Much to our delight, the highly anticipated The Ginger Pig Meat Book was launched last week with an appropriately brawny spread at Daunt Books on Marylebone High Street – including some knock-out honeyed ham, sausage rolls and pies.
Much to our delight, the highly anticipated The Ginger Pig Meat Book was launched last week with an appropriately brawny spread at Daunt Books on Marylebone High Street – including some knock-out honeyed ham, sausage rolls and pies.
Now with four branches across London, The Ginger Pig has butchered its way into our hearts as one of the UK’s favourite and most well-respected meat producers. Farmer and proprietor Tim Wilson has spent years keeping and carefully crossing rare British breeds on his farms on the Yorkshire Moors, producing meat in sympathy with the seasons and with livestock welfare as his top priority. The difference in quality is immediately apparent, from the colouring of the raw cuts straight through to the meat’s texture and taste when cooked.
Teaming up with food writer Fran Warde, Wilson has put together a cookbook which also includes straightforward advice on seasonality, choosing breeds and cuts, as well as butchering techniques and tips about what to ask your butcher. Alongside pork, beef and lamb, there are recipes for British game and poultry, including venison, rabbit, goose, guinea fowl, duck, quail and turkey. The recipes take all cuts into consideration, offering traditional and demi-fusion combinations that are unfussy and flavourful. Most of the prep time comes down to marinades and slow cooking, so it’s a matter of planning ahead, but the labour is minimal. It goes without saying that the quality of the meat is key.
We asked Warde to pick out a couple of her favourite recipes for us to test run the book. Her first choice was the Lamb ‘Henrys’ with cannellini beans, which uses shoulder (a large, less expensive cut) and is slow-cooked until satisfyingly brothy. This has got Sunday dinner written all over it; hearty without the stodge, and even our guests who don’t normally go for lamb couldn't resist. Second up was the Oriental pan-fried goose skirt with crunchy salad. This is made with onglet, a beef cut that comes from between the kidneys, making it very soft and unique in flavour. The meat is marinated overnight, then quickly pan-fried and served with a crispy vegetable salad and East Asian-inspired dressing. Perfect for a bit of mid-week sophistication. Then, just because we couldn’t help it, we tried the spare ribs done in a classic marinade that doesn’t disappoint. For this it’s crucial to get the best cut – you can really tell the difference with ribs. Other recipes we’re looking forward to trying are Moroccan chicken with preserved lemons, salt beef from scratch (!), and, of course, the famous Ginger Pig sausage roll.
The Ginger Pig Meat Book is published by Mitchell Beazley and good news! They’re offering 25% off for AnOther readers. To order your copy of the Ginger Pig Meat Book for £18.75 (r.r.p. £25.00) and get free postage and packing, please email here and quote MB311.
Ananda and Neil visited The Ginger Pig at 8-10 Moxon Street at 10am on Saturday 13 May, and cooked up a meat storm on Sunday.
Ananda Pellerin is a London-based writer and Neil Wissink is a visual artist also based in London. Contact The Hunger here.
