It is really quite some time since we have been cooking on a Mini Big Green Egg in mainland Europe.  It was rather good taking up the challenge again! The grill size is just over 20cm but with a little ingenuity there is so much you can cook on it and it fits easily in the boot of a car!

We were cooking enough for 6 people and so we were careful (more…)

Pies certainly have a very long culinary history. The first written reference to the word pie appears in 1301 (1). There remains some slight controversy of what constitutes a pie. Pastry all round or is a pastry top enough to qualify?. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a pie as: a baked dish of fruit , meat, fish or vegetables, covered with pastry (or a similar substance) and frequently also having a base and sides of pastry (2).  So I think we are safe to assume a pastry top qualifies, especially if it is not one of those ‘precooked’ lids that is popped onto a casserole in a pot in too many pubs!!

This is a recipe from Chef Tom Kerridge who still has the only pub in the UK with two Michelin stars. This is a very fine recipe (3). The only substantial modifications we made was to cook the filling over charcoal in the Big Green Egg, with a little chestnut smoke.  We also replaced the suet top with a puff pastry one (as we had  some to hand).

I liked that the recipe used a weighed amount of flour to toss the meat in before cooking.  Any excess was used later as a general thickener for the sauce, so nothing left to chance!  The flour was seasoned with salt and pepper.  The cubed venison was tossed in the flour then seared in a handleless pan cooked over direct heat on the BGE.

The meat was browned on all sides and then set aside.  It is important not to crowd the pan and so this was done about a third at a time.  The remaining flour was reserved.

The shallots were diced as was the carrot and celery. The carrots were cut into approximately half centimetre cubes (larger than for a soffrito) and the celery cut to a similar size.  The garlic was finely chopped.

After the last of the venison was set aside we added a further slurp of the oil. The shallots and carrots were added to the pan and cooked for around 5 minutes.

The celery and garlic were then added and cooked for a further 4 minutes until lightly coloured.  At this stage we were building flavours and so the tomato purée was stirred through and left to cook for 2 minutes before adding the crushed juniper berries.  Finally the flour that had been left in the bowl from coating the venison was added and stirred for a couple of minutes before pouring in the wine to bring it up to a simmer.  This was then cooked to reduce the volume by half and evaporate the alcohol.  This mix was then transferred to the Dutch oven together with the venison.  The stock was used to deglaze the original pan and the stock too was transferred to the Dutch oven. The herbs were tied together with a piece of string and also dropped in.

The Big Green Egg was then reset for indirect cooking by adding the platesetter and the temperature was reduced to around 130C.  The casserole was reintroduced without the lid and cooked gently for around 3hrs until the venison was meltingly tender.

At this point the herbs were removed and the prunes, chestnuts and parsley were added and stirred through the mix.

The casserole was divided into 4 pie dishes filling almost to the top.  These were placed on a tray and set aside to cool before putting into the fridge to really chill down (they were going to be used on the following day).

The Kerridge recipe then went on to make suet pastry, which is lovely.  As we had some left over puff pastry that I had made for another cook we decided to use that. The edge of the pie dish was egg washed and circles of pastry put on top to carefully seal the pie dish. Bits of excess pastry were then removed from round the edge of the dish allowing around 1cm to be stuck to the side of the dish.

To finish some pastry leaves were shaped from the pastry offcuts. These were popped on the top and then the whole pastry top was egg washed. Finally a little salt was sprinkled on the top.  We elected not to put a steam hole into the lid (which would normally be done) and this didn’t seem to cause any problem at all.

When ready to cook they were put into an oven at around 180C for around 30-40 mins until the pie mix was well up to temperature (above 74C) and the top was a lovely golden colour.

They were left to rest for 3-4 mins before serving.  It is probably easier to control the browning of the pastry in a domestic oven – but that or the Big Green Egg will both do the job well!!

We served them with triple cooked chips and broccoli which worked really well but there are so many potential options!  You can see from the last picture that the pastry was lovely and flaky and the pies were really well filled!

……………………… all in all a really rewarding outcome!!

References

We seem to have had a spate of ridiculously cheap pork on offer at our local supermarket recently.  We buy most of our meat from one of a couple of very fine butchers we have locally.  Nevertheless, even when you are not looking to buy a leg of pork, if it is offered to you at £2 per kg, there is a real need to go and look for a recipe.  I am always a little cautious of expecting too much from inexpensive meat and so this African inspired spiced pork recipe from my friend Julie from Meat Smoke Fire Ltd seemed a perfect way of using this leg of pork.  The spicing inspiration is African and by using a ready made Harissa mix as the basis for the marinade is very straightforward and would cover any slight blandness that you may suspect with commercial supermarket pork.  Equally, whilst this is a roasted dish, the basting of the meat with the lemon and wine stock adds an element of a ‘braise’ and would hopefully add some tenderness to the meat.

To make the marinade the herbs and spices (oregano, caraway seeds, cumin seeds, marjoram or savory, turmeric) were ground in a mortar with 1tsp of course sea salt.  This was then added to 3 crushed cloves of garlic, 2tbsp of ready made Harissa and 60ml of olive oil to make a paste.  We took the skin off the pork but left as much of the fat in place as possible.  The meat was then slashed to make 8-10 deep cuts and the paste was rubbed all over the meat and into the slits.  The meat was then covered and left to marinade at room temperature for an hour or so.

The Big Green Egg was set up for indirect cooking with platesetter in place (feet up).   A little cherry wood was also added as a final ‘spicing’ for the mix.  All that was left to prepare was to quarter 2 onions lengthways and to mix the lemon juice and white wine. These were then set to one side.

When ready to cook, the pork was placed fat side down in the roasting dish and cooked for about half an hour.  The meat was then removed from the roasting dish and the quartered onions were arranged in the centre as a trivet. The pork was turned fat side up and placed on the trivet of onions. The lemon and wine mix was then poured over the top of the meat.  The EGG was closed and left to cook for another 40-60 minutes opening to baste the meat with the cooking juices every 10 minutes or so. Once the internal temperature reached around 70C the meat was removed, wrapped in foil and left to rest for at least 20 minutes.   The cooking juices were reduced to form a pouring sauce.  The meat was generously sliced and served with cauliflower and the roasted onions.  The cauliflower was a perfect foil for the spicy pork and carried the spicing from the sauce beautifully.

I would highly recommend giving the dish a go.   The results were spicy but not too hot, and very very tender!!

…………….if you want to add a little spice to your roast pork now is your chance!

African Spiced Roast leg of Pork

June 24, 2019

Servings: 6

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 1 hr 30 min

Total: 1 hr 45 min

Difficulty: Easy

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Roasted skinless leg of pork with African spices

By: Mark

Ingredients

• 1tsp coarse sea salt
• 2tsp dried oregano
• 2tsp caraway seeds
• 1tsp cumin seeds
• 1tsp dried marjoram
• 1/2tsp turmeric
• 2tbsp harissa
• 3 crushed cloves garlic
• 60ml olive oil
• 1.5kg boneless pork leg roasting joint - skin removed
• 60ml lemon juice
• 80ml dry white wine
• 2 large onions, peeled and quartered

Directions

• Step 1 For the marinade: grind the oregano, caraway seeds, cumin seeds, marjoram and turmeric in a mortar with 1tsp of course sea salt.  Add this to 3 crushed cloves of garlic and 2tbsp of ready made Harissa and 60ml of olive oil to make a paste.  Slash the meat after the skin is removed to make 8-10 deep cuts. Rub the marinade paste all over the meat and into the slits.  Cover and leave to marinade at room temperature for an hour
• Step 2 Set up the Big Green Egg for indirect cooking with platesetter in place (feet up).   Add a little cherry wood.
• Step 3 Quarter 2 onions lengthways. Mix the lemon juice and white wine and then set these to one side.
• Step 4 When ready to cook, place the pork fat side down in the roasting dish and cook for about half an hour.  
• Step 5 Remove the meat from the roasting dish add the quartered onions in the centre as a trivet.  Turn the pork over and sit on the onion trivet. Pour the lemon and wine mix over the top of the meat.  Close the EGG and leave to cook for another 40-60 minutes. Baste the meat with the cooking juices every 10 minutes or so.  
• Step 6 Remove once the internal temperature reaches 70C and wrap in foil to rest for at least 20 minutes.  
• Step 7 Reduce the cooking juices to form a pouring sauce.  
• Step 8 Slice the meat and serve with cauliflower and the roasted onions.  

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