Thursday 26 April 2012

Tim in the New York Times!

News of our beef has taken flight over the Atlantic, in the form of a write up of Beef Club, a new steak restaurant just opened in Paris. Run by the owners of London's Experimental Cocktail Club, Beef Club serves up our beef - and only our beef - which has caused quite a stir on the French foodie scene. Click here for the full article.

Bonne chance to the Beef Club and félicitations to everyone involved in making such fantastic beef.




Friday 20 April 2012

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. 

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Nicola's first day

Yesterday was newest Ginger Pig team member Nicola's first day on the farm, and it's always a pleasure to see our patch of the world through a fresh pair of (very excited) eyes. We're right in the middle of lambing season and Nicola was thrown in at the deep end, delivering her first lamb within a few hours of being on Grange Farm.

Here are a few photos she took while out and about.

Mum and two lambs doing well. The two little fellows are around 6 hours old in this photo.


Some of our orphans. We end up with around 100 each year, usually when their mother has three lambs and can only cope with two, or when she sadly dies during labour. We feed them up indoors until they can join the rest of the flock, and shepherdess (and chief gardener) Lesley makes sure they get a cuddle every now and then.


Darcy and Anna, our two Shire horses. They're just under a year old and despite their current size (they're big!) they still have some growing to do.


What else could we feed her for lunch? It had to be a warm sausage roll, straight from the Ginger Pig bakery.

Nicola will be handling our marketing, events and advising on all things food related, as well as occasional shepherdess, cook, horse handler and dog walker. Welcome to the Ginger Pig, Nicola!