3102. SMOKED RACK OF BACON with RED CURRANT JELLY

serves 6


1 x 1½kg rack of bacon, bone-in and smoked if possible
6 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 onion, peeled and chopped

Glaze
zest and juice of 1 orange
2 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
4 tablespoon redcurrant jelly

Place the bacon in a saucepan with the peppercorns, bay leaf and onion and cover with cold water and a lid. Bring to boil, then turn the heat down to a gently simmer and cook for one hour. Meanwhile prepare the glaze – place all the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan over a low heat.  Stir until the redcurrant jelly melts. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4, 180°C (350°F). Place the bacon from the water and place in a baking dish and allow to cool a little. Then remove the rind and excess fat. Brush over one third of the glaze and reserve the rest to serve with the bacon. Place in the oven for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven,  cover loosely with foil and allow to rest while you stir-fry the cabbage. Thinly slice a head of cabbage. Place in a saucepan and barely cover with water. Cook for a couple of minutes then drain. Heat a little oil and butter in a frying pan. Add the cabbage and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Season and serve with the bacon and reserved glaze.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Bord Bia: Irish Food Board, Clanwilliam Court, Lower Mount St, Dublin, Ireland

3083. ONE POT PARTRIDGE with BACON and CHESTNUTS

serves four

1 tablespoon juniper berries 

4 oven-ready partridges

salt and freshly ground black pepper 

1 oz. butter 

1 tablespoon sunflower oil 

1 medium onion, finely sliced

4 rashers rindless streaky bacon, cut into 2cm/1in slices

3-4 bushy sprigs fresh thyme 

2 tablespoons plain flour 

5 tablespoons dry gin 

3½fl oz orange juice (about 1 large orange)

7fl oz red wine 

12fl oz chicken stock, fresh or made with 1 stock cube

2 tablespoons cranberry sauce or red currant jelly 

2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

7 oz. cooked and peeled chestnuts, halved

½ medium Savoy cabbage, tough outer leaves removed

Put the juniper seeds in a pestle and mortar and pound until roughly crushed. Sprinkle the juniper seeds over all the partridges, pressing lightly into the skin, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Melt the butter with the oil in a large flame-proof casserole or your largest saucepan over a medium heat. Add the partridges to the casserole, breast-side down, and fry for 1-2 minutes, or until nicely browned. Turn and fry on each of the remaining three sides for a further minute until browned all over. Remove from the casserole and put on a plate.

Reduce the heat and add the onion, bacon and thyme to the casserole. Fry gently for 5-6 minutes, or until the onions are softened and the bacon is beginning to brown, stirring regularly.

Sprinkle the flour into the pan and stir well. Cook for about five minutes, then add the gin and orange juice and bubble for a few seconds before slowly stirring in the wine and chicken stock. Spoon the cranberry sauce or redcurrant jelly on top, stir in the orange zest and chestnuts and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Gently return the partridges to the pan and cover with a lid. Cook over a low heat for 30 minutes.

Cut the cabbage into four wedges and remove the tough central core. Remove the casserole from the heat and turn the partridges over. Nestle the cabbage between the birds, cover and continue to cook for a further 30-40 minutes, or until the birds are very tender, the cabbage has softened and the sauce has thickened. Pick out the thyme stalks and adjust the seasoning to taste.

bacon recipe courtesy of: The Hairy Bikers, The Hairy Bikers' Cook Off, BBC-Food

1920. BACON-WRAPPED PARTRIDGE with THYME and RED CURRANT JELLY

serves two

2 partridges
6 slices of unsmoked streaky bacon
1 lemon
2 small knobs of butter
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 tablespoons of redcurrant/damson/wild plum jelly
small glass of white wine or damson gin if you’d like a more raunchy dish
salt and ground black pepper

Pre heat the oven to 160c (140c fan). Cut the lemon in half lengthwise and squeeze each half over a partridge rubbing the lemon juice well into the flesh of the birds. Put half a lemon into the cavity of each bird along with a knob of butter and a sprig of thyme. Spread a tablespoon of redcurrant jelly over the breast of each bird and put a spring of thyme on each. Season each bird and wrap the streaky bacon slices over the breast of each bird, securing the bacon with a cocktail stick. Place the birds breast side down in a casserole. Splosh over the wine and put a piece of foil under the lid to ensure a snug fit. Place in a preheated oven for an hour and twenty minutes (or until tender) 160c or 140c fan. Serve with crispy bread to soak up the juices.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Fiona Nevile, The Cottage Smallholder

1869. ROAST COLLAR of BACON with BLACKENED CRACKLING and CUMBERLAND SAUCE

serves eight



2.25kg/4lb 15¼oz collar of bacon
1 tablespoon molasses or black treacle
salt flakes

For the Cumberland sauce
1 medium lemon
1 medium orange
4 heaped tablespoons good-quality redcurrant jelly
4 tablespoons port
1 heaped teaspoon mustard powder
1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger
braised red cabbage, to serve

Preheat the oven to 240C/460F/Gas 9.

First of all, using a very sharp pointed knife, score the skin of the bacon in a criss-cross pattern, making little 1cm/½in diamonds (insert the tip of the knife only, hold the skin taut with one hand and drag the tip of the knife down in long movements).

To cook the bacon, warm the molasses or black treacle slightly (if it's very cold) then use a pastry brush to lightly coat all the little diamonds. Next, sprinkle the skin with salt flakes, pressing them well in, then place the joint in a roasting tin skin-side up (if it won't stand straight, use a couple of wodges of foil to prop it up).

Place the roasting tin in the oven and after 25 minutes turn the heat down to 180C/350F/Gas 4, and continue to cook for a further 1¾-2 hours. It should feel tender all the way through when tested with a skewer. Leave it to rest for at least 30 minutes after coming out of the oven.

For the Cumberland sauce, first, thinly pare off the zest of both the lemon and the orange using a potato peeler, then cut into very small strips 1cm/½in long and as thin as possible. Boil them in water for 5 minutes to extract any bitterness and drain well.

Now place the redcurrant jelly in a saucepan with the port and melt, whisking them together with a mini whisk over a low heat for 5 or 10 minutes.

In a serving bowl, mix the mustard and ginger with the juice of half the lemon until smooth, then add the juice of the whole orange, the port and redcurrant mixture, and finally the zests. Whisk well and the sauce is ready to use.

Serve with braised red cabbage and Cumberland Sauce, which is always served at room temperature. (Cumberland Sauce keeps well in a screw-top jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.)


bacon recipe courtesy of: Delia Smith, Delia's Classic Christmas, BBC-Food

899. BRIE and REDCURRANT-STUFFED CROISSANT with BACON

serves 2


1 ready-made plain croissant, cut into 4 pieces
4 teaspoons ready-made redcurrant jelly
1½oz Brie, sliced into 4 pieces
4 slices smoked streaky bacon
2½oz watercress, roughly chopped
1 tsp olive oil salt and freshly ground black pepper

Split the four pieces of croissant almost in half and fill the middle of each with a teaspoonful of redcurrant jelly and a slice of Brie. Wrap each croissant piece in a slice of bacon. Place the croissant pieces into a hot frying pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the bacon is golden-brown. Place the watercress and olive oil into a bowl, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well to coat the watercress. To serve, place the watercress onto two small plates and top with the hot stuffed croissant pieces.


courtesy of: James Tanner, Ready Steady Cook, BBC Food

890. ROAST PHEASANT with BACON and WHISKEY CUMBERLAND SAUCE

1/4 cup Scotch whiskey
2 oranges, cut into 1/8ths
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 (2 to 2 1/2-pound) pheasants
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 slices bacon, halved

Whiskey-Cumberland Sauce:
1 cup Scotch whiskey
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1 cup red currant jelly
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch cayenne

Serving suggestion: Wild rice

For the pheasant: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a bowl, toss the oranges with 3 tablespoons of the whisky. Rub the pheasants with the remaining 1 tablespoon of whisky and lightly season with salt and pepper. Stuff each pheasant with the oranges and 1 sprig of fresh thyme, and close the cavities with skewers. Wrap the breast of each pheasant with the bacon and set in a roasting pan. Roast the pheasants until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 160 degrees F., about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes.

For the Whiskey Cumberland Sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine the whisky, orange juice, and orange zest, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced by 50 percent in volume to about 3/4 cup. Add the currant jelly, salt, and cayenne, and stir well.

Cook until thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour into a decorative bowl. Cool slightly before serving.

Remove the bacon from the pheasant breasts, if desired, and cut each bird in half. Discard the oranges and thyme in the cavity. Serve hot with Whisky-Cumberland Sauce and wild rice.


courtesy of: Emeril Lagasse, "Single Malt Whiskey," Emeril Live,, 2001

83. ROAST GROUSE with BACON

brace of young grouse, plucked and drawn
giblets
2 oz. butter
6 rashers streaky bacon
2 slices white bread (crusts removed)
2 tablespoons redcurrant jelly
salt and pepper
watercress to garnish

Set oven to 400 F. or Mark 6. Rub a little of the butter into the well-washed and dried inside of each bird. Spoon the recurrant jelly into the cavities. Season the outside of the grouse. Cover the breasts with bacon rashers. Place in a roasting tin and cover with foil. Allow 15 minutes per pound plus an additional 15 minutes per pound plus an additional 15 minutes. Meanwhile toast the bread. Place the giblets in saucepan, cover with water and simmer until tender. Strain and reserve the stock to make the gravy. Remove the livers, mash them with butter, salt and pepper and spread on the toast. Slip the toast under each bird for the last 15 minutes of roasting. Place the grouse and toast on a serving dish and garnish with watercress. Serve with game chips, redcurrant or rowan jelly and bread sauce.