Ale-braised mutton and kidney faggots with peas, lettuce and mint

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Mutton is greatly undervalued by the meat-buying public, overshadowed by its younger model lamb. Yet, when cooked well, mutton can dazzle, as demonstrated by James Mackenzie's mutton faggot recipe. The chef uses his very own 'Two Chefs winter ale' when he cooks this dish in his restaurant - but feel free to substitute with a similarly deep amber, lightly-spiced winter ale.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Mutton and kidney faggots

To serve

Method

1
To make the faggot, add the onion to a saucepan with the crushed garlic clove, HP sauce and a little salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and cook on a very low heat for 30 minutes
2
Remove the lid and turn up the heat to dry the mixture out slightly. Once dry enough, remove from the heat and allow to cool
3
Trim and halve the kidneys and remove the sinew from the middle. Chop into small pieces, then add to a large mixing bowl with the minced mutton, onion mix, fresh mint and rosemary
4
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
5
Mix everything together with your hands until well combined, adding some breadcrumbs if the mix is a little wet. Divide into 16 balls, wrap in the caul fat and place in a deep oven tray. Pour in the chicken stock and ale to come halfway up the faggots and cook in the oven for 30 minutes
  • breadcrumbs
  • 100g of caul fat, pig's
  • 250ml of chicken stock
  • 200ml of ale
6
Remove from the oven, pour the cooking liquor into a saucepan and reduce by half. Mix the butter and flour into a paste and add to the cooking liquor, whisking to thicken slightly. Add the peas and simmer for 1 minute
  • 1 tbsp of butter
  • 1 tbsp of flour
  • 200g of frozen peas
7
Shred the lettuce and chop the mint
8
Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the lettuce and mint and spoon into 4 bowls. Place 3 faggots in each bowl and serve immediately
First published in 2015

Behind every strong man there’s a strong woman and never has that maxim rung truer than at the Michelin-starred Pipe and Glass, where talented chef-proprietor James Mackenzie resides with his equally capable front-of-house wife, Kate.

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