Hugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Conor
Posted on October 24, 2005, by Conor O'Neill, under Cooking, Food.
The long awaited day finally arrived last saturday. For my Christmas present last year, the world’s best wife got me a place at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s “Pig in A Day” course in Ballymaloe Cookery School. I hared it over to Shanagarry early on Saturday and arrived just in time.
In my gormless naivete, I thought it would be an up-close-and-personal session with maybe 6-10 people. It never struck me that this was not financially feasible. So a big shock awaited me when I entered and found approx 60 people all seated watching Hugh prep. Poor muggins ended up down the back - hence the brutal quality of the photos.
The title of the session was “A Pig in a day with Hugh and Ray”. Ray being the butcher guy who made several appearences on River Cottage. It was a very well oiled double act with Ray doing the butchery of the pig and Hugh doing the cooking.
The demo-kitchen in Ballymaloe was fantastic. Huge long worktop where they did their work, with a giant angled mirror behind so you could see everything and then two monitors focussed on the worktop. Even the two boys were impressed.
I was very surprised to then see that Darina was staying for the entire day’s session. She did a huge amount - helping, querying, guiding prompting and taking notes. All male heads turned at once about half way through when Rachel appeared to have a quick word with Darina.
I was a little disappointed that they did not start with a full pig but the reasoning was that they could achieve more in the day if some of the basics were already done (head removed, brains out ect). The pig was one of Darina’s organic boyos who had been slaughtered and hung in Midleton on the Wednesday.
First off was a general discussion on the anatomy of the pig and how Ray intended cutting it up. I knew zero about where all the bits were until then (ok apart from maybe the trotters and the tail). He then started taking it apart with great skill whilst Hugh started on the Brawn. This is basically the head cut in four and boiled with a bunch of veg for a few hours. I never got to see the final result but the idea is that the meat is then stripped off the bones and a kind of rough terrine made.
Once Ray had the loins ready they were given a spicy rub and popped into the oven for our lunch. Something very smutty about that last line.
Then onto the pork liver terrine. Here the mincer was brought into action (”I’m free Mrs Sloacombe”) and a mix made of pork offcuts, liver, and spices. This was put in a terrine pot lined with bacon and then put in a bain-marie.
All the while, the two lads were extremely entertaining, informative and their enthusiasm was infectious. I took a bunch of photos at coffee break as the ones up until then had all been rubbish.
Then they moved onto one of the main reasons I was there - sausage making! I bought a Kenwood Chef with mincer attachment and sausage making kit last year and have yet to use it. Fear mixed with total cluelessness about where I would get the sausage casings were the main reasons. A long session ensued with the discussion on the contents of the mix taking a lot of the time. This was a big interactive session with several people trying their hand at making the actual sausages. One guy even made a good stab at doing the butcher style linking of loads of them.
At that point they answered one of my questions - don’t ask your local butcher for casings as you are basically implying that you think you can do a better job of sausage making than him. Hugh highly recommended The Natural Casing Company in the UK. I emailed them today to check on postage to Ireland and mentioned the fact that I had been on a Hugh course. They replied, thanking me for explaining why they got so many calls from Ireland today! My order for Hog Casings is going in tomorrow.
As we ran towards lunch, Hugh decided to quickly cook up two things which cause many people to wince - kidneys and brains. Kidneys first - he challenged anyone in the audience who thought they did not like kidneys (and there were many) to try his devilled ones. I don’t mind kidneys at all and these ones were wonderful with a huge kick of cayenne.
He then asked if anyone wanted to try brains. My hand shot up. No way I was mising an opportunity to quote George Romero. He had boiled them earlier and now fried them. But a pigs brain is quite small (”mmm,mud”) and there was a melee with people trying to get a taste and I ended up getting none. So no prions for me then.
We then broke for lunch which was superb. Starter was pea and mint soup which was the nicest I have ever eaten. Main was built around the pork loin which had the nicest crackling of all time. But with this went some of the sausages from earlier (predicted to be bland as they should really sit for a day; they were), salad and some salamis from the Gubbeen Smokehouse in Schull. I’ve had these salamis before and they are gorgeous. Fingal Ferguson, the maker, was there and Darina asked him to tell us what each type was. I was scanning the room to see which old geezer was talking - it turned out to be the guy who looked about 15 years old just ahead of me. Young whippersnapper making me feel un-accomplished!
The crowd was interesting. The usual batch of know-it-all foodies who only asked questions so they could let us all know how much they knew. Four pig farmers. A lot of Brits (Hugh groupies?) and a bunch of pretty average nobodies like myself.
One guy had bugged me through the session - always talking, questioning, interrupting; Talked like pure D4; Haircut from Toni & Guy; name dropping Allen family members. Hated him. Of course I ended up sitting at the same table as him. He never stopped talking at lunch, and the more he talked the more I liked him. All of the “annoying” attributes were just youthful enthusiasm. Then someone at the table asked him how “Cully & Sully” was doing. I wondered how this person knew him. So I finally looked at the name-tag: “Cullen Allen, Ballymaloe House”. Ah for jaysus sake, he lives here, he is one of them. Now it all made sense. And I liked him even more.
Cully & Sully is a fabulous business idea and I think they will be very successful. If you are a pub in the Cork region and want high-quality hot food that you can serve but only have a toaster and a microwave, then give these guys a call. Their sous-vide food sounds great - I’m going to try and find their one customer in Clon soon. They hope to have some in Bandon in the near future.
I had a great chat with another guy at the table who was also there because his wife had bought it for him. But he was a really interesting character as he rears pigs the “usual” way - i.e. industrial production. He was actually a down-shifter who had left corporate life, bought a pig-farm in Tullow and was doing very well and loving his new way of life.
We both agreed that there were serious issues to address if he was to even consider looking at the “Hugh way”. His costs would go through the roof and unless he could somehow find another sales channel, he had no way of differentiating his pork/bacon from anyone else. As he said “to the average punter, a rasher is a rasher”. He quoted the Rudd’s example of someone trying to build a premium bacon business - they went bust. I mentioned that the big advantage that Hugh or Jimmy Doherty have in the UK is population density. Even if you sent up a farm shop in the countryside over there, your potential local market is far bigger than anything you would have here. Lots of food for thought.
I knew from the start of the day that I was leaving early to get down to Caroline’s wedding in Killarney but I was hoping to see either the Chorizo or the air-dryed ham preparation. I was gutted when Darina announced that the afternoon session was not starting until 2.45 which was only a few mins before I was going to leave. So I had to make my excuses and head back to Bandon.
But that was one bloody brilliant (can’t find more expressive terms) morning. I learned tons. I wrestled with the “could I do that for a living?” question. I think I answered it - “not unless I win the lotto”. I saw bits of an animal that very few people get to or want to see. And finally, I saw that Darina Allen is a force of nature - long may she succeed.
I have a Flickr Photo Set of the day here. Quality is pretty low!
Whew, now for the wedding………
9 Replies to "Hugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Conor"
Podchef on December 12, 2005
I know I’m just stumbling on to all of this. . .but thanks for the descriptions! Like I’m back there again–only the demo kitchen has had a serious repaint and spruce up.
I learned to butcher a half hog while there, but not from the pros–Hugh and Ray. I can’t remember the sod’s name–I think it was Darina’s Brother-In-Law. It took for ages for him to do stuff, but there were only a few of us around so we did learn a bit and walked away with a few choice tidbits for tea.
I must say that as much of an open critic of Darina’s as I am/have been I have nothing but respect for the woman and her mighty force. . . .
conor on December 13, 2005
As a kid watching her on tv I thought she was a complete nutter but my respect for her grows all the time.
The recent interview she did on the Late Late Show (kinda like The Tonight Show except rubbish and not remotely funny) was awful.
The interviewer (who is one of the highest paid people in the Irish media) was so cack-handed in his handling of the story of her husbands court case that she clammed up and the discussion of her new book barely lasted a few moments.
What a wasted opportunity to find out more about an extremely interesting woman.
Podchef on December 13, 2005
Having been there at ground zero through the tension of the trial, I have only the warmest regards for Darina’s calm strenght. Whether or not Tim actually committed the crime is completely another question. Having met the man and worked beside him and seen how he interacted with his family, staff and guests it is hard to know. I always had the suspicion he took the fall for someone elses activity because it was less of a scandal.
Its a shame what the press has done to her. But I am sure it will only make her stronger and come back better.
SULLY on January 9, 2006
Conor,
Absolutely hilarious comments on Cullen - i was doing a search on Cully and Sully - looking for an article and found your commentary. It’s been mailed to everyone for a bit of a skit- very good!!!!!!!
conor on January 9, 2006
Oops. I always write on the assumption that, as my friend Frank puts it, I am shouting to myself in the shed.
Of course, every time I write something, I find non-stop mistakes later. The original posting confuses your pub food with the supermarket food.
Do you sell the supermarket products anywhere around here?
Cullen didn’t know the names of any of the pubs near here doing the pub food. Are there any now in Bandon or Clon? I’d love to try them out.
Will I be allowed in the gate of Ballymaloe after this?
Hope Cullen isn’t too aggrieved!
Podchef on January 9, 2006
I just checked out Cully & Scully via another link–wow! Things really move in East Cork! (Well, in the last 3 years) It looks like an awesome thing. That sort of stuff just can’t happen in the States–too many rules and regs make it too difficult to just create a start up ready-to-eat food product.
You have to have a fully compliant and regulated kitchen just to pot up jam and sell it at a farmer’s market where I live. Not a problem if you have ties to a restaurant or other food-service business, but costs become steep.
I’m trying to see what it will take to turn my own pigs into sausages for sale–fully expecting to never tackle the venture for the costs.
SULLY on January 10, 2006
Hi Conor,
I’m still getting great value out of your entry as our friends. Cul found it hilarious and all the staff in the different Ballymaloe related business have read it - it’s spreading quickly!
We sell our pies in Scallys SuperValu Clonakilty, Caulfields Bandon and Fields Skibbereen. However I would highly recommend going to the Courtyard Bar and Bistro, which is behind the big Spar in Clonakilty - you and a friend can have a pie and a pint. We are also in the Pike Bar in Lisavaird.
Enjoy and keep up the very amusing Blogs. I’ve added the blog website to my favourites and will definitely be keeping up with it.
Sully
conor on January 10, 2006
Well that’s me down to Clon asap!
Oscar, my 6-year old, recently asked me when we could go to a pub (where does he pick this stuff up from?).
I told him that we would all go when he was 24, Ois was 22, Shibs was 20 and Fionn was 18. He seemed happy enough with that, the poor darlin.
I may accelerate that to “this weekend in the Courtyard Bar”.
Danielle Ellis on November 2, 2005
Thanks for the link on egullet. Sounds a really good day - am really envious!
Danielle