I am a firm believer that if you are going to be a meat eater, you should do your best to make use of all the bits of every animal. We do often buy meat in the form of a ‘half sheep’ or a ‘quarter pig’ and this means I use some of the less usual cuts, such as pork hock or neck of mutton, which rarely appear on supermarket shelves. Often these cuts are the ones that contain lots of connective tissue, so are tough unless cooked long and slow – something that I don’t mind doing at all, especially since they are frequently very tasty. However, I’m not a very big fan of offal, so I do struggle to put my ‘use the whole animal’ belief into practice. Nevertheless, last time we bought a box of pork from the amazing Martha Roberts, I did ask for the liver and today I took the plunge and made pork liver pate – something that Mr Snail really loves.
I chose a recipe from the River Cottage Cookbook that uses liver and belly pork. Mincing the meat up was rather messy and stretching the bacon to line the tins took a bit of time, but the results looked promising when they went into the oven. I’m really hoping that this will be a success, because it can be sliced and frozen for later use, and should go a very long way.
Anyway, it’s in the oven now and hopefully we’ll have a verdict tomorrow once it’s cool.
I noticed that the recipe on the adjacent page was for pigs trotters… I might have to work myself up to trying that!
The Snail of Happiness 
nanacathy2
/ December 17, 2017Oh my, that is above and beyond. I hope Mr Snail really really appreciates you.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ December 17, 2017He does… I have to confess that I don’t enjoy handling liver, but actually it wasn’t too bad.
LikeLike
eloquentparadise
/ December 17, 2017I totally second your thought. Full animal for me as well. Thanks for this informative piece.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ December 17, 2017I’ll report back on what it tastes like soon – it’s in the oven now and smells good.
LikeLiked by 1 person
eloquentparadise
/ December 17, 2017I’m hungryyy too!
LikeLike
Wild Daffodil
/ December 17, 2017I’m with you in principle, but once tried to make Haslet from a pig’s head, to see that head boiling in a pan turned me vegetarian for about a month afterwards and i never made it again!
I expect your pate will be delicious!
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ December 17, 2017Some friends made brawn last year and it was good, but as you say, the pigs head in the pan was rather off-putting!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wild Daffodil
/ December 17, 2017Ah, yes, I think it might have been brawn I was trying to make – it was years ago, back in the 70’s when I was trying to go all Self Sufficient with John Seymour.
LikeLike
katechiconi
/ December 17, 2017I’m with Mr Snail, but the HoC is not an offally big fan of the wobbly parts either. He loves a bit of pork belly or oxtail, but anything from inside doesn’t appeal to the tastebuds much. I, on the other hand, love kidneys, liver, tongue, etc, but I find tripe boring and texturally challenging, a difficult combination! Bring on heads, cheeks, trotters, etc, though! I hope your pate turns out well and is enthusiastically received 🙂
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ December 17, 2017I knew that you were a fan – I seem to remember having a conversation about heart with you. I find the thought of a foot on my plate unappealing, but I could probably cope with cooking and removing the meat before presenting it. I know it’s illogical, but that’s how my brain is wired.
I hate the smell of tripe, so I’ve never been able to face cooking that.
LikeLike
katechiconi
/ December 18, 2017It’s one of those polarising things. You either like it, or you hate it. I think, too, that texture is a major factor for a lot of people, and organ meats can be difficult: liver and kidney too dense, tripe too ripply/rubbery, brains too soft and sludgy, trotters too gelatinous, etc.
LikeLike
coppicelearner
/ December 17, 2017It looks yummy. I actually like liver but find the smell of kidneys off-putting, dislike the texture of tongue and have not had heart for years. When we used to keep pigs would ditch the heads! And the trotters! Hope you enjoy the fruits of your labours.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ December 17, 2017The pate smells quite good… it may be the glass of brandy that went into it!!
LikeLike
Nice Piece of Work
/ December 17, 2017I’m not a vegetarian but I may as well be, for all the meat I eat. I certainly don’t enjoy dealing with the raw stuff (so seldom do), and generally opt for fish or chicken if I’m in a restaurant, if not a veggie-type pizza or pasta. Bacon, of course, does not count as meat. It is in a category of its own, most deservedly, in my opinion 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mags
/ December 17, 2017Well done to you! It’s more than I could have done, even though I agree in principle with using the whole animal.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Snail of Happiness
/ December 17, 2017Kidneys are beyond me, but this wasn’t too bad.
LikeLiked by 1 person
yarnandpencil
/ December 17, 2017I don’t mind liver, tongue, cheeks but kidneys, brains, heart and tripe would make me feel very ill with the thought of having to eat it.
LikeLike
arlingwoman
/ December 18, 2017Wow, good for you. As a former vegetarian, I am not anywhere close to using the whole animal…I hope the pate is good!
LikeLike
quietwatercraft
/ December 18, 2017I love the principle of using the whole animal, but when it comes to eating those other parts I just can’t do it. I tried liver once, I can’t remember exactly what I cooked with it, but it was supposed to be disguised by the other ingredients/flavours – it didn’t work!
I do wonder how much of it was psychological though. If someone else had made it, and I didn’t know exactly what the meat was, I suspect I would have had no problem eating the lot.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ December 18, 2017This is the main reason I made pate – it stops the liver resembling liver! Apparently I should leave it for a couple of days before eating, but the fridge does smell good at the moment, which is promising.
LikeLike
deborah @ the magic jug
/ December 18, 2017Have you/he tried it yet? I’m really interested to know if it worked out well. If it did, I’ll have a go myself in the New Year. I’ve got the perfect dish for making it (a beautiful Le Creuset dish bought in a charity shop), and making a whole one and freezing slices is a great idea.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ December 18, 2017We tasted it at lunchtime – Mr Snail liked it, but I wasn’t so keen. There would need to be much less liver in it to suit my tastes, But, it was easy to make and for those who like liver or like the taste but not the texture of liver it’s a great dish.
LikeLike
Linne
/ December 19, 2017Great post! I think two things that make a difference are growing up with thrifty parents and eating all parts from the beginning; the other is learning to be self-sufficient due to low income. I’ve been very lucky on both scores, I think. My Mum made pickled pigs’ feet a couple of times, we had heart frequently (simmered with spices, cooled and sliced for sandwiches), as was liver. I bought brains once, didn’t really know what to do with them and in the end the dog enjoyed them. Haven’t had tripe or lungs yet. I love liver, even a wee bit of it raw before I cook it, and am always sad when I get a chicken or turkey that’s missing the giblets. I’d love to try making paté, but haven’t had the chance yet.
Thanks for a truly offal post. LOL ~ Linne
LikeLike