Faggots - How to cook them?

[Goochie]

OK, quit the childish giggling at the back - I'm talking about meat ball type foods here.

Previously I've had Uncle Brains frozen faggots but whilst in the butchers the other week I saw fresh faggots for sale so I bought some. The problem is I have no idea how to cook them!!

They look like meat balls but have a white coloured web of what I presume is fat, drizzled over the top.
Do I just put them in a casserole and see what happens?

Any ideas?

[nonplussed]

You don't seriously expect to get away with this do you? Although I'd ordinarily suggest you Google it instead, I can see how that approach might yield some, er, compromised results

[taldo]

in the oven, or pan fry them first for a bit of colour then bung then in some sort of cassrole, preferably with lots of onionS!!!!

ps the white webby stuff is a membrane used to contain the filling, its called core fat.

Edited by taldo on Wednesday 4th November 21:26

[whitechief]

That white coloured web is Caul fat, a membrane that covers internal organs

[taldo]

whitechief said:

That white coloured web is Caul fat, a membrane that covers internal organs

obviously ive miss heard at catering college all those years ago!! getting a bit senile these days!!!

[stourbridges2tvr]

From Fresh. Put them in a baking dish - cover with water - yes water, and bake for 3 hours at 180. They should be dark and a little crispy on top, soft underneath, thicken the gravy, and serve with mushy pays. they are a black country classic and dont need much faff - Bostin our kid!

Ref - the good faggot guide, by the black country kitchen.



.

Edited by stourbridges2tvr on Thursday 5th November 10:18

[Engineer1]

Add some chip shop chips and a fresh loaf and that is the best tea ever.

[Goochie]

stourbridges2tvr said:

From Fresh. Put them in a baking dish - cover with water - yes water, and bake for 3 hours at 180. They should be dark and a little crispy on top, soft underneath, thicken the gravy, and serve with mushy pays. they are a black country classic and dont need much faff - Bostin our kid!

Ref - the good faggot guide, by the black country kitchen.



.

Edited by stourbridges2tvr on Thursday 5th November 10:18

Do I need to put a lid on the dish?

[J-c]

Boil them the Scottish way.

[HiRich]

You can braise them (subtly different from casseroling) like I did last night.

• Brown them off in a frying pan and set aside
• Chuck a large diced onion in the pan and fry off quickly. You don't need to sweat them but get a few brown edges.
• You can also add some finely chopped root vegetables (carrot, swede, a little potato, although you would serve separate spuds). Pearl barley is also nice and will thicken the sauce.
• Make a bed of the onions in a lidded casserole dish and place the faggots on top.
• Add liquid to cover the veg. About 1/3 pint of beer (biiter is good) should do, but stock and a gloop of port works well.
• Season with salt and pepper. Worcestershire sauce in the liquid, but also on the exposed faggots.
• Then about 2 hours in the oven at 140C. The steam created (and kept in the pot) keeps them very moist.
• After about an hour, check enough liquid is still there.

You should end with a thick sauce - enough for the faggots, but not a gravy for your other veg.

[Goochie]

HiRich said:

You can braise them (subtly different from casseroling) like I did last night.

• Brown them off in a frying pan and set aside
• Chuck a large diced onion in the pan and fry off quickly. You don't need to sweat them but get a few brown edges.
• You can also add some finely chopped root vegetables (carrot, swede, a little potato, although you would serve separate spuds). Pearl barley is also nice and will thicken the sauce.
• Make a bed of the onions in a lidded casserole dish and place the faggots on top.
• Add liquid to cover the veg. About 1/3 pint of beer (biiter is good) should do, but stock and a gloop of port works well.
• Season with salt and pepper. Worcestershire sauce in the liquid, but also on the exposed faggots.
• Then about 2 hours in the oven at 140C. The steam created (and kept in the pot) keeps them very moist.
• After about an hour, check enough liquid is still there.

You should end with a thick sauce - enough for the faggots, but not a gravy for your other veg.

Sounds like one for the slow cooker - thanks !

[stourbridges2tvr]

Goochie said:

Do I need to put a lid on the dish?

It doesnt say so in the book, but it does say you may need to top up the water. So i assume topless, but I think i would loosly cover them with foil and keep an eye on them every hour or so.

Enjoy!

Edited by stourbridges2tvr on Thursday 5th November 12:48

[pad58]

You should ask the butcher where you had them from,

My faggots are ready cooked so it's just a case of in the oven with some water
reheat and from the water make the gravy.
easy.

[Kneetrembler]

My Gran years ago used to just fry them in goose fat and serve with mashed potato and mushy peas, with the goose fat poured on top, slimming & low calorie too

[TVRWannabee]

Would you Adam and Eve it? I Googled 'How to cook faggots' and top of the pile was that well-known gastronome website, Pistonheads.

Great advice, everybody, but I couldn't be ad with all the messing around so I chopped them up and fried them (in Rapeseed Oil if you care).

Actually they were delicious.

Where do I sign for Masterchef then?

[soad]

TVRWannabee said:

I chopped them up

Ya chopped those faggots? Never

[Vieste]

TVR1 your thread is here

[Shaw Tarse]

Faggot pie http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/36309-barrymore-fag...

[TVRWannabee]

soad said:

Ya chopped those faggots? Never

We are tough but fair in this household!

[0a]

Delicious might try this tomorrow, thanks (water method). Previously I've made a kind of faggot- tomato casserole.