Re: home made cow heal pie
 

I sometimes make my own stuffing......it is easy.
A couple of slices of bread.......made into breadcrumbs(stale bread is best)
A chopped shallot sweated in a little chicken stock until soft, a couple of pinches of dried sage(more if you use fresh sage...dried sage has a more intense flavour, that's why you need less) a pinch of dried parsley(optional)
a little salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
Add some chicken stock to make a sloppy paste(or I use the juice from a pork joint......put the mix into an oven proof dish and cook in the oven at the bottom for 20 minutes...if the stuffing looks like it is drying out, add a little more stock.
I like my stuffing to be soft....I hate those golf balls of stuffing.

Re: home made cow heal pie
 

Or you could just buy a packet of Paxo! :)

Re: home made cow heal pie
 

my grandad makes chestnut stuffing that we fight over at christmas, its thick and chewy :D

Re: home made cow heal pie
 

As for Cow Heel pie....my recollection of this is that the steak filling is cooked with a cow heel, you fish out the cow heel once the steak pie filling is cooked.......the cow heel makes the gravy 'set' when it is cold and when it is warm the gravy is just thick.

I haven't ever made it, but I can recall my Grandma making it......and it did stick to your ribs.

Re: home made cow heal pie
 

Not keen on chestnut stuffing.....or lemon and thyme stuffing.......I just like boring old sage and onion.

Re: home made cow heal pie
 

We can't get Paxo here Margaret and your recipe is how I make it (like my Grandmother used to make it) and is a million times better. For Xmas i add sausage meat and chestnuts! It's great with chicken, turkey or capon alongside Devils on Horseback and other "trimmings".:)

Re: home made cow heal pie
 

stuffing wrapped in bacon mmmmmmmmmmmmm

Re: home made cow heal pie
 

Ham hock(or shank) and peas.
Rinse the shank in running water...or put the shank into a large pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Once the shank has come to the boil tip the water off and replace it with fresh water.......this will prevent the shank from being overly salty.
Cook the shank in the fresh water until it is properly cooked.(you can cut the meat up at this point, or leave it until it falls apart)
The peas need to be soaked at least overnight. Put the soaked peas into the pan with the shank(don't ask me how many peas....I never measure anything, I just go by rack of eye.......you can only have too many peas if they overflow the pan:).
I add to my pan a finely diced carrot, a small chopped onion and a finely chopped potato, and if liked(which I do) a handful of pearl barley.

Let all these ingredients simmer gently, stirring from time to time(stops the peas sticking to the bottom and burning...would ruin the taste).
It is ready to eat when all the peas have fallen(gone soft, and the meat has fallen into shreds). I could just eat a basinful of that right now.
This recipe can also be made with bacon ribs. And you can add dumplings for a bit of extra flavour.

Re: home made cow heal pie
 

I mix my home made stuffing with good quality sausage meat in equal quantities and make something like sausage rolls...using puff pastry.

When I worked at the hospital, my staff used to ask me to make them for our Christmas feast.......and they never lasted very long.
I am a fair cook, but I only ever make plain stick to the ribs grub.
I do make a mean Sherry trifle(no jelly...that is for children...and I make my own vanilla custard with eggs milk and cream)) and a very passable apricot and kiwi fruit cheesecake.

Re: home made cow heal pie
 

That's why there's holes in honeycomb trip mobertol, so you can put vinegar in each hole:D:D

Re: home made cow heal pie
 

There is very little food I don't like really Trip, Trotters, Black Pudding Haggis (had a spugs special for lunch yesterday:D) the only thing I have never fancied is elder(thinks that's how its spelt) seen it on the Trip stall, but never been tempted, many a time I've got some trip at lunchtime and asked for it to be cut up and sat there at work eating it for lunch:D

Re: home made cow heal pie
 

My father loved Elder......he used to have it with toast, not on toast, but he would have a bite of toast and then cut a bit of elder off and put it in his mouth........he tried to get us to eat it, but we never did. Tripe......ewwww, horrible stuff. Tastes like watery snot.
I'd rather eat my own eyeballs.

Re: home made cow heal pie
 

That confirms my opinion - Jaysay talks a load of tripe, It just trips off his tongue. Please do not take this as a signal to start posting about tongue. Once my dad was offered tongue in a restaurant. He declined it - "Tongue? I could not eat anything that came out of an animal's mouth. I'll have an egg please."

Re: home made cow heal pie
 

:s_cry::s_cry:There was me thinking you were a friend of mine Bob:D

Re: home made cow heal pie
 

Well John, you know that they say friends make the worst enemies because they know where the punch hurts the most.