uk_grenada

Re pork for bacon, i use mainly costco sourced - a complete loin makes excellent canadian bacon - its the eye from back bacon effectively. Skinned pork belly makes really good streaky bacon if you prefer more fatty.

Anything in the sausage ingredients line - you can order from amazon.co.uk - there are about 3 sellers of curing/sausage ingredients/curing/filling, i tend to use smiffys but they are all good. Tip for bacon - the very best cure mix ive found is in the meat bible, real maple cured - a lot of ingredients but worth it. Try adding the smoke in the wet cure. Hickory smoke powder gives a great taste, you can easily control the strength, and its all done very cold and cleanly.

robtuck

Just putting in our second order from Parkers - had tried to make our own sausage rolls but they weren't the best, then we had the ones from Parkers over Christmas! Same goes for the Por Pie. Will be trying Scocth Eggs a second time in the next week now I have a little fryer (oven baked were nice though).

ottotheboar

On Amazon the two main suppliers will not ship to the USA but on ebayUK they will however Tongmaster charges around four pounds shipping and Butchers Sundries charges around fifty pounds for 250 grams.

uk_grenada

We used to get that in reverse in the uk from american firms. If you have no uk based friends, Theres an easy solution, just get a uk shipping address, plenty of firms will give you a po box no and handle onward shipping automatically.

Tongmaster ships to ne in the caribbean, if you ask them they will do it, but you have to pay shipping of course which they cant pre-calculate, just have to trust them.

ottotheboar

Just had an order from Tongmaster mailed yesterday, I found Butchers Sundries very good when mailing to a UK address.

bugman

I've made a few batches of pork pies but its a bit of a chore! I got pig fat which I minced and rendered down for lard, however I see you can now buy 'armor' lard without any of those preservatives (still on shelf but needs refrigeration after opening). I simmered raw heavily boned hocks for the jelly. The filling was pretty much pork shoulder, bacon to keep it pink, white pepper, mace etc. I made a hot water pastry, filled, baked, then once cooked I added the jelly. The result was very good and reminded me of the best pork pie I had in years, at chatsworth house.

GeoffM

I had sausage and mash from a local irish pub that proclaims their authenticity. The sausages were basically fat hot dogs, not Irish/British at all. I emailed the owner and fair enough he replied but basically said "that's what my customers want". Well, he's a business, not a charity/museum so I suppose catering for the Americans who think it's authentic makes sense to him.

steveq

Well its what his customers GET in an "Irish pub" so they must be authentic - right ?

GeoffM

It is a bit of a case of pandering to the stereotypes, and existing customers' expectations. I suppose if he bought in decent sausages then there would be complaints.

Putting the shoe on the other foot, there is a great Mediterranean restaurant in town. A little pricey but you can see everything being prepared fresh and he always has 2-3 specials which are different every few days (not the same each week). Anyway, I was talking to an Uber driver who happened to be from the same area (possibly Greece, I can't remember now) and he loves the food as well - but it's not authentic, he says! Having never been to that area I am as clueless as an American who's never left California eating in an Irish bar.

robtuck

There is a good Irish bar in Senoia near me, had a Scotch Egg there, was lovely. They did apologise about the Shepherds Pie before I had even looked on the menu. He said, "i know you'll spot the obvious error". Indeed, it had beef. He mentioned they originally opened using lamb but the locals were confused and wouldn't order it.

GeoffM

Hah, it took me a while but I rather reluctantly realised that Americans are going to call a cottage pie a shepherd's pie no matter what. I haven't even mentioned it to my local who do, indeed, have a beef "shepherd's" pie.

ottotheboar

I have been to a couple of similar places as you say it is what the customers want.
I was given some pasties last week, the pastry was good and I tried a pork and apple, I have no idea what the flavor was apart from odd, definitely not what I expected.

GeoffM

The sausage shop near me sold a "Cornish pasty" which apparently was made by a local South African. Chilled, not frozen. Pastry was good but the filling was ground beef, potato cubes, carrot cubes, and peas - and cost $9.99. Nah. I have made them myself and they're fairly easy.

ottotheboar

According to the Cornish Pasty Association they contain chopped beef skirt, potatoes, swede and onion.
I imagine you can stick whatever you want in it and call it a pasty, I have a few more I have yet to try including a couple of veggie ones.

ottotheboar

The seasonings I ordered from Tongmaster in the UK arrived today.
Will be doing Cumberland and Pork and Apple sausage this weekend.