Try a new food trend for 2016 with this braised pork and cabbage recipe
Ingredients (serves 6)
• 1.5 kg sauerkraut (bought or homemade) or shredded fresh white cabbage
• 2 tbsp lard
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 4 thick rashers collar bacon, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 juniper berries (or a splash of gin)
• 4 cloves
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 bramley apple, peeled, quartered and sliced
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 350ml dry white wine
• 6 pig cheeks
• 1 smoked ham hock
• 6 of your favourite Hampshire pork sausages
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 160⁰C (140 fan)/gas 3. Rinse the sauerkraut in cold water, then drain well and squeeze out any excess liquid. Melt the lard in a large cast iron casserole dish and fry the onion over a medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the bacon, garlic, bay, juniper, cloves and caraway and cook for 2 minutes, stirring regularly.
2 Stir in the apple, sauerkraut, sugar and wine and bring to a simmer. Snuggle the pork cheeks into the mixture, then cover and transfer to the oven for 2 hours. Meanwhile, put the ham hock in a saucepan with enough water to cover it. Cover the pan and simmer gently for 2 hours.
3 Remove the hock from its cooking liquor. Discard the skin and most of the fat, then shred the meat into big chunks. Stir the ham through the cabbage, then cover and return to the oven for 30 minutes.
4 Meanwhile, fry the sausages over a gentle heat until golden brown all over and cooked through. Remove the cabbage from the oven, garnish with the sausages and serve with boiled potatoes and mustard.
Make your own Sauerkraut
• 2 kg white cabbage, quartered and thinly shredded
• 6 ½ heaped tbsp sea salt
Mix the cabbage thoroughly with 4 tbsp of the salt in a large sterilised glass or earthenware container. Dissolve the remaining 2 ½ tbsp of salt in 2 litres of water and divide between 3 large freezer bags. Seal the bags well and sit them on top of the cabbage. When the cabbage starts to release its own juices the brine bags will keep it safely below the liquid level and any leaks will maintain the salinity. Cover the container with clingfilm and leave in a dark place at cool room temperature (around 18⁰C) for 6 weeks. It can then be stored in sterilised glass jars in the fridge for 6 months.
Local pork specialists
• Greenfield Pork Products - Andover, 01264 359422; greenfield-pork.co.uk
• Tatchbury Manor Farm - New Forest, 07786 697919; tatchburymanorfarm.co.uk
• Ambrose Sausages - Bishopstoke, 02380 620984; ambrosesausages.co.uk
• Newlyns Farm Shop - Odiham, 01256 704128; newlyns-farmshop.co.uk
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