Make sure that the fillet is cooked to perfection and follow our cooking and preparation guidelines:
1 x 5lb quality stuffed turkey breast (breadcrumbs, onions, mixed herbs and butter) wrapped in kitchen string ready for cooking.
Lightly season with salt, black pepper, herbs and a smattering of olive oil. Wrap in a large piece of aluminium foil and place in a roasting tin. Make sure that the foil keeps juices around the joint for flavour.
You can also add any other flavours you like such as lemon, garlic, butter, even dried cranberries for a sweet Christmassy twist.
For a traditional Irish Sunday dinner (North and South of the border), gammon joints are usually boiled and will bring a taste of home when cooked this way. There are other methods to cook your ham including boiling first before baking or just roasting completely.
Make sure that the gammon joint is cooked to perfection and follow our cooking and preparation guidelines with all 3 methods for roasting and boiling included:
These instructions are for our 4lb traditional gammon joint.
White pudding, like most food over the course of the years, has had a darker history. Pre 1900s, white pudding used to contain sheep’s brains. Although this is no longer conventional, many people have qualms about trying white pudding partly because of this and because of its bloodier cousin.
We’re proud of our white pudding because it is expertly prepared by our fabulous butchers and it’s a staple of our beloved Northern Irish cuisine. It’s full of flavour and will be a welcome addition to your breakfast table. Go on and give it a try; you won’t be disappointed!
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What are some of your favourite ways to use steak strips?
]]>What makes a sausage great? Well, it depends on who you ask. And it depends on which bit of the sausage-making process you’re referring to!
]]>If you ask our butchers, they’ll tell you that a good sausage is made with at least 70% high-quality beef or pork. Just like all the sausages on Home Butchers. The other 30% of our top quality sausages is herbs, spices and a few special ingredients.
Our butchers take great pride in providing you and your family with plump, tasty sausages that have been lovingly hand-prepared and made to fill you up. You can have our sausages any time of the dayfirst thing in the morning or right before bed if you fancy. No matter when you have them, you’ll taste the quality and the flavour from the very first bite.
What makes a sausage great? Well, it depends on who you ask. If our ask our proud Northern Irish farmers, they’ll tell you that the key to a great sausage is their top of the line beef and pork.
Our farmers practice ethical animal rearing. Their animals are part of their family, they know each of them by name and they care about each one. So when you buy a pack of sausages from Home Butchers, you’re not just buying by-products from a nameless pig or cow. You’re buying meat made from cows or pigs that have been loved, well cared for and ethically slaughtered.
What makes a sausage great? Well, it depends on who you ask. We think a great sausage starts on a great farm that is clean and where the animals are well looked after. We think a great sausage needs the skilled and dedicated hand of an experienced butcher who is passionate about his job. We also think a great sausage needs the hot pan or grill of a loving cook with mouths to feed. Not just any cook, our customers are in-the-know gourmands who love food and who love to cook. They respect our products and their bodies and understand that mutual respect is needed for an incredible meal.
What makes a sausage great? You do!
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Coat chicken plump chicken pieces in egg and flour before frying in hot oil until cooked through and the juices run clear when pierced with a skewer. The best pieces for frying tend to be drumsticks and thighs, but you can fry any piece you choose. Make sure you use fresh oil when frying and that you take care as the oil will be extremely hot.
Chicken breasts and thighs tend to be favourites for the grill or griddle pan. Brush them liberally with a bit of olive oil and place on a hot griddle pan or under a hot grill. Let cook until char lines appear and the juice run clear when the chicken is pierced.
Perfect for whole chicken joints or individual bits, roast chicken is juicy, when cooked properly and full of flavour. Roasting chicken takes a bit longer than other traditional methods of cooking but is certainly worth the wait.
This can be done outside on a barbecue on in an oven with lashings of barbecue sauce. Any cut of chicken is perfect for barbecuing. Be sure to choose your favourite sauce and to make more than you think you’ll need; barbecue chicken is a firm favourite!
]]>We’re suckers for a good barbecue! There are a few components you’ll need in order to have a successful barbecue! Next time you’re planning one, don’t forget:
It’s the most important bit of any barbecue! Whether you’re keeping it kid friendly with burgers and sausages or going a bit more grown up with steaks and prawns, make sure you have enough meat for your barbecue! Our favourites to throw in the fire are sausages, sirloin steaks, chicken breasts and assortments of vegetables like sweet corn and peppers.
Staying hydrated in the sun is of utmost importance! Even if you’re barbecue is meant to be a relaxing way to spend the evening, don’t fill up on booze. Stay hydrated with bottled water and sugar-free juices. Be sure the kids are drinking enough, too, as it doesn’t take much to dehydrate in the sun!
From a good bit of spicy mustard to mild ketchup and tangy mayonnaise, condiments play an important role in barbecue food fare. Nobody likes a dry hunk of meat in a dry bun. Stock up on condiments and keep them out on the table within easy reach of everyone at the party. If you’re feeling a bit more gourmet, you could purchase higher end, more speciality products like Dijon mustards and posh cheeses.
Having a picnic set will come in handy and as soon as we get a stint of good weather, will pay for itself! When choosing a picnic set, be sure it has the basics: plates, cutlery, washable linen napkins, cups and pots for salt and pepper are all pretty standard picnic basket items these days.
If you’re hosting a barbecue at home, you probably won’t forget this, but if you’re heading to the beach or a local park, don’t forget to grab your disposable. And please remember to practice fire safety! Make sure your disposable grill is far from flammables and that it is sat on the ground, preferably sand or concrete and not on wood or grass, where it could easily catch fire.
This is going to vary depending on your location, but be sure you have plenty of options for the kids. Bouncy balls, bubble mixture, books and games are always popular barbecue entertainment.
Be responsible during your use of the park and other facilities. Be sure to carry a rubbish bag with you and fasten it to a prominent place where everyone can find it and can dispose of their rubbish. It is important to keep Britain tidy, after all.
]]>Ever versatile, ham can be dressed up or dressed down. You can enjoy it sliced and pan fried and served with eggs at breakfast, folded into a halved croissant or draped over a poached egg and crumpets. Add it to sarnies at lunch, dice it and add it to potato salads or pasta salads. In the evenings, you can roast a whole ham joint flavoured with cloves, honey or pineapple. Slice it and grill it and serve it with egg and chips for a tasty, classic pub dish.
We love a good ham and love that you can often get a number of meals out of just one, good-sized joint. Today, we'd like to share with you some ideas for how to cook ham.
Around the world, ham appears on many breakfast tables. On the continent, ham is usually served cold, sliced with wedges of cheese and pots of yoghurt. In America, ham is often pan fried until the edges are crisp and it is served with a pile of cheesy eggs and breakfast skillet potatoes.
You could replace a slice of smoked salmon with a thin slice of ham the next time you make Eggs Florentine. Or try chopping up some leftover ham from a roasting joint and add the ham to an omelette for a quick morning meal.
While the staple of ham and cheese on white or brown will always exist, there are other ways you can invite ham to your lunch picnic. Some of our favourite methods include hollowing a loaf of shop bought bread, and adding layers of ham, egg and veggies to create a layer picnic loaf.
You could also stir some ham into a pasta or potato salad, add it to a sliced baguette or eat it chopped in a salad of greens, onions and egg.
Ham at tea is an ever popular choice. Whether you've roasted a fat joint of ham or gammon or sliced the steaks thickly to be pan fried. Ham can be chopped and added to risottos, potato and cheese nests, salads, pasta bakes or even unconventional mains like quesadillas and tacos.
To cook sausages in a griddle pan, heat a dry griddle pan until it is very hot. Add the sausages so that they are parallel to the ridges in the pan. Cook on high, turning occasionally until the sausages are cooked through. Extremely plump sausages may begin to spit and could burst.
To cook sausages in a frying pan, heat a frying pan with a little bit of oil. Add the sausages so that they do not touch. Cook over a high heat, turning the sausage until they are cooked through and evenly coloured.
To cook sausages in the oven, arrange them in an oven-proof dish and bake about 20 minutes until they are cooked thoroughly. Drizzle the sausages with a bit of oil to help them cook.
To cook sausages under a grill, preheat the grill and grill pan until very hot. Lay the sausages along the grill pan's grooves and cook, quarter-turning the sausages every 2 to 3 minutes until cooked thoroughly.
To cook sausages on a barbecue, place the sausages on a barbecue grate over a warm spot on the barbecue. Do not allow the sauces to cook directly in the flame as they can easily over cook and dry out. The speed that the sausages cook is determined by how hot the barbecue is.
]]>Bacon can be cooked in four ways. Not all methods are suited for all cuts of bacon, so it is important to know the type of bacon you are preparing and the best way of preparing it. Bacon can be fried or griddled, oven roasted or baked, microwaved and grilled.
Who's it for: The keen bacon lover with time to stand and wait for the bacon cook.
Why fry or griddle: Fried or griddled bacon yields crispier fat and slightly chewy meat.
Ideally for: Streaky bacon (don't add oil) Back bacon rashers (add oil)
Uses for fried or griddled bacon:
Who's it for: The busy cook who needs time to get on with other components while the bacon cooks.
Why oven roast or bake: Roasted or baked bacon tends to leave fat mostly as it is. It cooks the fat without rendering it down, resulting in softer bacon.
Ideally for: Back bacon (don't add oil).
Uses for oven roasted or baked bacon:
Who's it for: The rushed cook who needs bacon quickly! Why cook bacon in the microwave: It speeds up the cooking time; microwaved bacon tends to be just as soft as oven roasted or baked bacon.
Ideally for: Back bacon and other similar lean cuts
Uses for microwave bacon:
Who's it for: Anyone who likes their bacon less crispy.
Why cook bacon under the grill: Grilled bacon tends to be soft with slightly burnished edges. Great for cooking bacon quickly.
Ideally for: Streaky bacon or bacon rashers
Uses for grilled bacon:
Knowing which methods are best suited for the type of bacon you'd like to cook will result in better-tasting dishes and a better use of your bacon. Do you cook bacon in any other way? Leave a comment and let us know what we've missed out!
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