Category: Pork

Pierogi – Meat Filling

  • Pierogi with meat filling is one of the most usual ways my Mama made pierogi.
  • The meat was usually cooked pork, which had been left from a roast or gulasz the day before.
  • Below are instructions for cooking the pork from scratch in case you do not have any cooked pork.
  • At Christmas time the meat could have been chicken, should any have been left.

Ingredients

  • 300g shoulder or spare rib pork
  • 1 onion
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon of dried breadcrumbs
  • Approx 250 ml of chicken stock – can be from stock cubes
  • Butter & oil to fry the onion
  • Salt & ground black pepper to taste

Method

  • Pre heat the oven to GM 3 – 1600C
  • Put the pork into a small casserole dish and cover it with the stock and put on the lid.
  • Put the dish in the oven for at least 1 hour, depending on the meat you might need longer.
  • Cook the meat until it is tender and can be broken up with a fork and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
  • Allow the meat to cool.
  • You can mince the meat but I find that if you cook it long enough you do not need to, you can just chop it with a sharp knife .
  • Chop the onion finely and fry it till it is soft and golden, allow it to cool.
  • Mix thoroughly together: the meat, onion, yolk and breadcrumbs and then add salt and pepper to taste.
  • *
  • Serve with melted butter or
  • Onions fried in butter or
  • Fried bacon bits – skwarki.

  • Make the pierogi in the usual way – instructions are given below.

    • Ingredients – Dough

    • 500g pasta flour or strong flour or plain flour & 2 tablespoons of fine semolina
    • 300ml water
    • 1 – 2 tablespoons oil – sunflower or light olive
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 2 egg yolks
    • *
    • Melted butter for serving or chopped onions cooked in butter.

    Method – Dough

    • In a jug or bowl mix together the water, oil and the yolks.
    • Put the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
    • Pour in the liquid from the jug and initially use a knife to mix this into the flour and then use your hands to mix the liquid and flour to get a ball of dough.
    • Turn this out onto a floured board and knead the dough for a few minutes until you have a smooth ball.
    • Cut the dough into quarters.
    • On a floured board roll out a quarter at a time until you have a sheet of thinly rolled dough.
    • Now prepare a large tray and cover it with a clean tea towel and sprinkle this with flour.
    • Have a large surface such as a tray covered with a cotton or linen cloth which has been lightly floured ready  and place the sealed pierogi on this until they are all made, do not let then touch each other.
    • I cut them out using a 7 cm diameter cutter.
    • I have noticed some people make them larger – I will try this out soon.
    • The excess dough can be re-mixed and rolled out again.
    • Around a half tablespoon of filling is put on  each circle and then they are folded over and the edges pinched together to make a good seal.
    • You learn from experience how much filling to put in as too much will make it hard to seal them and if not properly sealed they will burst on boiling. 
    • Do not worry if you have a few mishaps – it still happens to me even with experience – it is hard to salvage one that has gone wrong – just accept that there will be a few that you do not cook.
    • *
    • To cook the pierogi, use a large pan of boiling water to which you have added some salt and a drizzle of oil.
    • Drop the pierogi in one by one and allow them to boil.  I usually do about 6 to 8 at a time (I only do 6 at a time if using frozen ones).
    • As they cook they will float to the surface, let them boil for 2 to 3 minutes, (a bit more if they were frozen*), and
    • Then remove them with a slotted or perforated spoon and put into a colander above a pan for a few seconds to drain and serve.
    • Continue boiling batches in the same water.
    • If you want to make all the pierogi to serve together then you need to get a large shallow dish.*
    • Put in the pierogi and add melted butter.
    • Keep the dish warm in a low oven.
    •  
      • *I often open freeze them for later.

Pork Loin with Apricot Sauce

  • After making this dish with gammon I thought I would try it with pork loin.
  • This was voted delicious too!
  • INGREDIENTS
  • Pork loin joint – 1kg or more
  • Tin of apricots in syrup
  • *
  • 1 tablespoon of potato or corn flour – optional
  • Sugar – optional
  • METHOD
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM5 – 190° C.
  • This is best cooked in an enamelled tin with a lid.
  • Empty the apricots and the syrup into the base of the baking tin.
  • Place pork loin joint on top.
  • Place the lid over the tin.
  • Place in the oven and cook for the time specified for that weight of meat.
  • *
  • Just before the cooking time is up seperate the apricots and the meat.
  • Put the meat back into the oven with the lid on the tin.
  • Put the apricots into a small saucepan and heat up a little whilst stirring.
  • The apricots should have become a thick pulp with just a few large pieces.
  • Though this will depend on the size of the joint.
  • *
  • Optional
  • Mix the potato flour or cornflour with a little water.
  • Stir this into the apricots and heat gently with stirring to thicken the sauce.
  • Sweeten the sauce with sugar to taste.
  • *
  • Slice up the joint and serve with the sauce.

Gammon & Apricot Sauce

  • After cooking grilled gammon and apricots I thought about making the dish with a larger gammon joint.
  • Mine was around – 1kg.
  • I think this is best with an unsmoked joint.
  • Tinned apricots in syrup are best.

Ingredients

  • Unsmoked gammon joint – 1kg or more
  • Tin of apricots in syrup
  • *
  • 1 tablespoon of potato or corn flour – optional
  • Sugar – optional

Method

  • Pre-heat the oven to GM5 – 190° C.
  • This is best cooked in an enamelled tin with a lid.
  • Empty the apricots and the syrup into the base of the baking tin.
  • Place gammon joint on top.
  • Place the lid over the tin.
  • Place in the oven and cook for the time specified for that weight of meat.
  • *
  • Just before the cooking time is up seperate the apricots and the meat.
  • Put the meat back into the oven with the lid on the tin.
  • Put the apricots into a small saucepan and heat up a little whilst stirring.
  • The apricots should have become a thick pulp with just a few large pieces.
  • Though this will depend on the size of the joint.
  • *
  • Optional
  • Mix the potato flour or cornflour with a little water.
  • Stir this into the apricots and heat gently with stirring to thicken the sauce.
  • Sweeten the sauce with sugar to taste.
  • *
  • Slice up the joint and serve with the sauce.

Meakin serving plate and Royal Doulton Burgundy dinner plate.

Thought – will be trying this with a pork loin joint next!

Silesian Heaven – 2

  • Silesian Heaven  – Śląskie niebo
  • Previously I cooked this dish more as a gulasz (casserole).
  • I really liked the mixture of dried fruits: apples, apricots and prunes.
  • Use dried pears also if you can source these.
  • The fruits are rehydrated overnight.
  • I thought why not use this mixture as the base of a roast pork dish as in an old Polish style or as in More Pork and Prunes.

INGREDIENTS

  • Piece of pork loin or leg for roasting
  • 300g of mixed dried apples, apricots and prunes
  • Plain flour & pepper
  • A little oil to seat the joint

METHOD

  • Place the dried fruits in a bowl and cover with boiling water.
  • Leave overnight.
  • *
  • Preheat the oven to GM4 – 180°C.
  • Roll the joint in flour and pepper.
  • Seal lightly on all sides.
  • Place all the fruits and liquid at the base of  an oven roasting tin – one with a lid.
  • Place the joint on top.
  • Put the lid on top.
  • Cook in the oven for the time required for the weight of meat.
  • *
  • You can take the lid off nearer the end of the cooking time.
  • *
  •  Serve the meat surrounded by the fruits.
  • *
  • NOTE – how much the fruits are cooked will depend on the size of the joint.

  • Served here on a serving dish by Allenton & Son

Option

  • Prior to serving, cover and keep the meat warm.
  • Remove the fruits and place in a saucepan with a little more water.
  • Heat with stirring to make them more  a thick sauce.

Silesian Heaven

  • Just back from a short holiday in Wroclaw which is in Silesia, Poland.
  • In a restaurant in the Old Town  I had Silesian Heaven  – Śląskie niebo – which was delicious.
  • Dried fruits such as apples, apricots, pears and  prunes are cooked with pork.
  • I have several recipes for pork with prunes – this has even more fruitiness.
  • This would have been a recipe for the winter months using all these dried fruits.

IMG-20230217-WA0003 (2)

  • I looked up several recipes for this.
  • I decided that shoulder pork would be the best option.
  • I used dried apples, apricots and prunes – I did not find any dried pears.
  • The recipe has to be started the evening before by soaking the dried fruits.
  • Some recipes cooked the pork and fruits for the same time BUT this makes the fruits like a thick sauce – this way I think is better.
  • NOTE
  • The prunes and apricots I used were the soft kind now more available –
  • If using the traditional very dried fruits you could adapt the timing of the fruit addition to earlier in the cooking.

Ingredients

  • 1kg of shoulder pork – steaks
  • 250g of prunes, dried apricots and dried apples
  • 750ml of vegetable or chicken stock
  • Sunflower oil for frying
  • Salt & pepper
  • Juice of 1 lemon

Method

  • Cover the dried fruits with boiling water.
  • Leave overnight.
  • *
  • Preheat the oven to GM4 – 180°C
  •  
  • Fry the pork on both sides.
  • Place the pork in an ovenproof dish.
  • Pour the stock over this and stir.
  • Place a lid over the dish.
  • Cook for around 2 hours.
  • Season with salt and pepper.
  • *
  • Add the dried fruits and the liquid.
  • Add more liquid if a lot has evaporated.
  • Stir and put back in the oven for another hour.
  • *
  • Pour the lemon juice over top before serving.
  • *
  • Here served with pearl barley – but buckwheat or rice would be good or  boiled or mashed potatoes or potato dumplings.

Royal Doulton – Burgundy plate

OPTION – To be tried later

  • Use a joint of pork and roast over the dried fruits.
  • Similar to the recipe for Pork & Prunes.

Kotlety with Courgettes – 2

  • I got this idea from one of my new Polish cookery books.
  • It is similar to my Kotlety mielone  –  large meatballs with the addition of coarse grated courgette.
  • Instead of the usual way I do my onions – the chopped green parts of spring onions were used.

Ingredients

  • 400-500g minced pork
  • Green parts of a bunch of spring onions
  • 1 bread roll or 1 slice white bread
  • Milk to soak the bread
  • 1 large courgette – coarsely grated
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon of mixed herbs
  • Salt & pepper
  • *
  • Dried breadcrumbs – Bułka tarta
  • *
  • Sunflower oil to fry the kotlety.

Method

  • Soak the bread in the milk for around 20 minutes.
  • Squeeze out the excess milk.
  • Chop the green parts of the spring onions into small circles.
  •  
  • In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together except for the dried breadcrumbs, it is best to do this using both hands, making sure that all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

  • If the mixture seems too wet then add a tablespoon full of dried breadcrumbs and mix this in.

  • Pour some dried breadcrumbs onto a large plate or board.

  • Try to make each one the same size, take a handful of the mixture and press it between your hands to make a flattened circle and then place this in the dried breadcrumbs and turn it over to cover both sides and edges.

  • Once coated place them on a tray dusted with breadcrumbs until you have used all the mixture up.

  • Shallow fry the kotlety in hot oil, depending on the frying pan size,  you can do 3 to 4 at a time, turning them over so that both sides are done.

  • Place them on kitchen roll on a plate or metal tray till they are all cooked –  you can keep them warm in a low oven.

     

UPDATE – 3 April 2023

  • The original recipe used minced chicken.
  • I tried this out yesterday.
  • We all thought PORK was much tastier!

Pork with Honeyed Plums

  • I previously wrote about pork with soured plums.
  • This time the recipe uses honey to sweeten the plums.
  • I have previously posted the recipe for honeyed plum sauce.
  • The pork is cooked separately from the plums.
  • Grilled pork chops or roast loin of pork works well. 

Ingredients

  • 10 plums
  • 250ml water (maybe a little extra)
  • 4-6 tablespoons of runny honey

Method

  • Simmer the plums gently in the water.
  • Stir until the plums fall apart.
  • Add extra water if needed.
  • Add as much honey as required to taste.
  • Remove the stones – optional.
  • Serve hot with the cooked pork.

  • Served on a Royal Doulton – Burgundy plate

Honeyed Plum Sauce

  • Super with meats such as chicken, duck and pork.
  • Also with great with desserts and with yoghurt.

Ingredients

  • 10 plums
  • 250ml water (maybe a little extra)
  • 4-6 tablespoons of runny honey

Method

  • Simmer the plums gently in the water.
  • Stir until the plums fall apart.
  • Add extra water if needed.
  • Add as much honey as required to taste.
  • Remove the pips – optional.
  • Serve hot with meats or chilled with desserts.

Placek po węgiersku

  • Po węgiersku  means in a Hungarian style
  • This is not so much a recipe but a way of serving two well known dishes – 
  • Kartoflane placki – Polish potato pancakes and gulasz. 
  • Usually the pancakes are made around 6-7cm in diameter, here each one is made the size of a breakfast plate around 18 – 20cm in diameter.
  • Try and made the pancake as thin as possible ( I think mine were a bit too thick!)
  • Serve with a portion of your favourite Hungarian style gulasz on top and a large dollop of soured cream and a sprinkling of sweet ground paprika.

Ingredients – Kartoflane placki

  • 4 large starchy potatoes such as King Edward or Maris Piper
  • 1 medium or large onion
  • 1 egg or just the egg yolk
  • Plain flour
  • Salt & pepper
  • *
  • Oil for frying

Method

  • Peel the potatoes then grate them using the fine size of the grater into a large bowl –  this is the part that takes time – I have tried using the coarse grate but they are not as good.

  • Leave to stand for a few minutes and the water from the potatoes will rise to the surface. If the potatoes are very watery pour of some of the water. The easiest way is to tip up the bowl slightly over the sink and hold down the potatoes with the palm of your hand.

  • Peel the onion and also fine grate it and add to the potatoes. This is the part that would often result in the grating of my knuckles as I tried to use every last bit of onion – I now often use some form of electrical mini-chopper to get a pulp of onion.

  • Add the egg, salt & pepper.

  • Add enough plain flour so that the mixture is thick.

  • Heat some oil in a frying pan, a thick cast iron one is ideal.
  • Place large spoonfuls of the mixture onto the hot oil and flatten it out to make a large circle.
  • Fry till golden on both sides.
  • It should be thin and  slightly crispy at the edges.
  • Do not have the pan too hot or it will burn on the outside and be raw in the centre.
  • Do not have the pan too cool or it will end up too greasy and not crispy.

To Serve

  • Have ready your favourite Hungarian style gulasz – cooked and hot.
  • Place a portion in the centre of the pancake.
  • Add a dollop of soured cream.
  • Sprinkle with sweet, ground paprika.
  • Served on Meakin – Topic plates – from the late 1960s.

Kotlety with Courgettes

  • This is a version of my kotlety – Polish meat patties, burgers or large meat balls.
  • Coarse grated courgettes are added – similar in a way to kotlety with sauerkraut.

Ingredients

  • 400g minced beef or pork or a mixture
  • Breadcrumbs made from 2 fresh slices of white bread or 2 bread rolls
  • 1 large onion – chopped fine – fried
  • 2 – 3 courgettes – coarse grated
  • 2 eggs – beaten
  • *
  • Dried breadcrumbs
  • Salt & pepper
  • *
  • Sunflower oil to fry

Method

  • Fry the chopped onion until golden.
  • Leave to cool completely.
  • Salt the courgettes and leave them in a colander for around 30 minutes.
  • Place the courgettes in a clean linen tea towel and squeeze all the liquid out.
  • Mix the mincemeat, breadcrumbs, onion, eggs and courgettes together well.
  • Season with salt  and pepper.
  • *
  • Make flattened round patties and cover with dried breadcrumbs.
  • *
  • Fry on both sides in hot sunflower oil.
  • *
  • Delicious hot but also great served sliced and cold with salads and bread.