Shropshire Regional Recipes
Shropshire is a county in the central region of England, and these are a collection of local and regional recipes handed down within families who have lived and worked in the Shropshire 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.
SHROPSHIRE PIE
First make a good paste crust (shortcrust pastry), then cut 2 rabbits into pieces, and 2 lb (1kg) fat pork (belly pork) also cut into pieces. Season with pepper and salt. Line the dish with pie-crust and put in the pork and rabbit. Take the rabbits’ livers and parboil them, and then beat them in a mortar with an equal amount of fat bacon, a little sweet herbs, and oysters if you have them. Season with pepper, salt and nutmeg, mix with the yolk of an egg and make into balls. Lay these here and there in the pie. Add a few pieces of chopped artichoke if liked. Grate a little nutmeg over, and then put in 1/2 pint (300ml) red wine and 1/2 pint (300ml) water, put on the lid of pie-crust and bake for 1 1/2 hours in a quick but not too fierce oven 300F (150C).
STRAWBERRY BATTER
Make a batter with: 2 cupfuls milk, 3 cupfuls flour, 3 eggs, 2 tablespoons warmed butter, 1/2 teaspoonful salt, 1 teaspoonful baking powder.
Other ingredients: vanilla essence, small strawberries.
Mix the milk gradually into the flour, baking powder, and then add the well-beaten eggs, the butter and the salt. Dredge 1 pint strawberries lightly with flour, stir them into the batter, and a little vanilla essence, and turn into a well-buttered mould. Twist a piece of greased paper over the top and steam for 3 hours.
BRAISED DUCK
1 duck, 1 large onion, 2 carrots, 1 turnip, 1 oz (30g) bacon bits, 2 oz (60g) margarine or dripping, 1 gill (150ml) red wine or burgundy, 1 croute of fried bread, parsley, 1 orange, (chicken) stock, seasoning, bay leaf, sprig winter savoury, sage, fat to fry.
Cut the vegetables into large pieces and roughly chop the bacon. Heat fat in a saucepan large enough to hold the duck. Fry the vegetables lightly in the bottom of the saucepan, and add the grated orange rind, bay leaf, the winter savoury, and the sage, just cover with stock and season. Put the trussed duck on the bed of vegetables, cover with greaseproof paper and put on the lid. Simmer gently for up to 1 1/2 hours, depending on the size of duck. Then add the wine and cook in a moderate oven, 350 degrees, for another 30 minutes.
Remove the duck, carve of the leg with the thigh, remove the skin, and fillet off the breast in one piece. Skim surplus fat from the stock and strain off. Thicken the skimmed stock, allowing 1 1/2 oz (45g) flour to thicken each pint. Serve the duck on the fried bread with sauce poured over. Garnish with orange and parsley. The duck can be jointed before cooking if it is a bit too old for roasting.