BBQ lovers will be in hog-heaven over this!

Here’s how to produce your own classic ‘BBQ Pulled Pork’; all you need is a stove-top smoker such as the one made by Camerons  – one of the best kitchen investments you can make as it doubles as a deep roasting pan with rack. They’re also available in the UK  from Amazon at a slightly higher price point by US standards.

They come with full instructions (easy), a recipe book and an impressive choice of wood chips, shaved from just about every non-endangered deciduous tree known to man, fruit trees included.

I’ve smoked salmon, trout, tofu, cheese, chicken, duck and turkey, all with excellent results and the whole procedure is a piece of cake (so to speak).

Costco sells wonderful pork butts and shoulders; usually two packaged together weighing about 7lbs (3+kilos) each. Smoking pork this way is really easy and shredding it with two forks once it’s fully cooked is about all the work you’ll have to put in.

Serve the pulled pork warm in burger buns with some tangy coleslaw and extra BBQ sauce on the side.

SMOKED PULLED PORK

(Serves as many as 15-30 – and it freezes well)

Ingredients:

One or 2 boneless pork shoulders weighing about 6-7lbs (each)

Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

6 tablespoons of hickory, mesquite or oak smoking chips

Your favorite BBQ sauce

Action:

Rub sea salt and black pepper all over the pork.

There’s just enough room for two 6-7lb (3+kilo) pork shoulders to fit side by side in the smoker. Spread the woodchips evenly in the center of the base of the pan, then put the drip tray on top, with the rack on top of that.

Put the pork on the rack and tent the whole thing with a double layer of heavy duty foil, crimping around the edges of the pan as tightly as possible, allowing some space above the meat for the smoke to circulate.

Cook on the stove-top over a medium heat for one hour, then without disturbing the foil, transfer to a 275F (135C) preheated oven for another 4-5 hours. Your kitchen will smell divine.

Remove the pork from the oven, discard the foil and once it’s cool enough to handle, shred the meat with two forks; it will fall apart easily.

Stir some of your favorite BBQ sauce into the shredded meat, adjusting the amount to taste.

Any leftovers will freeze or keep covered in the fridge for a few days.

I was raised on comfort food like this and with winter hanging around for a while, what could be more satisfying that a steaming bowl of tender beef stew with suet dumplings?

Many people in the US won’t be familiar with suet. Traditionally it’s made from shredded beef kidney fat and is as ubiquitous in English cooking as fish ‘n chips, bangers and mash or Yorkshire pud.

Whether it’s used to make a melt-in-the-mouth pastry, the sponge for a traditional steamed pudding or dumplings to float on top of a hearty stew, the results are always miraculously light and fluffy. In this case, they’re perfect for soaking up all the wonderful beefy sauce.

There’s really no cause for alarm regarding the words ‘kidney fat’ because suet has no flavor of it’s own and is regularly used to make desserts of the comforting variety. However, there’s also a vegetarian version that yields equally light and delicate results and that’s what I used here. (Note: using other types of fat will yield a leaden lump of a dumpling by comparison).

‘Atora’ suet is a household name in the UK and if you have a local shop that sells British foods you might be lucky and find it there, otherwise the traditional variety (made with beef kidney fat) would have to be shipped to the US chilled and is ridiculously expensive; the vegetarian version isn’t.

You can buy it online here but if that sounds like too much bother, just make a big pile of mashed potatoes instead.

Although this stew takes a few hours to cook (plus the overnight marinade), it doesn’t take long to prepare. Perhaps throw in some halved button mushrooms if you have any lurking in your fridge – and like all good stews, any leftovers will taste even better the next day.

You could also use a slow cooker/crock pot rather than the oven – let it cook overnight but be sure that it’s really simmering before adding the dumplings at the end.

A GREAT BRITISH BEEF STEW with DUMPLINGS

(serves 6)

Ingredients for the stew:

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 oz (25g) of unsalted butter

1 lb 10 oz (750g) of stewing/chuck steak, cut into 2 inch (5cm) chunks

2 tablespoons of all purpose/plain flour seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

9 oz (250g) of  shallots, approx the same size – peeled and left whole

6 oz (170g) of carrots, peeled and cut into 3 inch chunks

5½fl oz (150ml) of good red wine

18fl oz (500ml) of organic beef stock

2 bay leaves

3 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Ingredients for the dumplings:

4½ oz (125g) of all purpose/plain flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

Half a teaspoon of dried mixed herbs

2¼oz (60g) *Atora suet

Action:

Marinade the beef overnight in the red wine, thyme and bay leaf.

Preheat the oven to 325F

Remove the beef and reserve the marinade. Pat the beef dry and toss the pieces in seasoned flour. Heat the oil and butter in an ovenproof casserole/dutch oven with a lid and fry the beef  chunks in small batches until they’re browned on all sides; transfer them to a plate.

Add the garlic, shallots and carrots to the same pan and saute for a couple of minutes, until the shallots start to brown.

Stir in the marinade (including the herbs) and beef stock, then add the Worcestershire sauce and finally the browned beef. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Cover with a lid, transfer to the oven and cook for 3-4 hours, or until the meat is tender.

Now for the dumplings:

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.  Add the suet, the mixed dried herbs and enough water a tablespoon at a time, to form a thick dough. With floured hands, roll the dough into golf-ball sized balls.

Once the stew is cooked and the meat is tender, remove the lid and carefully drop the dumplings into the simmering stew.  Put the lid back on and cook for a further 20-25 minutes, or until the dumplings are big and fluffy.

Serve right away and try not to fight over the dumplings.

I’d been craving a comforting bowl of spaghetti and meatballs and came up with this low-carb, healthy version using spaghetti squash instead of pasta.

OK, it’s not the same but it’s light, fresh-tasting and totally satisfying. A summery alternative. Vegetarians can omit the meatballs; just add the chopped porcini and their soaking liquid to the sauce and proceed from there –  and the meatballs will be great without the porcini mushrooms if you don’t gather your own, or can’t find them in your supermarket.

And I suppose you could ignore the spaghetti squash altogether and use regular spaghetti. This is just a delicious variation on a theme.

If you buy dried porcini, once they’ve soaked in hot water you’ll need to strain them through a layer of paper towel in a fine mesh strainer. Save the soaking liquid – it will go into the tomato sauce along with half a glass of good red wine. Rinse the strained, soaked porcini carefully under cold water to remove any residual woodland flora and fauna before chopping them.

I used organic ingredients including Muir Glen Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce (a really good shortcut if you don’t have time to make your sauce from scratch). If you can’t find it, use your favorite pasta sauce.

Meatballs with Porcini & Spaghetti Squash

SPAGHETTI SQUASH with PORCINI MEATBALLS

(Serves 4- 6)

Ingredients:

1 lb (½ kilo) of lean ground beef, bison or buffalo (preferably organic)

½ oz (14g) of dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 8 fl oz (237ml) of hot water, strained then finely chopped – soaking liquid reserved

1 oz / 1/3 cup (28g) of fresh homemade breadcrumbs

½ oz / 1/4 cup (14g) of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese plus extra for serving

1 egg, lightly beaten

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 spaghetti squash weighing 2 ½ – 3 lbs (1.15 – 1.4kilos)

25.5oz (723g) jar of your favorite tomato-based pasta sauce (preferably organic)

½ glass of good red wine

High-temp oil for frying (I use avocado oil)

Action:

Pre-heat the oven to 400F (200C).  Halve the spaghetti squash, scoop out the seeds and brush the cut edges with a little olive oil. Place cut side down on a foil-lined baking tray and bake for 40-45 minutes until the squash is tender when pierced with a sharp knife.

Remove from the oven and when cool enough to handle, scrape out the squash strands with a fork then carefully mix with a little sea salt, black pepper and a dash of olive oil. Set aside.

To make the meatballs: thoroughly mix together (use a fork if your squeamish), the ground meat, egg, breadcrumbs, grated cheese, chopped porcini and a good grind of sea salt and black pepper.  With wet hands form the mixture into 16 meatballs and chill for 30 mins.

Heat the oil in a wide non-stick skillet and brown the meatballs in three batches, turning carefully. Transfer them to a plate.

In a deep pan, combine the tomato sauce, porcini soaking liquid and red wine and bring it to a simmer. Carefully add the meatballs, cover and simmer for 35 minutes.

Before serving, reheat the squash in either a microwave for 1-2 minutes, or covered in a 400F (200C) oven for 10-12 minutes.

To serve, pour a little sauce in each bowl, top with the spaghetti squash and arrange the meatballs around. Offer some freshly grated parmesan to sprinkle on top and some hot crusty bread on the side if you can’t live without your starch carbs.