Jake Platt's Bath chaps
29.05.09Serves 4-6
For the Bath chap:
1 large pig’s cheek - ask your butcher for the lower jaw and tongue of a pig’s head, split down the middle. You may have to pre-order this
For the brine:
500g caster sugar
600g fine sea salt
8 juniper berries
8 cloves
8 black peppercorns
5 bay leaves
5 litres of water
For the court bouillon:
Bottle of white wine
Two carrots, peeled and sliced
Two onions, peeled and sliced
Two leeks, peeled and sliced
Two sticks of celery, peeled and sliced
8 peppercorns
5 bay leaves
Extra water to cover
Method:
Put all the brine ingredients in a large pot and bring to the boil until the sugar and salt dissolves. Put into a plastic container until it has cooled.
Once it has cooled down, add the Bath chap and leave it in the container for three days.
After three days, rinse the Bath chap, put it into a large pot (a large cast iron casserole is ideal), with the court bouillon ingredients, bring it up to a simmer and place it in the oven at 140C. Cook for 90 minutes, or until the meat is tender. What you are looking for is for the meat to be tender enough to be pierced with a knife. Leave it to cool and remove from the cooking liquor (which you can discard).
When the meat is cool enough to handle, pull out the jawbone and the teeth. Wrap the meat tightly in clingfilm until it makes a conical sausage shape and refrigerate until it sets.
From this point, you can either slice it thinly and have it with pickles or you can slice it slightly thicker, pan-fry it in a hot pan until it crisps and serve it with mashed potato and salsa verde. You could also cover it with breadcrumbs, pan-fry it and serve it with fried duck eggs for breakfast or brunch.
