Frankensteined from:
https://brunyfirepower.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/the-bargees-pail/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/5769722/Medieval-stews-are-back-on-the-menu.html
MORE, BELOW
– 1/2 swede or turnip
– Ground pepper, sprig of thyme
– 500 gms belly pork (with rind removed)
– Piece of smoked bacon
– 1 parsnip, cut into strips
– 1 carrot, chopped into rounds
– 50 gms beef suet
– 100 gms self-raising flour
– 2 cloves of garlic, sliced finely
All the ingredients are placed into the pot, in this case, a Pearson’s jar, starting with the cubes of swede, then the diced pork, followed by a layer of sliced parsnip and chopped carrots and garlic. (Note: the spuds weren’t added in this version). Top up pot about a third full of good stock. Make suet pastry (or ‘huff’) into a thick round pad………………….and place it like a lid, on top of the meat and veg, it will act as a lid. A cloth was then tied over the top of the pot……..
…….and the whole pail placed onto the fire, in the firepit.
This needs to maintain a steady roiling boil for about 3 hours. Serve with hunks of crusty bread.
Very tasty – the suet pastry was not too stodgy, acting rather like dumplings, soaking up all the juices.
Medieval stews are back on the menu
The bargee pail method produces superb - and thrifty - stews.
The bargee pail uses ''combined operations'' cookery which is basically using two heat sources, fire and steam. The bargee or bargeman, whose job it was to transport coal, would place a bucket over a low fire, lower an earthenware crock into it, packed with meat and vegetables, and simmer it all day.
? swede (turnip), diced
? Pork belly, sliced
? parsnips
? carrots
? cups water
? flour
? lard
? water
? potatoes
? smoked bacon
1/2 garlic bulb, peeled and cracked
Following the bargee's instructions, I put a layer of diced swede in the base of an earthenware pot, followed by slices of pork belly, then a layer of parsnips and one of carrots (see recipe above). After I've added enough water to cover the contents, there's the all important ''heat seal'' – a rolled piece of suet pastry covering the meat and vegetables. Then the crock goes into the bucket, covered by a lid, and the whole thing simmers over an outdoor fire.
After an hour and a half, it is time to add the potatoes and a second layer of suet pastry. I cheat on flavour, tucking a large knob of butter, a strip of smoked bacon, half a wet garlic bulb and a few thyme sprigs among the vegetables. When I lift the pastry lid after two and a half hours, I inhale a puff of the most exquisite steam from underneath.
