Dear Reader,

I was chatting with a friend last night and mentioned I was thinking of making a pulled pork sausage roll tonight. As the idea developed, the cylinder of joy grew into a pie to accommodate all the extra ingredients I wanted to add.

I’m using the pork leftover from a slab of belly pork I cooked last weekend. I’m also using the adjective “pulled” euphemistically. The pork is so soft and friable, all I need to do to separate the muscle bundles is gently heat the pork in a skillet and, with a wooden spoon, poke and jab at my meat to break it up.

Ordinarily, to “pull” your meat, you’d use your fingers to prise apart the muscle bundles gently. While it’s fun to finger pull your pork, it can get tedious.

Ingredients

• Cooked pork belly (“pulled”) and cooked black peppercorns
• Udder delight blue cheese (crumbled)
• Gruyèye cheese (grated)
• Gouda cheese (grated)
• Swiss cheese (grated)
• Plain flour
• Butter
• Full cream milk
• Leek (sliced)
• Fennel (diced)
• Red onion (finely sliced)
• Celery (thick-cut slices)
• Puff pastry (bought and not homemade because I’m too lazy)

Instructions

1. Remove the pork belly and peppercorns from the refrigerator. You may remember this was cooked in a pressure cooker for an hour with master stock. The peppercorns will give every mouthful a bit of a kick.
2. Place the pork into a skillet and gently heat the meat on low heat. Wait until the pork softens to the consistency of an overripe banana.
3. With a wooden spoon, gently poke and prod the pork to break up the muscle bundles and, with a twisting motion, flatten out the meat in the skillet.
4. Set aside the “pulled” pork and keep it warm.
5. Make a roux with equal parts (by weight) of flour and butter. The easiest way is to gently melt the butter, stir in the flour, and cook for three minutes. Add in the milk slowly until you have a smooth slurry consistency.
6. While the white sauce is on a gentle heat, begin to add in the cheeses and stir until you have a thick gooey sauce.
7. Turn off the heat and mix in the meat, celery, leeks, red onion, and fennel. I like adding the raw vegetables at this stage, so in the finished pie, I can feel the texture of the vegetables rather than the vegetables being cooked mush.
8. Take some butter and wipe it over the inside surface of an oven-proof dish. I like to use the tips of my fingers for this because it’s nice feeling the slipperiness of the butter on my fingers, and then I can lick the butter off. 
9. Layer a sheet of the thawed puff pastry into the pie dish and then gently spoon in the pie mixture. Add some spinach leaves for some extra vegetation and iron.
10. With another sheet of puff pastry, make a lid to the pie.
11. Melt a little butter with microwave radiation and brush over the surface of the pie.
12. Cook the pie in a moderately hot oven until the pie crust is golden and flaky.
13. Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool a little to avoid palatial blistering. The last thing I want is my buccal mucosa being scalded and lifting off the basement membrane.
14. Slice through the pastry with a large metal spoon, penetrate the pie, scoop out a large portion, and put it in a shallow bowl.
15. Next to the pie, add a large spoonful of steamed baby green peas and corn.
16. Drown the peas and corn with some instant gravy.
17. There is no need for a knife when eating this meal. I think the best utensil might be a splade. 
18. Give thanks to God for His blessings, and then tuck in.

This week in review

It’s been a fabulous week. Work has been crazy busy, and we achieved some extraordinary things. Apart from work, though, I feel thrilled with life. 

This morning my friends from bible study had a brunch. I brought some vanilla slices from Dobinsons, and when I left, look what I received? A gift of some lovely Three Mills Bakery mince pies, luscious strawberries, and fresh cherries. 

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Final thoughts

1. How do you usually pull your meat?
2. How many cheeses are too many for a pie?
3. Is mouthfeel necessary for your oral enjoyment?
4. Do you lick your fingers?

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