W L
THE BUTCHERS CUT
BY MUFFS OF BROMBOROUGH
HOGGET PIE
What is Hogget ? I hear you ask . Well , Hogget is a lamb that is over one year old but still a young sheep . Basically , no longer classed as lamb but too young to be mutton . The reason I have put together this recipe for you is because I think this is just the best time of year to be eating Hogget .
I love new season spring lamb and every year it ' s a big event for us at Muffs when we get our first delivery . The first new season spring lambs we have in we always prepare , cook and eat them together in work . It ’ s our yearly ritual to see in the spring , there has to be some perks of the job I suppose !
It ’ s for this reason I like to make the most of the Hogget ’ s while we can . The beauty of hogget is they have had that extra time out at pasture . The animal has had extra time on the hills to graze and live . The flavour of the meat is far richer and earthy , it ’ s just superb .
As I ’ m writing this , its icy cold outside and I ’ m salivating just thinking about it . This is just what I imagine Bettie ’ s hot pot from corrie to be like and as you must know that was a thing of legend . Enjoy !
INGREDIENTS
• Whole shoulder Hogget
• White onion
• Garlic
• Celery
• Leek
• Carrot
• Worcestershire sauce
• Red wine
• Red potatoes
• Bay leaf
• Thyme
METHOD
• Pop the shoulder into a high sided baking tray . Make a few holes in the meat with the tip of your knife . Don ’ t slash it too much just enough to let your seasoning in .
• Season generously with salt & pepper , good quality rapeseed oil , bay leaf and thyme . Roughly chop up some garlic and massage in all the ingredients making sure you work everything into the cuts in the meat .
• Place roughly chopped carrot , celery , leek and onion on the bottom of the tray with the shoulder sitting on top . Add 2tbsp Worcestershire sauce , a good glass of red wine and 500ml of good quality stock .
• Place some non stick baking parchment on top then cover with tin foil sealing the edges nice and tightly .
• Put that in a pre heated oven at 160 0 c for approximately 3-4 hours . Just check on its progress now and again ensuring it isn ’ t going to lose the liquid . If running a bit dry add some water as needed . When the meat is ready to fall off the bone , it ' s done .
• Remove the meat from the baking tray and get your pie dish ready . Flake the meat off the bone and place in the pie dish . Ensure you don ’ t eat all the meat at this point as your guests are sure to notice but chef is always allowed to test the produce . That ’ s my excuse and I ’ m sticking to it !
• Once you have thoroughly tested the meat for the correct seasoning it ' s time to finish the gravy . The easiest way to do this is to add a tbsp of plain flour to the tray of juices and whisk in . Place over the hob and gently heat and whisk to thicken . You can either pass the liquid threw a sieve straight over the meat or if you have a stick blender just remove the bay leaf and sprig of thyme and blitz until smooth then pour over .
• Finally slice your potatoes about the thickness of a £ 1 coin and arrange over the meat in gravy . Melt some good quality butter and baste the potatoes generously .
• To finish pre heat the oven to 180 0 c and bake for approx 30 -40 mins , you want to see the potatoes golden brown and just cooked with the gravy trying to escape through the cracks and edges . Enjoy this with baby carrots and greens .
Absolutely delicious .
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