Little Irish Hog Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375.
• Open the crescent rolls and separate them down the lines into the triangles.
• Cut the sausages in half so you have 8 pieces.
• Start with the tall side of the triangle. Roll the sausage in the crescent dough, tucking the bottom point up when you start to roll. You should finish with the point. My Dad said they looked like they were wrapped up in a sleeping bag -- hence the name he gave them "Hogs in a Sleeping Bag" since it was the big smoked sausage.
• Bake them on a cookie sheet at 375 for 11-13 minutes, or until the crescnet rolls are golden.
• You can serve them with spicy mustard, honey mustard, or barbecue sauce.

Steps:

• Cut the top of the garlic bulbs off and tie them in cheesecloth. Place garlic bulbs, salt, olive oil, seasoning salt, black pepper, and hot salt, to taste, in the inside of the pig as well as the outside. Roast as desired. When temperature of pig reaches 160 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, it's done and ready to eat.

Steps:

• Pound out the pork cutlets to 1/2 inch thickness.
• You can use smaller pieces of meat, and divide the ingredients accordingly.
• Mix seasonings together. Season both sides with the seasoning, just to coat lightly.
• Lay half of the corned beef on each piece of pork, to within 1/2 inch of edge.
• Spread the sauerkraut, on top of the corned beef.
• Place the cheese slices on top of this, then start rolling the meat toward the opposite end. (Like you would with cinnamon rolls).
• Secure with butcher string, in two or three places, tuck ends in if you wish.
• I use a heavy cast iron skillet, heated, with a drizzle of olive oil in the bottom.
• Cook over medium-low heat, on all four sides, rotating every 5 minutes.
• More oil may be added if necessary.
• Put a lid on and cook an additional 10 minutes.
• When all browned, and you can see the cheese start to ooze out the end, plate and let rest a few minutes before cutting away string.
• I appreciate your comments on this one!
• I may be off on the amount of filling for each one.
• ** these may be grilled also, but finish the cooking with the meat rolls placed on aluminum foil, or the goodies will run out!
• Freezes well, from the raw stage. Un-thaw before cooking.

Steps:

• On a long table covered with clean butcher paper or other sanitary covering, lay long strips of aluminum foil. Place the hog flat on its back on top of the foil. With a very sharp butcher knife, score (i.e., make shallow cuts in the meat) along each side of the spine of the hog, where the ribs connect. Then crack and pull down each side of the hog, starting from the spine. You want the hog to be lying semi-flat so that you can easily reach inside.
• Following the instructions on page 76, remove the membrane (or "silver") from the backs of the ribs on each side. Trim away any excess fat on the hams, shoulders, and along the rib cage.
• Using a meat saw, split and saw down between the ribs and down each side of the hog: You're going to cut the ribs on both sides three inches off the spine. This is basically making baby back ribs out of the full spares. Saw only the bone, trying not to pierce the skin on the bottom of the hog. (This makes it easier, after cooking, to serve ribs from the hog.)
• Separate the picnic ham of the shoulder from the Boston butt. Again, trim both hams of any excess fat. When prepping the shoulder, there is a membrane that you can feel with a knife that separates the Boston butt end, which is next to the spine, from the picnic ham (or shank). Cut through the membrane, making sure not to cut through the skin. This lays the shoulder so it can crust over and have a good bark.
• Load the hog injection into your injector. Out of habit, I always start by injecting the hams first and then I work my way to the head. I inject in seven locations all over the ham, making sure the ham is full to the point of popping. It doesn't matter where exactly you inject so long as it's all over the hog. A word of caution: Don't make more injection holes than necessary, because more holes means more places for the marinade to leak out. Move to the sides of the cavity where the bacon is. It will be covered by the ribs. Inject all along both sides. There are two tenderloins at the end of the spine near the hams. Inject them carefully and do not over-inject (or shoot too much fluid in); if the fluid begins leaking out, you'll know that you've done more than enough. Then move to the shortened ribs that have been cut and inject straight down between the ribs directly against the spine into the loin. Remember not to push the needle through the skin on the bottom of the hog's back. Now inject the shoulder, butt, and shank (picnic ham). Last, inject the cheek meat (or jowl) along the hog's jawbone.
• Sprinkle the rub throughout the cavity and on the surface of any exposed meat. (Some people think you have to actually "rub" the rub into the meat, but I don't think that does anything to the taste.) Gather up the foil you've laid the hog on and use it to wrap the entire hog loosely.
• Let the hog sit for 1 hour to soak up all the injection. During this time, light the smoker and bring it to 250˚F.
• Place the 2 shoulders or brisket flats in the smoker, and then carefully place the hog on top of the shoulders/brisket, so that the extra meat runs the length of the hog directly under the center. Close the smoker and let the hog smoke for about 20 hours, or until the internal temperature of the meatiest part of the shoulder is 205˚F. (I often set my hog on the smoker at noon the day before I want to eat it; then I remove it at 8 a.m. the next morning.)
• Unwrap the foil, and using a brush, apply the hog glaze throughout the inside of the cavity and on the hams. Rewrap the hog loosely in the foil. Leaving the hog on the smoker, let the temperature fall (no more wood is needed at this point). The glaze will caramelize and set while the hog begins to rest and cool down enough so that folks can start pulling the meat. (Unless you're a professional caterer or otherwise need to present the whole hog, the hog is left in the smoker while it is picked and pulled and, best of all, eaten.)
• In true Southern tradition, a whole hog is never "carved" per se. Wearing clean heavy-duty gloves and using either large tongs or your hands, gently pull the meat out of the hog in chunks and pile it onto large trays or straight onto plates.
• Now, the most difficult part of cooking the whole hog properly is the loin, which tends to cook faster than the tougher, bigger, and denser hams and shoulders. I solve this problem by placing a cheaper cut of meat, such as a boneless butt or brisket flat, underneath the hog down the length of the backbone. This will add another barrier between the loin and the heat from the smoker, helping to keep it moist and not overcooked. That's why this recipe calls for adding two shoulders or brisket flats: it will keep your loin from overcooking. And the type of meat you choose won't matter, as it won't be fit for a buzzard when you're through cooking the hog.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Unfold puff pastry. Cut each pastry into 9 squares. Cut each square into 2 triangles. In a small bowl, mix jam and mustard; spread over triangles. Cut cheese in half crosswise; cut each half into 9 wedges., Top each triangle with a cheese piece and a sausage. Fold pastry over sausage and cheese; press to seal. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, whisk egg with water. Brush over pastries. Bake until golden brown, 15-17 minutes.

Steps:

• Make the bread mixture with the butter following pack instructions. It's easiest to use a stand mixer but not difficult to do by hand. Leave the dough to rest for 5 mins, then knead for 5 mins.
• Cut the dough into six pieces. Dust the surface with a little flour and shape each piece into a ball by rolling it between your hand. Now make it hedgehog-shaped by pulling one side out a little and squeezing it gently into a snout. Be quite firm or it will bounce back.
• Put the hedgehogs on a baking sheet, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise for 1 hr.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Using kitchen scissors (supervise younger children), carefully snip into the dough to make the spikes on the backs of the hedgehogs. Press raisins in for the eyes and push a flaked almond into the end of each snout.
• Bake for 15 mins or until the rolls are risen and golden. Will keep for two days in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°.
• Cook sausage according to package directions.
• Meanwhile, make pancake mix using 2 cups of pancake mix and 1 1/2 cups of milk. You want the pancake to be thinner than normal. They are easier to wrap around the sausage when they are thinner.
• Heat a non-stick griddle.
• Pour a scant 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle. Make 12 pancakes or however many sausage you have.
• Cook pancakes until golden brown.
• Remove to a wire rack to cool.
• Wrap a pancake around a sausage and place seam side down in a greased baking dish.
• Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes at 350° or just until heated through.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
• Serve with syrup.

Steps:

• As soon as you can, season the pork all over with 1 tbsp of the salt. Up to 48 hrs before is perfect but if you don't have time, don't worry. Keep the salted pork covered and chilled.
• In a mortar with a pestle (or finely chop with a knife) crush the garlic, thyme and bay together to make a paste and mix generously with some more salt and plenty of pepper. Lay the pork skin-side down on a chopping board, score the flesh in a criss-cross pattern all over and massage the herby seasoning into the flesh. Starting from the longest side, roll the belly up as tightly as you can into a joint surrounded by the skin, then use butcher's string to tie the joint tightly at regular 2cm intervals to hold the joint together. If you can do all this the day before, all the better, then leave the joint to cool in the fridge ready to be roasted. This can be prepared up to 48 hrs before or three months before and frozen - defrost completely before cooking.
• When you're ready to cook, heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Place a wire rack or trivet over a large roasting tray and sit the pork on top. Massage or brush the pork skin with the oil and give it a final sprinkling of salt. Roast for 3 hrs, basting with the fat every 30 mins after the first hour.
• Remove the pork from the oven and turn up the heat to 240/220C fan/gas 9. Pour out most of the fat from the tray and tip in the peppers, chillies, shallots, garlic and tomato. Place the pork back on the wire rack and roast everything for a further 30-40 mins, turning the joint with tongs to expose different parts of the skin to crisp up the crackling and roast the vegetables. When the pork is ready, lift onto a board and rest for 10 mins ready to carve.
• Scrape all the vegetables and pan juices into a mini chopper or smoothie maker with the vinegar and honey and a pinch of salt. Pulse to a sauce as chunky or smooth as you like. Carve the roast into slices with a serrated knife and serve in buns with the chilli sauce for spreading over.