As we are in the winter here in Australia, the temperatures are good for air curing meat (no higher than 15 C, or 60 F, during the day, and lows above freezing). Traditional pork prosciutto is hung and air cured for 10-12 months, a duration I’m not quite ready for! So, duck prosciutto! This recipe…
Category: lunch
Seafood and smoked pork neck cream chowder
The original recipe was from the Delicious magazine, but altered a bit by what was available and what I thought would taste better! The result is smoky, rich and creamy, and goes well with crusty bread on a cold day. Ingredients 1 medium brown onion, finely minced 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 250 g (1/2…
Pork neck steak with pineapple coconut sauce
I often braise pork neck to the point that it falls apart, and then pull it with a fork and cook it down more with the braising sauce for ‘pulled pork’. I decided this time to cut the pork neck in 1 inch (3 cm) steaks (sometimes referred to as pork scotch fillets, which is…
Grilled and marinated eggplant and red (bell pepper) capsicum
We were going to our friends Andrew and Sarah for dinner on Saturday, and wanted to bring a snack to precede dinner. So I decided to grill and marinate eggplant and red bell peppers. It’s so quick and easy, and so rich and tasty. Cut 2 eggplants lengthwise in 1/2 inch thickness, and grill on…
Canadian Bacon (cured pork loin)
I’ve been curing pork belly for ‘American’ style bacon for over a year now, and thought I would make some ‘Canadian/British/Australian’ style of bacon, which consists of the loin. Over here, you can get either ‘long-cut’ or ‘short-cut’ bacon, which essentially refers to whether the bacon consists of the loin and belly connected, or not,…
Corned beef
Home made corned beef is definitely better than what you can buy…so much more flavour! I was short on a couple ingredients from what was suggested so I improvised. It was still great served warm, and will be great in sandwiches! Ingredients 5 lb (2.5 kg) beef brisket Brine 4 litres (1 gallon) water…
Garlic and red wine pork sausages
This recipe is from Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. These sausages are succulent and juicy, with a robust garlic flavour and red wine base. I might have made them too garlicky, though, not that the recipe called for too much garlic but I used local Gippsland garlic I bought at a Farmer’s Market,…
Easter Friday Prawn Ravioli
Not that we’re religious, but we thought to have a meat-free dinner on Easter Friday (forget the bacon we had for breakfast!)…so I picked up some local prawns at the fishmonger, made some pasta ravioli, filled with prawn, and served with a simple tomato sauce. Once you get the feel for the proper consistency of…
Vegetable Bisteeya
This recipe comes from the Gourmet Farmer Deli Book, a cookbook about producing and cooking food the ‘way it used to be’. Amongst the different recipes for making cheeses, hams, bacon and smoking and curing fish, there are a lot of recipes for great dishes. This dish looks at first glance a spanakopita, but made…
Cornbread
An old favorite! With soup, buttered for breakfast with eggs, there are so many ways to enjoy cornbread. Ingredients Fresh corn from 3 cobs 2-3 Tb butter 1 cup milk 1 egg 3/4 cup plain flour 1+1/4 cup yellow/white corn meal 2.5 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt Saute corn in butter about…
Maple, juniper berry and nutmeg cured bacon
I think I found one of the best mix of flavours for my bacon with this recipe. In addition to using the standard cure, I added maple syrup, juniper berry and nutmeg (details below). The bacon below was slow cooked in a pan before resting on some paper towel. For the pork belly, leave…
Pork banh mi (Vietnamese baguette sandwich)
These sandwiches using vietnamese baguettes seem to be the latest craze in Melbourne. The vietnamese baguette is essentially a french baguette that is made with a bit of rice flour so it is lighter on the inside and crunchier on the outside. There are a range of options, but I made the ‘traditional’ version. …
Day to Day Thoughts on Food 