I often get asked what makes a good Hog Roast!

Well in my opinion the ingredients, the drink and obviously the weather! We cater all over the South of England but already this year we have roasted more than 20 pigs, 5 lambs and served huge amounts of Sausages, Burgers, Steaks and Chickens.

We recently catered at our exclusive venue Eastland’s Estate where the bride and groom wanted a Hog Roast. We needed to cook 2 pigs for this event as there were 130 guests attending and a pig can feed around 60 guests comfortably.

The Hog

The pig comes prepared from our local butcher (Swandean Meats) and then we get the task of inserting a pole through the middle of it and putting all the clamps and braces on the pig to hold it in place when it cooks on the spit, this is a very important part of the preparation as if the pig is not on the pole properly it can split or come off when cooking and cause all kinds of problems!

We then rub the pig with water and salt to keep it moist and stop the pig from drying out and burning, we also score the meat in certain places, the belly, legs and shoulders to help crackle the skin.

The pig is then put onto the machine, these vary most of the modern ones have motors on them that turn the pig as it cooks. We hire our machines in from Classic Event Hire based in Rustington, Phil and Wayne are great guys and the they have invested in brand new machines this year…. they even have wheels on them so you can pull the machine around with ease!

the average cooking time is 6 hours depending on size, some larger pigs can take longer, I believe its always best to cook a little longer if unsure then be under cooked as RAW PORK is defiantly not good! we test by inserting a knife into the back legs and pushing it right in and then touching the tip of the knife to make sure its hot, if so then its cooked.

You are then ready to carve the pig, ideally if you can leave it for about an hour then the meat will rest and stay very moist as the juices are setting as the meat cools slightly….!!

We serve our hogs with Home Made Apple Sauce and Stuffing in a Bap with lots of exciting salads, chutneys and pickles…. perfect for that party or corporate entertaining

If you are looking for a Hog Roast then please get in touch, you will not be disappointed!

You either love it or hate it, I have to say I love it as did many of our guests that sampled it yesterday. We were asked to cater for a corporate company that wanted to take some of their staff out for the afternoon and play games, Drink Pimm’s and eat…. sounds like a good afternoons work!

The Venue was a cut field in Poynings, Near Hove in West Sussex. The surroundings were wonderful and the view was truly amazing which looked right across Devils Dyke and most of Sussex.

We were working with Pretty Clever Events or event partners who managed the event and set up a party marquee for the guests and arranged some entertainment and games for all of the staff to participate in, which they did! We then got down to the serious stuff……… Pimm’s

Red’s Perfect Pimm’s

50ml Pimm’s

4 x large strawberries cut in half

8 x leaves of mint - smashed

8 x slices of cucumber

2 x slices of orange

1/4 red apple - sliced

Lemonade and Cubed Ice

How to build….

1. Put all the fruit into a glass and add the Pimm’s, leave for as long as possible for the fruit and Pimm’s to marinade. The longer the better!!

2. When ready add cubed Ice and then top up with Lemonade.

3. Drink and Enjoy!

Tip…. Make sure you have plenty of fruit in the glass, this is what Pimm’s is all about, Always add ice first otherwise you add to much lemonade and the Pimm’s is too weak!

Our Clients enjoyed the Pimm’s and a few asked for the recipe hence the Blog!

If you have any questions or comments please do let me know

Dan

I was lucky enough to work with a Cuban chef some time ago who talked about the ultimate Mojito recipe and that no other recipe would taste as good as his…. so what did we do?

We made his secret guarded Mojito recipe!

Ok here we go….

1 x Lime Cut into wedges

10 - 12 Fresh Mint Leaves

1 oz White Gomme (equal parts of sugar and water dissolved)

50ml Havana 7yr Old Rum (thats the Secret!)

Crushed Ice

Soda to top up

The final secret ingredient is a dash of Angoustoras bitters….! apparently thats how they make it in Cuba and I can assure you it taste awesome..!

Method.

Take a Hi Ball glass and place squeezed lime wedges and juice in bottom of glass, add gomme and fresh mint. Do not tear the mint just smash it between your hands to shock it this will then release the oils and not bruise it.

Muddle (press with a muddler or rolling pin) the mix slightly but do not crush, you want the drink to stay fresh!

Add crushed ice to 3/4 of the glass and then pour on 50ml Havana Rum.

Take a Cocktail spoon and give the drink a real good mix up and make sure all the lime and mint is stirred.

Add a little more ice and then top up with Soda, finish off with a dash of Angoustoras!

There you have it….. enjoy and drink moderately!!