Bag of Bones Soup

A variation on Scotch Broth

2 lb bag of lamb bones, thawed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 carrot cut into large chunks
1 large onion cut into quarters
1 stalk celery cut into chunks
1 large onion chopped fine
2 carrots chopped into small cubes
1 stalk celery chopped fine
1/4-1/3 cup pot barley
1-2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste

In a large stove top to oven pot or dutch oven, brush the bottom with olive oil, add bones, the single carrot, quartered onion and large pieces of celery. Cover and roast at 350°F until well browned. Drain off any excess fat and remove the vegetables (or not if you want a different taste). Add sufficient water to cover the bones and simmer on stove top for about one hour. The longer you simmer the more flavor but make sure you add sufficient water to keep the bones covered.

Remove the bones, remove and retain any meat and place the stock in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning remove all the fat that has collected on the top of the stock. Add back the retained meat, the cubed carrots, onion and celery cubes, pot barley and herbs. Cook until the pot barley and vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaf and serve.

Vary the amount and type of vegetables for a thicker soup. Try potatoes and or turnip.

Submitted by Laurie Maus

HOW TO ROAST A HERITAGE TURKEY

Submitted by Janet Duncan

In my own cooking style, I do not cover the breast. Instead, I add additional fat to the breast meat by slipping fat, like butter or olive oil, under the skin over the breast.

This is a method I use with all birds, except for duck. It makes the birds self-basting. If, along with the fat, you add under the skin of the breast crushed garlic, lemon, and herbs along with a little salt you are able to introduce additional flavors into the bird. It is also possible to work the oil and optional flavorings under the skin up over the thigh and leg.

I recommend roasting the turkey to a temperature that is significantly lower than the current custom. If you cook your bird to 140F you will help ensure that the meat is moist.

Always start roasting with a bird that is at room temperature. A few hours before you plan to roast the bird, remove it from the refrigerator and let the bird come to room temperature. The deep flesh, not just the outer half-inch (1 cm), needs to be at or near room temperature before you roast it in order to achieve the best results. If the bird is at 34F (1C) in its interior parts when you start roasting it the breast will be dry long before the deep tissues are cooked.

Heritage turkeys tend to have little fat, I advise cooking them the way one cooks game birds — quickly. Roast in an oven at 425F to 450F. I would roast a heritage turkey to 140F, and no more. As always, let the bird rest for at least ten minutes before carving.

Slow Cooked Gammon

Ingredients

4lb Berkshire Pork Gammon
¾ cup brown soft sugar
2 cups cider
2 bay leaves
10 black peppercorns
Cloves

Directions

Tip half the sugar into the slow cooker and place the gammon on top. Rub over the remaining sugar.
Pour the cider around the gammon. Add the bay leaves and peppercorns. Cover with the lid and cook on high for 4hr.
Lift out of slow cooker and discard liquid.
Make your favourite glaze.
Score the fat with a sharp knife to make fairly large diamond shapes, and stud each diamond with a clove if you like.
Carefully apply your glaze
Finish in a 450F oven for about 10 mins until glaze is bubbly

Cola Ham

Ingredients

4lb Heritage Gammon
1 onion (peeled and cut in half)
2 litres coca-cola - must be full sugar stuff
Cloves for studding the fat

Directions

Put the gammon in a pan, add the onion, then pour over the Coke.
Bring to the boil, reduce to a good simmer, put the lid on, though not tightly, and cook for 2 hours. Or Cook in slow cooker on high for 4 hours.
If the gammon's been in the fridge right up to the moment you cook it, you will have to give it a good 15 minutes or so extra so that the interior is properly cooked.
Make your favourite glaze.
Score the fat with a sharp knife to make fairly large diamond shapes, and stud each diamond with a clove.
Carefully apply your glaze
Finish in a 450F oven for about 10 mins until glaze is bubbly.

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Oven baked Smoked Ham

Ingredients

4lb Heritage Smoked Ham
A glaze of your choice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Score the fat.
Put ham in a roasting pan cut-side down.
Brush with your favourite glaze.
Tent it with foil.
Bake it for 20 minutes per pound.
Every 20 minutes or so, brush the ham with more glaze and baste it with the pan juices.
To finish, remove the foil tent, brush the ham with glaze and pan juices one more time, and turn the oven to broil.
Broil for about 3-to-5 minutes until the outside glaze is deliciously caramelized -- but watch it closely so it doesn't get too dark

Whisky Maple Glaze

Ingredients

¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup of maple syrup
¼ cup of whiskey - I used salted caramel whisky, it was delicious
Salt and pepper

Directions

Whisk together ingredients
Carefully pour over ham

Slow Cooked Smoked Ham

Ingredients

4lb Heritage Smoked Ham
½ cup broth/water or apple juice
A glaze of your choice.

Directions

Put liquid & ham in the slow cooker.
Cook the ham on high for 2 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the ham registers 160F
Score the ham fat.
Mix your favourite glaze. When ham is cooked you can either glaze it and finish in a 450F oven or
Spread the glaze over the ham and cook with the lid off for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, or until the glaze thickens and slightly caramelizes.

FRICADELLES OF BEEF

WITH VENISON SAUCE

Recipe by Luc Gielen, Owner of the Restaurant Le Sans P.

A sort of elongated meatball, the Fricadelle is a Belgian/German speciality made with ground meat and a variety of complementary ingredients and seasonings. It may be deep-fried or slow-cooked in a stew. Beer is sometimes featured in the recipe. Our recipe borrows its inspiration from the classic “Beef Wellington”. The ground, seasoned meat is wrapped in puff pastry, baked in the oven and served hot accompanied by a beer-based venison sauce.

Serves four.

The Fricadelles

500 g or 1 lb-2 oz Ground Belgian Blue Beef
400 g or 15 oz Puff pastry
100 g Dry breadcrumbs
1 Thinly sliced onion
50 ml or 2 oz of 35% cream
1 Whole egg
1 tbsp Chopped parsley
Nutmeg, salt, pepper to taste
1 egg yolk

Preparation

Sauté the sliced onion in butter until softened. Chill. Roll out the puff pastry to a thickness of 3 mm (1/8"). Cut 4 equal size rectangles.

Incorporate all ingredients (except the egg yolk) into the ground beef and mix thoroughly.
Divide this mixture into 4 equal amounts and form 4 elongated meatballs (cylindrical) to a length matching the width of the puff pastry rectangles.
Place each roll at the end of the rectangle and proceed to roll up the pastry around the “fricadelle”. Use a little egg wash to secure the pastry.
Place each roll seam down on a baking sheet. Brush with egg wash and place in a hot oven (400 F) for approximately 30 minutes.

* This product is also available ready-made! If you live in the Ottawa-Hull, Alfred-Plantagenet, Lachute, Montebello or Montreal area, drop by and pick yours up today - each fricadelle is accompanied by a serving of sauce.

VENISON SAUCE

1/2 li or 18 oz Brown veal (beef) stock
100 ml or 4 oz Beer (light or amber colour)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
4 tbsp raspberries (unsweetened)
salt, green peppercorns (in brine)

In a saucepan over medium heat, reduce the beer by half, add the veal stock, the mustard and the raspberries.
Again reduce by half. Add the green peppercorns and salt to taste.
Serve immediately.