Pork fritters with pub piccalilli, apple sauce and soft poached quail's eggs

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Sean Hope's pork fritters recipe plays on the classic flavour combinations of pork, apple and piccalilli to create a sublime, homely starter. This wholehearted recipe includes instructions for how to make your own crackling, which would be enough of a treat on its own.

First published in 2015
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Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Braised pig's head

Brawn for fritters

Black pudding fritters

  • 220g of black pudding
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Ham hock fritters

Pub piccalilli

Apple sauce

Crackling and crispy bacon

Garnish

Fritter crumb

Equipment

  • Deep fat fryer
  • Blender
  • Vac pac maker
  • Water bath

Method

1
For the brawn, place the pig's head in a large pot with the carrot, celery, onion, garlic and bouquet garni. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook for 2 hours or until tender
2
Remove the head and reserve the cooking liquor for the ham hock. While the head is still warm pick away all the meat, fat and skin and set aside until required
3
To finish the brawn, heat a little rapeseed oil in a medium saucepan. Sweat off the shallot, garlic and carrot until soft. Add the cider to the pan and reduce until almost dry
4
Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped sage. Allow to cool before adding the meat and mixing well. Season to taste with salt and pepper
5
Line a small tray with cling film, spread the brawn mixture evenly over the surface and cover with cling film. Press down with another tray and refrigerate to for 1 hour to set
6
Once chilled and set, place the brawn mix onto a chopping board and cut into large, even cubes - you will only need 1 piece per person, the rest of the mix will freeze well for up to 6 weeks. Chill the portions until required
7
Place the black pudding into a vacuum pouch and seal on full vacuum. Cook in a preheated water bath at 67°C for 45 minutes - alternatively you can gently poach in a pot of water for 40 minutes
8
Remove the black pudding from the vacuum pouch and remove the outer skin. Allow to cool slightly before mixing well with the Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, form into bitesize balls and refrigerate until required
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
9
Place the ham hock in the cool, reserved cooking liquor from the pig's head. Bring to the boil and then reduce and gently simmer for 2-3 hours until the hock falls from the bone
10
Remove from the pan and allow to cool slightly before picking the meat away from the skin and bone. Place the ham into a mixing bowl and add the chopped parsley, grain mustard, sherry vinegar and grated apple
11
Lay the mix onto a sheet of cling film and roll up into a thin sausage shape. Refrigerate to set before slicing into small bitesize logs. Refrigerate until required
12
For the piccalilli, mix all the vegetables together and add a generous pinch of salt. Leave for 2 hours before rinsing with cold water and draining thoroughly
13
Combine the vinegars, mustard, sugar, turmeric and diluted cornflour in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, stir, and let the mixture thicken
  • 280ml of white wine vinegar
  • 140ml of malt vinegar
  • 2 tsp mustard powder
  • 125g of caster sugar
  • 2 tsp cornflour
14
Add the prepared vegetables to the piccalilli sauce and cook out for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before placing into sterilised jam jars and sealing. Allow to cool and store in the fridge until required
15
For the apple sauce, peel, core and dice the apples. Combine in a pan with the cider, sugar, vinegar and butter. Cook for 10 minutes and then transfer to a blender and blitz until smooth. Serve warm
16
For the crackling, trim off any excess fat from the skin. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of Chinese five spice. Place the skin into a vacuum pack and seal
17
Preheat the water bath to 82˚C and cook for 16 hours (until jelly like in consistency). Remove the skin from the water bath and set in the refrigerator
18
Once the skin is chilled, remove from the pack, place on a chopping board and cut into 5mm thick strips. Dehydrate the strips of pork skin for 12 hours in a dehydrator or at 35˚C (or lowest oven setting)
19
Heat the deep fryer to 190˚C. Deep fry the pork skin until light, fluffy and crispy. Drain and pat dry on absorbent kitchen paper and season
  • vegetable oil
20
Take 8 slices of thinly sliced streaky smoked bacon and lay on a greased baking tray. Place under a hot grill until golden brown and crispy. Brush each slice with a little warm maple syrup
21
To cook the quail eggs, drop them into boiling water for 2 1/2 minutes and then plunge directly into ice cold water. Allow to cool completely before peeling carefully. Cut each egg in half and sprinkle with paprika before serving
22
Prepare the fritter crumb for frying. Coat each of the fritter and drop into a deep fat fryer at 180˚C until golden brown. Drain and season with salt
  • 2 eggs
  • flour
  • Panko breadcrumbs (1)
23
To serve, place 3 small dollops of the warm apple sauce under each fritter in the centre of each plate. Add some piccalilli around the plate, folllowed by the quail eggs. Serve the crackling and crispy bacon on the side
First published in 2015
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Hope’s is honest cooking - backed by a deep knowledge of his surroundings and its traditions, as well as an unparalleled ability to coax exceptional flavours out of tiny Rutland’s countryside.

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