Our Professional BBQs seem to be on the increase, with customers finding it far easier to relax and enjoy the party by leaving the whole thing to us. Not only this, preparing food on a home BBQ for twenty plus people is never that easy – shopping for the food, firing up the BBQ, ensuring that the meat is cooked safely and properly, preparing all the side dishes and serving everything at the right time can all lead to added stress, particularly if it’s a wedding, family celebration OR... a business event!
All of our meat is sourced from the same Devon family butcher as our hogs, AND is prepared especially for your event – the very best quality burgers, marinaded meat, locally farmed chicken and home-made sausages. Likewise, all of our salads and side dishes are home-made by ourselves. Our bread is also baked locally especially for the occasion. Click here to view our gallery of home made dishes >
Weighing everything up, we believe that, even for the smallest of occasions, it really is worth considering an Astridges BBQ to give your event an added touch of atmosphere and focus.
Whether you're having a wedding, birthday, or any outdoor event, why not get in touch and see what we can do for you.
Sunday 20 June 2010
Saturday 29 May 2010
LOIN OF PORK on a bed of BUBBLE & SQUEAK with APPLE & PLUM SAUCES
Not only for taste and texture, this is a dish that looks brilliant on the plate! It’s a favourite of mine for a dinner party. The marinade has a slightly oriental flavouring but you can always adjust this to suit your own preference.
INGREDIENTS SERVES 4
Loin of Pork (x 4 boned and cut, 1.5 cm thick rashers )
Bash out a good size piece for each serving so that it’s about 1 cms thick and 18cms long.
As well as tenderising the meat it will also help in crispening the edges when it’s cooked
MARINADE
8 tbl spns of soy sauce (salted)
2 tbl spns of vegetable oil
1 lime squeezed (a lemon will be ok).
2 red chili peppers (seeds & white linings removed) cut cross way
in narrow strips
2 tbl spns brown sugar
6 cloves garlic (thinly sliced) –
2 inches of root ginger (peeled & thinly sliced)
Combine the marinade ingredients and mix thoroughly until the sugar has dissolved.
Marinade the meat for a couple of hour or so.
BUBBLE & SQUEAK
500g mashed potatoes
1/4 of a savoy cabbage chopped
1 onion sliced
salt and pepper
25g butter
oil for frying
(for added colour, taste and texture a good handful of peas can also be included)
Fry the onion in a little oil until clear
Boil the cabbage for 20 mins. Drain and cool
Boil the potatoes until just soft enough to mash – work in the butter, ensuring that the mix is still fairly firm
Mix the cabbage / mash / onions and season to taste.
Next, form the mixture into cakes about an inch thick, 8cms wide and about 18cms long.
These will need to be fried for about ten minutes each side in a little oil – making sure that they don’t break up!
A little crispy browning on the surface is ideal. You will need to time the cooking so that it’s ready to serve with the meat.
BRAMLEY APPLE SAUCE
450g Bramley apples, peeled, cored and chopped.
25g butter
A little soft brown sugar to taste.
Cloudy apple juice
Place apples / butter in a saucepan. Add 2 tbsp of water / 1 tbls apple juice.
Cook gently (about 10 mins) until soft enough to purée. For this I think a blender is essential to get the desired smooth consistence for the dish.. Ideally the consistency needs to be that of thin yoghurt. To achieve the right level, more apple juice can be added a little at a time.
NB. The apple sauce can be prepared in advance and reheated a minute or two before serving.
RED PLUM SAUCE
350g red desert plums. Halved / stones removed.
150 ml water
Zest and juice of one orange
50g caster sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbls sherry
Place plums / water in a saucepan. Boil gently, cover / simmer / stir until soft. Allow to cool then blend until smooth.
Now mix in the rest of the ingredients. Matching the same consistency of the apple sauce is important to the success of the dish.
The sauce can then be gently reheated just before serving.
PORK LOIN RASHERS
Cook under a hot grill in the same fashion as bacon, ie for 3 – 4 minutes each side – the idea being to keep the meat tender but with some crispy bits around the edges.Alternatively the meat can be seared quickly in a frying pan and finished off under the grill.
PLATING THE DISH
Warm the plates in advance.
Lay the bubble & squeak cakes down the centre of the plate (creating a complete dividing wall for the two sauces) and place the pork on the top. Now pour the apple sauce on one side and the plum sauce on the other... ensuring that there are not drips on the edges of thee plate!
And there you have it!
This recipe is brought to you by Paul Astridge of Astridges Hog Roasts. We are experts in roasting pig and lamb. We cater for events such as gigs, parties and weddings. Give us a call on 01392 490459 to see what we can do for you!
INGREDIENTS SERVES 4
Loin of Pork (x 4 boned and cut, 1.5 cm thick rashers )
Bash out a good size piece for each serving so that it’s about 1 cms thick and 18cms long.
As well as tenderising the meat it will also help in crispening the edges when it’s cooked
MARINADE
8 tbl spns of soy sauce (salted)
2 tbl spns of vegetable oil
1 lime squeezed (a lemon will be ok).
2 red chili peppers (seeds & white linings removed) cut cross way
in narrow strips
2 tbl spns brown sugar
6 cloves garlic (thinly sliced) –
2 inches of root ginger (peeled & thinly sliced)
Combine the marinade ingredients and mix thoroughly until the sugar has dissolved.
Marinade the meat for a couple of hour or so.
BUBBLE & SQUEAK
500g mashed potatoes
1/4 of a savoy cabbage chopped
1 onion sliced
salt and pepper
25g butter
oil for frying
(for added colour, taste and texture a good handful of peas can also be included)
Fry the onion in a little oil until clear
Boil the cabbage for 20 mins. Drain and cool
Boil the potatoes until just soft enough to mash – work in the butter, ensuring that the mix is still fairly firm
Mix the cabbage / mash / onions and season to taste.
Next, form the mixture into cakes about an inch thick, 8cms wide and about 18cms long.
These will need to be fried for about ten minutes each side in a little oil – making sure that they don’t break up!
A little crispy browning on the surface is ideal. You will need to time the cooking so that it’s ready to serve with the meat.
BRAMLEY APPLE SAUCE
450g Bramley apples, peeled, cored and chopped.
25g butter
A little soft brown sugar to taste.
Cloudy apple juice
Place apples / butter in a saucepan. Add 2 tbsp of water / 1 tbls apple juice.
Cook gently (about 10 mins) until soft enough to purée. For this I think a blender is essential to get the desired smooth consistence for the dish.. Ideally the consistency needs to be that of thin yoghurt. To achieve the right level, more apple juice can be added a little at a time.
NB. The apple sauce can be prepared in advance and reheated a minute or two before serving.
RED PLUM SAUCE
350g red desert plums. Halved / stones removed.
150 ml water
Zest and juice of one orange
50g caster sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbls sherry
Place plums / water in a saucepan. Boil gently, cover / simmer / stir until soft. Allow to cool then blend until smooth.
Now mix in the rest of the ingredients. Matching the same consistency of the apple sauce is important to the success of the dish.
The sauce can then be gently reheated just before serving.
PORK LOIN RASHERS
Cook under a hot grill in the same fashion as bacon, ie for 3 – 4 minutes each side – the idea being to keep the meat tender but with some crispy bits around the edges.Alternatively the meat can be seared quickly in a frying pan and finished off under the grill.
PLATING THE DISH
Warm the plates in advance.
Lay the bubble & squeak cakes down the centre of the plate (creating a complete dividing wall for the two sauces) and place the pork on the top. Now pour the apple sauce on one side and the plum sauce on the other... ensuring that there are not drips on the edges of thee plate!
And there you have it!
This recipe is brought to you by Paul Astridge of Astridges Hog Roasts. We are experts in roasting pig and lamb. We cater for events such as gigs, parties and weddings. Give us a call on 01392 490459 to see what we can do for you!
Sunday 16 May 2010
Pit Cooked Pig
Called Mumu cooking in Papa New Guinea, a Kula in Hawaii and a Porceddu in Sardinia, this rustic method of cooking a pig has provided a celebratory feast for many ancient cultures, dating back hundreds of years. A suckling pig was, and still is, a popular choice, particularly in Mediterranean countries where outdoor cooking and festive occasions are something we can only follow. The flavor and texture really is quite wonderful and delicious!
There are a number of variations but, in outline, a large pit is dug in the ground and layered with stones. A hardwood fire is then built up over a number of hours until the heat of the rocks reaches maximum temperature. The embers and the top layer of stones are then removed and the prepared whole pig, wrapped in wet aromatic leaves, is lowered on to the remaining stones and covered with the embers and spare stones. After this the pit is then back-filled with earth and the pig left to cook. Depending on the size of the pig this could take up to 12 hours... or more. To ensure the heat is maintained, a fire can be built over the top layer of stones and used as an alternative to backfilling the the pit with soil. Some of the hot stones can also be placed inside the pig cavity to generate a more even distribution of heat.
As an accompaniment, apples, corn on the cob and sweet potatoes wrapped in foil can also be cooked in the pit by burying them in the top layer of the soil about an hour before the pig is ready.
I have have been to a wedding where they had a pit roasted pig – it was fantastic, BUT a lesson learned was to ensure that the pig is well wrapped and protected in a suitable layer. As delicious as it was I spent most of my time spitting out gritty soil and ash! For more detailed information there are a number of sites offering advice and instructions.
If you'ld like to hire a Hog Roast caterer, why not get in touch and we'll be happy to help.
There are a number of variations but, in outline, a large pit is dug in the ground and layered with stones. A hardwood fire is then built up over a number of hours until the heat of the rocks reaches maximum temperature. The embers and the top layer of stones are then removed and the prepared whole pig, wrapped in wet aromatic leaves, is lowered on to the remaining stones and covered with the embers and spare stones. After this the pit is then back-filled with earth and the pig left to cook. Depending on the size of the pig this could take up to 12 hours... or more. To ensure the heat is maintained, a fire can be built over the top layer of stones and used as an alternative to backfilling the the pit with soil. Some of the hot stones can also be placed inside the pig cavity to generate a more even distribution of heat.
As an accompaniment, apples, corn on the cob and sweet potatoes wrapped in foil can also be cooked in the pit by burying them in the top layer of the soil about an hour before the pig is ready.
I have have been to a wedding where they had a pit roasted pig – it was fantastic, BUT a lesson learned was to ensure that the pig is well wrapped and protected in a suitable layer. As delicious as it was I spent most of my time spitting out gritty soil and ash! For more detailed information there are a number of sites offering advice and instructions.
If you'ld like to hire a Hog Roast caterer, why not get in touch and we'll be happy to help.
Wednesday 13 January 2010
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