Take one... bacon collar joint

Take one... bacon collar joint

I love meals that leave you with tasty leftovers, I don't mean 'heat them up in the microwave' leftovers (for the record I hate microwaves but more of that another day), exciting leftovers that naturally lead on to other meal ideas. Tonight I will be cooking up a bacon collar joint, cooking it in cider with veggies; the weather is cold and miserable outside and it sounds most suitable.  Then tomorrow night that lovely meat will be cooked up with some mushrooms in a tasty sauce and wrapped up in pancakes with cheese on top (one of lovely fiance's favourite meals).  There should still be enough left that the day after we'll go for something a bit less decadent and have a tasty soup from it.  So there you have it, three days of tasty, autumnal food. Other options you could try for the leftovers would be in a risotto with peas, a tasty addition to macaroni cheese - good macaroni cheese is one of life's great pleasures so do it properly.

Bacon collar joint cooked in cider

A cooking joint does not an interesting picture
 make- so here's a pig instead

serves 2 with lots for lovely leftovers

1 bacon collar joint about 1.5 Kg

1 carrot peeled and chopped

1 leek chopped into chunks

1 small eating apple, cored and chopped into 8 (no need to peel)

Good quality cider to cover

1/2 tbsp black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

Sprig of thyme

For the sauce-

Knob of butter, unsalted (the meat is very salty so you will not need to put in any extra salt)

1 tbsp plain flour

Reserved cooking liquid

Put your bacon joint in a pan with water to cold water to cover, bring to the boil and then simmer for 15 minutes.  Then strain off the water.  Clean out the pan and then put the joint back in along with all carrots, leek and apple.  You can either put the spices in loose or it would be neater to tie them in a square of muslin (or an unwanted pair of old tights seems to work well!).  Now cover the whole lot with the cider (hoping there is a little left over for an aperitif) bring to the boil and then simmer for about 1 1/2 hours until it can be easily pierced with a knife.

When it's ready, remove the pork and veggies and keep warm, (this is where you will be grateful if you have put all the spices together rather than having to pick out all the pesky little peppercorns).  Keep the cooking liquid to make a beautiful sauce. Melt a small knob of butter in a pan and then sprinkle in the flour and heat until it fizzes.  Now add your cooking liquid a little at a time stirring all the time until you reach the desired consistency.  Taste for seasoning but I'd be amazed if you need any salt.

It is rich, especially with the sauce so I'd recommend a simple accompaniment and  of course a nice glass of cider!