Dingley Dell Pig Art; Pig Hash
It’s Farm Animal Welfare Week 2011 and what better way to celebrate than commissioning two local artists to paint a pig sty?! Well that is exactly what Mark Hayward from Dingley Dell did. Mark has teamed up with Joel Millerchip and Simon Wild to “graffiti” these happy pig’s homes. Ever since we know Mark he’s always been talking about getting the pig homes painted in “graffiti”. It’s a great idea, not only will they look great in the field; but having this kind of reason to do it is even better.
We hand on heart support the Farm Animal Welfare Week. It’s important that we offer high welfare food items on our menus and tell everyone that we genuinely do what we say we do, and to highlight this, we have joined the Simply Ask Campaign.
The Freedom Food Food Simply Ask campaign is a unique UK assurance scheme run by the RSPCA; not only are all standards mandatory, the standards also cover every stage of the animal’s life from birth until slaughter in a dedication to improving animal welfare. Meat products, dairy and eggs are sourced ethically and locally at the British Larder Suffolk, reinforcing its commitment to animal welfare.
Once we started asking our suppliers about their credentials and “digging” a bit deeper into the rearing and welfare standards they follow we discovered that nearly all of them were either organic or freedom foods approved. I’m not entirely sure why I was a bit surprised, it was a good surprise after all. We realised we are “shopping” at the right places and buy from the right people. We urge chefs and restauranteurs to join the scheme. It’s good for business and if you already fit the criteria why not join the scheme, sign up and get the seal of approval.
Staff food at the British Larder does not consist of dishes from the menu but it’s cooked fresh every day using trimmings and leftovers. It’s also a great opportunity for the all the chefs to experiment, think outside the proverbial box and be creative. Most day’s it’s a bit of a “ready-steady-cook” affair as we might end up with a bit of pig trim, a couple of potatoes and a few hen’s eggs. This Pig Hash is one of Steve’s creations which started off as a staff meal recipe and turned into a “real”dish that we cooked as a lunch special on the menu. It’s a great brunch/ breakfast dish.
Pork is one of the best sellers on our menus. As we are approaching the one year anniversary mark we were talking last week about the amount of pig we have used so far here at the British Larder. Well we are none the wiser as we have no idea…unless I do some serious research…nevertheless we guess that each staff member must have eaten the value of a whole Dingley Dell pig by now! No… that can’t be right, surely…. now that is a scary thought!
- 150g slow cooked Dingley Dell pork shoulder, flaked
- 150g cooked smoked ham knuckle meat flaked
- 6 cooked new potatoes, cut inhalf
- 1 small onion, sliced or diced
- clove of garlic, crushed
- Maldon Sea Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 spring onions, sliced
- 10 small cornishons, chopped
- Zest and juice of one lemon
- 1 tbs chopped mixed herbs such as chervil, chives, rosemary, thyme and tarragon
- Olive oil
- 2 free range hen's eggs
Heat a large non-stick frying pan with the oil, saute the diced onion and garlic until lightly caramelised, season to taste. Add the diced potatoes, saute until golden brown, add the flaked meats and saute for a further 2 mintues.
Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the sliced spring onions, lemon juice and zest and chopped herbs. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Transfer the hash to a warm serving plate. In a separate clean frying pan fry the eggs "sunny side up". Serve immediately.
Serves 2
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I’d certainly add black pudding – looks delicious!
There is nothing so delicious as a well-raised and well-treated pig. The best pork I’ve ever eaten is still a pig my family raised when I was a kid.
I wish they served us this kind of meal for staff meal at the restaurant where I work!
Dear Ross and Madelene
I was wondering if you could replace the cornishons with a well made black pudding, maybe crumbled at the potato cooking stage?
Would this really alter the whole flavour of the recipe?
The website is a real inspirartion, and I look forward to new seasonal recipes.
Thanks and speak soon
Dean
Dear Dean,
What a fantastic suggestion!
I added the cornishons for a the texture and the acidity, as the pork is quite fatty the vinegar cuts through the richness however I think your suggestion of black pudding is superb. You do not need to remove, you can leave the cornishons out as your right the taste will clash with the black pudding.
Enjoy!
Maddy
The pig hash sounds amazing. And I’m up for anything that sets standards in welfare. Especially given the recent Cheale Meats incident.