece of kit. Tam has now added this to her wish list, not just for herself, but also for Street Food Sat Down - a perfect piece of equipment for a catering company.
Place the pan on the base and turn the heat to MAX.
Take a piece of dough, roughly the size of the palm of your hand - I have small hands!
Either roll it out on a floured board or oil your hands and work the dough into a round, pizza making style.
Add a very small amount of oil to the pan - just enough to coat the surface and add the bread round.
Cook for approx 2 minutes - do not be tempted to turn it, poke it, prod it....
When you see the bubbles rising, check the edge of the bread and if the underside is cooked, flip it over and cook the other side.
We served some of the breads whole - to Natalie - and some we cut into small canape sized portions.
These were topped with a piece of the Lichfield Oink, a drizzle of damson sauce and sliced spring onions.
Inspired by our friend Chris Burt , Tam also created these little fried dumplings by wrapping some Oink and sauce in the dough and gently frying them.
© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015
www.netherton-foundry.co.uk
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