This is a wonderful dish and is cooked long and slow, serve with creamed potatoes, green beans and baby carrots for a lovely supper that will impress your friends!
You will require:
Firstly prepare the shoulder, stick a thin knife into the meat at 1 ˝ inch intervals and squirt a blob of mustard deep into the hole. The easiest way to do this is by either using a syringe or by buying a small tube of ready made mustard. Press a good knob of fat into the hole, spread some more thinly over the meat, and season it well.
Put the joint into a covered roasting tin or casserole dish (4 litre) with half of the brown ale and roast in a very hot oven (Mk 8,450 degrees F,230 degrees C) for 45 minutes, and then turn the oven down to slow (mk 3, 325 degrees F, 170 degrees C) for a further 2 ˝ hours, basting frequently and topping up with the beer.
About 30 minutes from the end, take out the meat. Spread the remaining mustard over the meat, dredge with the Demerara sugar, and return it to the oven for the final cooking.
The joint will have a gloriously sticky glaze and the gravy is a ready-made sauce with a most distinctive flavour. If necessary add some cornflour made up with water to thicken the gravy to your liking.
Serve with mushy peas and fried onions, a great tasty favourite for all the family.
You will require:
Pre heat the oven to Gas Mark 7, 220 degrees C, 425 degrees F.
Sift the flour with the salt. Add the egg and egg white. Whisk in 250 ml (8 fl oz) of the milk; this will give you a very thick batter. Rest the batter for at least 30 minutes, it can be made as far as 24 hours ahead. This will give it time to rest; when ready for using just quickly re-whisk.
Then take a small roasting tin and heat half of the oil/ lard and colour the sausages on top of the stove, adding the remaining oil/ lard.
To cook the toad in the hole, the fat should be very hot and almost smoking with the sausages in. Pour in the batter to come three quarters of the way up the sausages. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 30 – 45 minutes.
