Plum Pudding chops at Borough Market

We're very proud of our Plum Pudding pigs, a cross between a Berkshire sow and a Tamworth boar. The meat has fantastic flavour, which is in part due a reasonable degree of fat. Our Borough Market stall has some big beautiful loins perfect for slow roast chops, which are four for a tenner for this weekend and quite limited in availability too.

The best way to cook these chops is to roast them low and slow over something to absorb all that flavour as the fat renders. Parboil some potatoes, allow them to cool a little and slice them around a centimetre thick (no need for a ruler). Lay the potato slices on the bottom of a roasting tray and add a sprig of rosemary, a pinch of sea salt and some black pepper, a handful of cherry tomatoes and some finely sliced fennel. Lay your chops on top of the vegetables in a single layer and bake at 160 degrees for 90 minutes, basting the chops every 20 minutes or so. The fat will flavour the vegetables, the vegetables keep the pork moist and you pig out a delicious dinner that doesn't break the bank. 

Gloucester Old Spot Hams

I had a litter of Gloucester Old Spots last year who have spent all their lives in the Orchard at Park Farm, eating all the apples and pears that have fallen from the trees. They were destined for bacon, sausages and hams because I knew they would be carrying a good layer of fat. The legs are presently curing in a mixture of salt, brown sugar and salt peta, this is the traditional cure for a York ham. The hams will be taken out of the salt and hung to dry by the end of February and ready to eat by mid March. The hams are cured on the bone and will weigh approximately 25lbs. If anyone is looking for something really special in the ham line, these York cured hams from orchard fed Gloucester Old Spot Pigs (which will have a proper layer of fat) will be fantastic. They will be £85 each or £125 cooked and glazed and we only have 6.