Lincolnshire Regional Recipes

Lincolnshire is a county in the central-east of England and these are a collection of local and regional recipes handed down within families who have lived and worked in the Lincolnshire area. All of the recipes below are regionally authentic, originally coming from recipe books published in the 1800s or 1900s, with the weights and measurements adjusted (alongside the old standards) where appropriate for the modern kitchen.

 

STUFFED PIG’S CHINE

Steep a pig’s chine in cold water for 12 hours to take out some of the salt, then cut into ridges from bone to rind about 1/2 in (2cm)  wide.  Prepare stuffing by taking 1 cabbage, 3 heads of lettuce, 3 bunches of sage, 3 bunches of parsley, 2 bunches of spring onions, a few sprigs of thyme, a few young blackcurrant leaves.  Pick thyme, sage and parsley from stems, then wash all thoroughly in cold water and drain.  Put through mincer, add a little pepper, the put between ridges cut in the chine, tie up in a cloth and boil for about 4 hours.

 

LINCOLNSHIRE PLUM BREAD

3 1/2 lb (1.75 Kg) flour; 2 lb (1 Kg) mixed fruit (currants and sultanas); 1 oz (30g) yeast; 1/2 lb (250g) sugar; 1/2 lb (250g) lard; pinch of salt

Place flour and salt in a warm mixing bowl. Rub in the lard. Add the prepared fruit and the sugar and mix.  Put yeast into basin, add and mix until liquid with a teaspoonful of sugar.  Add lukewarm water to the yeast, pour into hollow in flour mixture.  Work in the flour etc. gradually add lukewarm water and knead into a stiff dough.  Put to rise in a warm place free from draughts and cover with a clean cloth.  Leave to rise at least 1 hour.  Grease well bread tins and put enough dough into each tin to half fill it.  Cover again and leave to rise another hour.  Bake in a fairly hot oven 450F (230C) for 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours.

 

ROAST SUCKLING PIG

A suckling pig not more than 3 weeks old, butter to baste with, add onion forcemeat

Make the chopped onion/minced pork forcemeat, put this inside the pig and close the opening by means of a trussing needle and string.  Brush the entire surface of the pig with warmed butter, wrap it in several folds of well greased paper.  Draw the legs well back, tie into shape and roast for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, according to size.  It should be thoroughly basted, and about 1/2 hour before time for serving the paper should be removed and the pig brushed over with thick cream to improve the colour and crisp the surface.  Before serving, cut off the head and split down the centre of the back, lay the two halves on a dish, divide the head and place half at each end of the dish.  The usual accompaniments are bacon and apple sauce, and sometimes hot currants; the latter should be prepared the day before.  To make them plump, they must be scalded and then thoroughly dried.  Re-heat in the oven before serving.

 

ROAST HARE

First take your hare.  Many consider that a coursed hare eats better than a shot hare. Opinions vary on how long a hare should hang.  Some like it after a day or two, others prefer it to be hung for as much as a week.  The hare must be young.  To test this, tear the ear.  If it tears easily the hare is young enough to roast.  Skin it first from head to tail.  take out the innards and wash thoroughly.  Rinse at least six times in cold water.  then set the hare up as if lying in form.  This is done with the help of skewers and string.  In form the head should be up, the ears pricked, front legs straight forward and back legs tucked underneath at the sides. Cover the ears with butter paper to prevent burning.  Cover all over with slices of fat bacon and cook in a hot oven for 2 hours.  Baste thoroughly from time to time.  About 1/2 hour before the hare is cooked take off the bacon and brown the meat.  Traditionally the hare is served in the middle of a large dish.  Surround it with forcemeat balls, rolled fried bacon and roast potatoes.  Other accompaniments are a rich thick brown gravy (made with heart and liver of the hare), bread sauce and redcurrant jelly.