Stonehead's barbecue recipes

[Stonehead]

As I've already had a couple of requests for recipes for things I'm making for the Aberdeenshire Midsummer barbie, I thought I might as well post for everyone to see...

Fidget Pie

• 4-5 new potatoes
  1 large dessert apple (or two small ones)
  6 rashers of bacon
  8oz sausage meat (not too strongly flavoured)
  1 rabbit, jointed and boned
  Fresh parsley, finely chopped (large handful!)
  Salt and pepper
  Stock (made using rabbit carcass, a stick of celery, a small carrot, a bay leaf and peppercorns)
  16oz shortcrust pastry (or cheat and buy a frozen 500g block)

Clean and rub the skin off the potatoes, then slice thinly. Clean, core and peel the apples, then slice thinly. Cut the bacon and the rabbit into small pieces.
In a large bowl combine the chopped bacon, the sausage meat, the chopped rabbit and the parsley, seasoning to taste.
Divide the pastry almost in half, putting aside the slightly smaller piece. Roll the pastry into a ball and then roll out flat with a rolling pin. Line a large pie dish with the pastry.
Place a layer of potatoes on top of the pastry in the pie dish, then a layer of apples. Spread the meat filling evenly over the layer of apples, then top with another layer of apples and another layer of potatoes.
Pour the stock over the filling until it's just below the edge of the pie case.
Roll out the second piece of pastry and place it over the pie, closing the edges with a fork before trimming. Make a hole in the centre of the pie crust and then decorate using the offcuts of pastry.
Bake the pie in an oven preheated to 200C (180C or so for fan force) for one hour.
Serve hot or cold.

Stonehead

PS And for freshness, shoot the rabbit through the kitchen window while doing the preparation! Oh, and it helps to soak the rabbit carcass in brine for at least two hours as this improves the flavour.

[Stonehead]

Huffkins

• 1lb 4oz strong wholemeal flour
  4oz rye flour
  1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  1 teaspoon sugar
  3/4 pint warm milk and water (about 50/50)
  1/2 oz yeast
  2 oz butter (or lard if you're not worried about vegetarians)

Place the flours and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Whisk the sugar into the warm milk and water, then stir in the yeast and leave for about 20 minutes.
Make a well in the centre of the flour, pour in the yeast mixture and mix well (you'll almost certainly have to use your fingers).
Tip the dough out and knead well. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and leave to rise until doubled in size.
Chop the butter into small pieces and work into the dough. You may need to sprinkle a little extra flour on the dough to soak up the extra moisture.
Leave the dough to rise until doubled in size (yes, oiled bowl, cloth etc).
Divide the dough (a small handful of my size hands - so 2-3oz) and roll into balls, then roll out to 1in thickness with a rolling pin.
Place balls on lightly floured baking trays and leave to prove for a further half an hour.
Gently push your thumb into each huffkin, leaving a distinct indentation but don't squash them! Place in an oven preheated to 220C (about 200C fan force) and bake for 12 minutes.
Turn the huffkins over and bake for a further eight minutes.
Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
Serve while still warm with plenty of butter.

Stonehead

PS Watch those times as ovens vary a lot and these times are for my oven. The huffkins should be nicely browned and sound hollow when knocked.

[Stonehead]

Barbecued trout

• 1 large trout, cleaned and gutted
  1 medium dill frond
  1 lemon, thinly sliced
  1 clove garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
  Extra virgin olive oil
  Salt and fresh ground black pepper

Place the trout on a large sheet of aluminium foil, enough to make a secure package around the fish.
Lay a layer on lemon slices inside the cavity of the trout, then a layer of garlic and then break the frond of dill up and sprinkle that inside.
Brush the trout with the oil and season to taste.
Loosely wrap the trout in the foil (so there's room for steam to expand) but seal the edges up very tight (triple folds are good).
Wait until the barbecue has burned down low but is still giving off good heat (assuming you're using charcoal), then place the foil wrapped trout about six inches above the surface of the coals.
Cook for six minutes, then turn over and cook for a further six minutes.
Remove the trout from the barbecue and, carefully, open a side of the packet. If the trout is cooked, the flesh will be opaque and flake easily. If not, reseal and cook for a further three minutes.

Stonehead

PS If you're wondering - I'm actually baking various things as I do this, but I'm on the home straight!

[Stonehead]

More to come later - the final beeper has gone!

Stonehead

[ina]

You are making me hungry already... Well, only 6 hours or so to go - see you then!

Which reminds me - I haven't actually had breakfast yet, let alone lunch...

[Millymollymandy]

Is it your BBQ tonight? Have a great time all of you. I wish I was there! We are going to barbie tonight anyway so I'll think of you eating rabbit pie ( yuck, sorry!) whilst I am barbecuing the best of T***o's Cumberland bangers!!!

[Stonehead]

Is it your BBQ tonight? Have a great time all of you. I wish I was there! We are going to barbie tonight anyway so I'll think of you eating rabbit pie ( yuck, sorry!) whilst I am barbecuing the best of T***o's Cumberland bangers!!!

I'll take rabbit pie, chops from our pigs, chops from our lambs, and sausages made by ourselves or from our local butcher using locally sourced pork over T***o products any day!

But enjoy yourself!

Stonehead

PS Having very heavy rain here! Must dash.

[Millymollymandy]

So how did the BBQ go then?

Stoney - do you have a recipe for sausages? I've got the meat grinder with sausage attachment and can buy the skins in the butchers, but, er, never got around to looking up a recipe and having a go!

[Stonehead]

So how did the BBQ go then?

Stoney - do you have a recipe for sausages? I've got the meat grinder with sausage attachment and can buy the skins in the butchers, but, er, never got around to looking up a recipe and having a go!

BBQ- mad, chaotic and absolutely p****** down rain while I tried to cook (started just as the first things went on, stopped as the last things came off). Apart from that, I think everyone had a good time!

I invent my sausage recipes as I go (with the help of the two boys), but favourites include pork with cider and apple, lamb and mint, pork with garlic and black pepper, toulouse sausage, a nice simple and classic "banger", and one that the eldest boy (then five) came up with - paprika, garlic, red wine vinegar, diced red pepper and ground black pepper.

I'll see if I can come up with something for you - but it might be a few days depending on my workload.

Stonehead

[Stonehead]

Shirley's favourite...

Barley Wine

• 5lb raisins
  5lb potatoes
  5lb bruised barley
  20lb sugar (white is fine, brewing is better)
  5oz yeast (Girvan 5 wine yeast gives the best result. You can get away with beer yeast or bread yeast, but the strength and flavours won't be a developed.)
  5 gallons of good, clean water (not chlorinated mains water)

Rehydrate the yeast in a large jug or pan with a couple of teaspoons of sugar and about half a cup of tepid water.

Chop the raisins in a blender and throw them in a brewing vat. Grate the potatoes in a blender and throw them in a bucket (wash them first but don't peel them).

Add the barley and the sugar, then pour in five gallons of very hot (but not boiling) water. Stir vigorously until the sugar has dissolved (this is hard work, but vital both to dissolve the sugar and aerate the wort).

Allow the wort to cool to 25C (I stand the vat in a cool bath). Pitch the yeast, cover the bucket loosely with muslin and leave in a warm room for at least three weeks, stirring gently once a day. You MUST stir every day to get the most out of your wort.

Strain off the liquor into a clean brewing vat, add another pound of sugar (disolved in a pint of hot water) and fit an airlock to the vat. Leave for another 14 days, then strain again and bottle.

Leave for at least six months and preferably 12 before drinking. Do NOT drink like beer - this is usually at least 10-13% alcohol depending on the sugar content of the grain and potatoes. My last batch is around 17.5-18% but still slightly sweet to taste and very more-ish.

[Shirley]

woohoooooooooooo THANKS STONEY!!!! Absolutely delicious.. also very potent

Might I just add that the fidget pie was, without a doubt, one of the most delicious pies I've EVER tasted.

Oh... and bread lovers... do try the huffkins recipe - they are out of this world.


Thanks for having us all over Stoney - it was a great night. Shame about the rain.

[Stonehead]

Thanks for having us all over Stoney - it was a great night. Shame about the rain.

Rain was good - filled the water butts and I won't need to wash for a few days again...

Stonehead

[Stonehead]

Triple-decker

• 1lb shortcrust pastry (or buy 500g frozen pastry, in which case you may have a little extra)
  2 large, sweet and crunchy apples
  Fresh raspberries (The overall amount of raspberries can vary, especially if you're picking them fresh, but should not be more than the equivalent of a large punnet.)
  Demerara sugar

Core, peel and thinly slice the apples. Wash the raspberries and allow to dry.

Divide the pastry into three and roll into balls. Roll each ball out flat into a large circle.

Line an 8in round, flat tin or baking tray with a layer of pastry. (If using a tray, make sure it has a slight lip to keep any juice in.) The pastry should lie flat and not fold up the sides.

Arrange half the apple slices in a thin layer on the pastry, then dot with half the raspberries. Sprinkle demerara sugar over the fruit - the amount is to your taste but I prefer only a small amount.

Cover the fruit with another circle of pastry, then another layer of apples, the rest of the raspberries and another sprinkle of demerara sugar.

Top with the final circle of pastry and another light sprinkling of demerara sugar.

Bake at 190C (170C fan-force) for one hour.

Serve hot or cold with a small amount of cream, or very good vanilla icecream.

[Stonehead]

Grantham Gingerbread

(My mum's father's family had ties back to Grantham and Welby in Lincolnshire.)

• 4oz butter
  4oz sugar
  1 egg, separated
  8oz plain flour
  1 tsp baking powder
  1oz ground ginger

Cream the butter and sugar, then beat the egg yolk into the mixture.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and ginger and beat into the mixture.

Whisk the egg white until stiff peaks form and fold into the mixture (which should be fairly dry in texture and very stiff).

Line a 7in or 8in round cake tin with baking parchment and rub with butter. Spoon the mixture into the lined tin and level with a spatula.

Bake in an oven preheated to 180C (160C fan force) for 40 minutes. If your oven has a tendency to brown, cover with foil for the first 20 minutes and then remove the foil. This is a pale gingerbread so you want it to be as lightly browned as possible.

Tip the gingerbread out and allow to cool on a wire rack. Slice the gingerbread into small triangles and serve either slightly warm or cold.

[Stonehead]

That's it for today! If there's any interest, I'll do a few more recipes tonight or tomorrow.