Taste of the Week Special from On The Pig's Back. Celebrating Spiced Beef

Taste of the Week Special from On The Pig's Back

A Celebration of Spiced Beef in Cork Cafés

Popped across the city to On the Pig’s Back in Douglas to start the Spiced Beef Week in Cork’s Character Cafes. Warm welcome and soon we were sitting at the table with two menus, the regular and the specials. The regular is packed with good things: Paté Plate; Charcuterie and Cheese Board; and a Terrine Plate. Quiche, Fish and Brisket all featured on the specials  (see below). 

Great choices indeed but where was that spiced beef, I'd come for? It turned out it was on the Sandwich Menu, the one we hadn't been offered. The spiced beef was fresh in from Jack McCarthy in Kanturk and is a regular on the menu here. It comes with perfectly matured fruity milky Brie de Meaux Nugier and is packed into delicious Arbutus Wholemeal slices, big but tender. 

The whole combination, they don't reveal all the ingredients (super secret, I'm told), was absolutely perfect. There was a wee bowl of extras including broccoli florets, Feta cubes, sun-dried tomatoes, nuts etc and, all in all, it was five star food, dressed in humble garb, not that there was anything untidy at all about the presentation. Just goes to show that once the ingredients are fresh and when they are well handled and matched, that you can dine like a king for a fair price (€8.95 in this case).

And the same price too for our other sandwich: Chicken and Harissa Mayo with salad and roasted peppers, again on that magnificent Arbutus Wholemeal sourdough. Another excellent lunch. A top class munch. Other city restaurant participating in the Spiced Beef Week are Idaho Café and Nash 19. In Nash 19, they have great time for Derek McCarthy’s spiced beef.

Monday's specials at On the Pig's Back whose store in
the English Market is celebrating 25 years in business. Well done!

Over 12 cafés are supporting the week so those south and west of the city won't be short of spiced beef choices either. Check out the Lemon Leaf Café in Kinsale, the award winning Kalbo’s in Skibbereen, the Riverside also in Skibb, the Stuffed Olive in Bantry and URRU on the banks of the river in Bandon. 

Well done to Failte Ireland food champion Ruth of URRU who has organised this (and previous) themed week. URRU serve Allshire's spiced beef and Ruth says that Maurice, producer of Rosscarbery Biltong, “is going to do something very special with it for us for the week".

Many of the Cork cafés will be using the Spiced Beef from the Chicken Inn in the English Market. They have been producing the famous beef for over fifty years now and Tim Mulcahy tells me they supply some of Cork’s finest independent cafés.

That list includes Idaho where the Quesadilla will be filled with Tim’s spiced beef, Monterey Jack cheese, pickles and French's mustard. “It's like a crispy New York deli taste, but using a spiced beef that is produced in Cork. Idaho Café love Tim Mulcahy's beef, moist, lightly but firmly spiced and evocative of Christmas and a proud history of food production in this city. €9 on the menu for that week!” Beat that boy!

#tastecork #thisisirishfood #SpicedBeefWeek 

Return of the Oyster Tavern. Les Bons Temps Rouler.

Return of the Oyster Tavern.

Les Bons Temps Rouler.

I look at some of the old black and white pics in the new Oyster Tavern and am transported back to my days in Winkle-pickers (shoes), Slim Jim (tie) and DA (hair). But that “good old days” reverie soon evaporated as the delicious dishes arrived on the table. Some terrific food here now, well cooked, and well served by one of the friendliest front-of-house teams around.

The history of a tavern on the site dates to 1800. The new two-storey building owes it current existence to the Capitol development. It is comfortable - there’s even a lift - and beautifully decorated. 

The food menu, from breakfast to dinner, is based mainly on ingredients from the adjacent English Market, and the drinks menu, again illustrated with some of those old black and whites, contains a good deal of Irish craft beer and local spirits. Our opening drinks were a mix: a Chieftain Ale from Franciscan Well and a Hemingway Daiquiri.

Fish Hot Pot

We were in for dinner and studied the menu, all on one large card. They happily fill you in on the specials and help with any questions. For starters, we could have had Scampi, Chowder, Soup of the Day. And oysters, of course. 

Steak!

My pick though was Tim’s Ham Hock (€6.00), served with Hassett's sourdough bread and West Cork Relish. The ham was packed into a jar. There was a lot of it there and it packed a lot of flavour as well. And that West Cork relish was a tasty bonus, really good.

Meanwhile, CL was thoroughly enjoying her Caprese Salad (7.50): Toonsbridge Mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and olive oil. This has become a local standard and was top notch.

There wouldn't have been a blogger in the old Oyster.

Quite a decent wine list here too and I ordered a glass of Finca Florencia Malbec (8.00) to go with my steak. This was my second Tom Durcan steak in quick succession and again it was very impressive, tender and with outstanding flavour. The 8 ounce fillet (29.00) was cooked to order, and came with straight cut chips, English Market seasonal vegetables, Roast Shallots in a red wine peppercorn sauce. The included veg by the way, mangetout, broccoli and cauliflower, were also cooked to pin-point perfection, which is not always the case.

Hemingway enjoyed his daiquiris in la Floridita in la Habana in Cuba.
 The Bodeguita del Medio is just down the street.  
Muchas gracias to Mark Deane(ex Mayfield) for the pic.

CL choose the fish special, a Prawn and Mussel Hot Pot with chorizo (18.00). No shortage of flavour there and a warming dish you might well see more of as the autumn comes in. Other main course choices included Tim O’Sullivan’s Black Pudding Burger, Oyster Haven Mussels, Chicken Inn’s Supreme of Chicken, Warm Chicken and Bacon Salad, and a Risotto. There was also a lamb burger special.

Upstairs at the spanking new full-colour Oyster Tavern. (Oyster pic).

After all that, we thought it best to share a dessert from the short yet tempting list. Sherry Trifle was probably top of the list when the old Oyster was in its heyday and that was our pick and we enjoyed sharing the Sherry soaked sponge, raspberry jam, custard topped with Chantilly cream and served with a shortbread biscuit. All for a fiver. You might well have paid close to that back in the day!

The main restaurant area is upstairs though they do serve lunch in the downstairs bar. We had started early and weren't around to see the transformation that takes place later in the night. Then the plates are cleared away, and we were told there is a generational change as well, as the live music - you might even see a saxophonist on the counter - takes over. Oh, those awful Rock and Rollers! (Note to myself: Must try that sometime).

Clayton’s Globe Goes Local. English Market a Tasty Source

Clayton’s Globe Goes Local

English Market a Tasty Source

Steak

As most of you know, there’s a new name on the Clayton Hotel in Lapp’s Quay. But do you know there is also a new focus on its renamed Globe Restaurant. That focus is local and much of the produce, including my flavourful Tom Durcan steak, is coming from the English Market.

The lunch menu is also very much a local one but we were there to sample the evening menu. As we studied the lists, we noticed they had a few craft beers on bottle and picked a familiar favourite, the Cotton Ball’s Indian Summer. Service was excellent throughout, very friendly. And that wasn't just us, as we spotted some great interaction with nearby tables, including one American group.

The menu highlights the English Market connection, especially with Tom Durcan (for beef), Kay O’Connell’s (for seafood), the Chicken Inn and On the Pig's Back (for cheese). 

There was an Asian restaurant here before the Clayton took over and as it happened I picked an Asian starter: Spring Rolls (Vegetable spring rolls, pickled cucumber, soy and chilli dipping sauce). Very tasty indeed and just the right size as I knew a steak was to follow! 

Meanwhile CL was enjoying her local and lovely Ardsallagh goats cheese in a roasted walnut crust, petit salad with sun blushed tomatoes and pomegranate. 

You may check out the other starters, and indeed mains, online here.  

My main event, cooked to perfection, was Chargrilled Irish ribeye, served with French fries (jacket potato was also an option), garnish salad, and no less than three sauces: garlic butter, pepper and whiskey sauces. The steak was full of flavour and delicious.

CL went for the Pan fried medallions of monkfish, served with a creamy lemon and basil risotto, finished with sun blushed tomatoes and fresh pesto. Again the fish was cooked to perfection and the risotto (quite a lot of it on the plate!) was also a delight, full of different yet complementary flavours. 

After all that, we were close to full so agreed to share the dessert, a  Classic Eton Mess (Fresh meringue pieces, soft berry fruits and freshly whipped dairy cream). Strawberries topped the big glass and quite a few were buried underneath as well. Very sweet,” said our server, encouragingly. And he was spot-on. Quite a finish to an impressive meal in a comfortable setting. 

There are quite a few dining options in the Clayton, including what looks like a power-packed Vitality Breakfast, anytime from 6.30am! Lunch in the Globe starts at noon but all day you can enjoy a tea or coffee and some delicious pastry in the Red Bean Roastery in the Atrium. And if have a have an afternoon free and someone to spend it with, then Afternoon Tea is available, also in the Atrium. Enjoy!

Taste of the Week. Chicken Inn’s Chicken Stock

Taste of the Week

Chicken Inn’s Chicken Stock

If you’re passing the Chicken Inn in the English Market and see a line-up of tubs of chicken stock, grab one, or two, and you’ll have our Taste of the Week.

Tim Mulcahy’s stock is chock full of flavour and a great base. There are tons of recipes on the internet and you can adapt them as you please and depending what you have to hand, just as we did (above).

Noodles (pasta is an alternative) are a terrific accompaniment and you can throw in a selection of the following: pieces of left-over chicken, diced carrots, sweetcorn, celery, onions, and pak choi. If you’d prefer a precise recipe, then go to Google!

El Vino. Top Tapas. And Much More.

El Vino. Top Tapas.

And Much More.

Monkfish & Serrano

It was cold outside but that was soon forgotten as we joined the diners in the packed downstairs section of the El Vino restaurant at the Elysian in Cork last weekend. Mentioned the Elysian there as they also operate an El Vino in Douglas.

Great buzz downstairs. We were offered a table upstairs too but went with the happy noises. Upstairs would soon fill too. We were quickly seated and studying the menus. Lots of tapas here and they also double as starters but you may, of course, stick with tapas for the evening. We may well do that another time but some dishes on the mains section caught our eye.

Piquillo peppers

 Not easy to pick just two from the tapas list but we did manage it. My choice was the Crispy Fried Calamari, Arrocina Bean Stew, Chorizo, Squid Ink Emulsion (8.95). Delighted wth it. The squid was cooked to perfection and that bean mix (great texture, slightly nutty flavour) with the little bits of chorizo was a very tasty accompaniment. 

You come across these Roast Piquillo Peppers a lot in the Basque country and they were CL’s pick. Hers were stuffed with Goats Cheese, Chorizo, Bread Crumbs & Herbs, Rocket Salad & Toasted Almonds (7.95). We did share, of course, and it was  another perfect dish. And I'm sure there are quite a few more on that extensive list. Check it out here. 

Calamari

Time then for the main event, fish for me, chicken for her. Steak, Pork Belly, Hake and salads were also on the menu. CL’s Pan Fried Chicken Breast  was stuffed with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Mozzarella & Basil, and came with Mediterranean Vegetables, Ratatouille, Tomato & Pesto (17.95). The chicken was top drawer, delicious and moist and the Ratatouille was excellent in its own right as well as being a great match for the poultry.

Pan Fried Monkfish Wrapped in Serrano Ham, Crushed Baby Potatoes, Chargrilled Courgettes, Samphire & Romesco (nut and red pepper based) Sauce (25.95) was my pick, quite an epic dish, beautifully cooked (the ham spot on, moist and tender) and so well presented, probably the best dish of its type in a long time.

CL got those Crushed Baby Potatoes as well and we also got an included side dish of vegetables (including broccoli, carrot and sugar snap), again perfectly cooked. If the kitchen takes care of the minor things, then there’s a great chance that the bigger dishes will be good as well and that was certainly the case here.

Chicken & Ratatouille

 All the while we were sipping our white wines, a Pinot Grigio and an Albarino, and having the odd chat with our servers who were, without exception, friendly and efficient, all adding to the experience here.

We were each nearing the limit at this stage but couldn't resist sharing a dessert, the El Vino Baked Alaska (6.50). Glad we did as it provided a sweet end to a lovely evening.

Good too to see they they support local and include Brian St Ledger Fruit & Veg, Tom Durcan, The Chicken Inn, Kay O’Connell Fish, The Real Olive, Clona Dairy and Ardsallagh Cheese, among their suppliers. Very Highly Recommended.  

Baked Alaska

El Vino

The Elysian 

Eglinton Street  

Cork

Telephone: 0214318530

Email: info@elvino.ie

Web: http://elvino.ie

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElVinoCork/?fref=ts 

Smokehouse Sauce Bringing the Market together.

Smokehouse Sauce

Bringing the Market together.

In 24 Days in 24 Ways, Smokehouse Sauce is bringing the English Market together. Together on a plate, that is.

Smokehouse Sauce, fast emerging as a favourite across Munster, is the guest trader for six weeks at the start-up stall in Cork’s English Market. Emma Kelly of Smokehouse: “The English Market is iconic, a quality place to shop for quality. Traders here know their growers and suppliers. There is an honesty here, now so important as people become more aware of the importance of sourcing.”

So the mission for Smokehouse is 24 Ways in 24 Days. That means changing the dish daily and Chef Stephen of Elbow Lane is the man putting it all together on the plate. The sauce was the brainchild of owner Conrad Howard and his daughter and has been perfected in the Elbow Lane kitchen. It is  available across Munster Stores of Supervalu, in the Food Academy section, and also from independent butchers.

“It’s amazing to be here in the old heart of the city, to be collaborating with the English Market, promoting it and the traders,” enthuses Emma. A recent dish, the Ploughman’s Sandwich, with sauce of course, involved no less than four traders. Brown spelt bread from Hassett’s, Cheddar cheese from the Roughty Foodie, ham from the Chicken Inn, and salad from Superfruit, lunch for just four euro!

Before that, they featured Smoked Pork Empanadas, the pork supplied by Ken and Helen of the Meat Centre who have been trading here for 37 years. The package also included an apple and courgette salad and smokehouse sauce (of course!).

Tom Durcan's Spiced Beef, Hassett's Rye Bread,
Sauerkraut and Coolea Cheese from
On The Pig's Back

And the versatility of the sauce was again underlined with On The Pig's Back goats cheese bon bons, with pearl barley, pea sprout and beetroot leaf salad and Smokehouse Sauce dressing. Day Three was an interesting one:  Ham hock and scallion terrine (using meat from Bresnan's Butchers), with Smokehouse Sauce and homemade red cabbage slaw. And it’s not just meat. Cod from Kay O’Connell’s was used in delicious frittatas and enhanced with the sauce.

“There is a hard-to-match quality here in the market. We want to highlight that and support local at the same time, by combining traditional meats with modern flavours. The sauce itself is tomato based and may be used as a dip, a relish and as a marinade. It is extremely versatile. Use it with grilled, roast or cold meats, fish, cheese and vegetables.”

Aoife and Chris at the Smokehouse stall

So what is today’s dish? Check it out on their Facebook page by all means but do call in and try it out! And you must see their lively video celebrating the sauce and its arrival in the Market. Here's the link

For more on the Smokehouse Sauce, including recipes and stockists, check the website here.

The Chicken Inn Supreme

The Chicken Inn Supreme

Tim Mulcahy

Tim Mulcahy, the merry gentleman at the Chicken Inn in ye olde English Market, is aglow with tidings of joy. “Honest to God, we’re delighted to get the McKenna Guides plaque, very enthusiastic about the whole thing. We regard it as an endorsement of what we do and of the way we do it. From our customers’ point of view, it has to be seen as a vote of confidence, that what they're buying from us is of a significant standard.”

And, singing of Christmas, well speaking of it, the good news continues: “The geese are on their way, from Robbie Fitzsimmons of East Ferry. We’ve been dealing with Robbie for the past 15 to 20 years. The goose is very popular with a regular section of our customers who know how to get the best from it. Certainly, it doesn't have as much meat compared to your turkey but every bit of the goose is beautiful, succulent!”

The Chicken Inn makes Christmas easy for you. “We’ll have have our usual cooked ham, spiced beef and turkey of course. All cooked slow and low and on the bone and all very convenient for the customer. And your turkey fillet can be ordered sliced. If a whole ham is too much for you, we also do a half a ham as well. The way it's cooked allows you put on your own rub (e.g. honey and mustard) and roast it yourself. Some add pineapple and cloves of course.”

Do you like to make your own paté? Well Tim has “a plentiful supply of fresh chicken livers” for you.  And you don’t need me to tell about their very tasty Spiced Beef.

“I’d like to wish all our customers a very Happy Christmas and all the best in the New Year. Thanks too to our staff, fully behind our efforts here, and a major factor in helping us get the McKenna’s plaque.  That plaque is also something of a present for my mother, who’ll be sixty years in the English Market in 2015.”

Taste of the Week

Today's Taste of the Week brings together two of Cork's best known food companies in a very flavoursome combination indeed, a lovely Chicken Korma.
The slow cooked chicken came from The Chicken Inn, stars of the English Market since 1955. And the magic sauce came in a jar from Midleton's Green Saffron, a relative youngster compared to Chicken Inn.
Arun is the face of Green Saffron and he is soon to publish a book. Will Chicken Inn's Tim Mulcahy follow suit? In the meantime, enjoy our Taste of the Week. So simple, so good.

English Market + 2 New Cookbooks

English Market + 2 New Cookbooks = 2 Excellent Meals

Been busy with two new cookbooks this weekend: The Buenvino Cookbook and Turkhead Culinary Delights. The former, recently launched in Ballymaloe Cookery School, is by Jeannie and Sam Chesterton, while the latter is by Alain and Edel Wille and is subtitled A West Cork Indulgence.

As it turns out, the West Cork one is the more international containing recipes from Indonesian, Japanese, French, Italian, Dutch, Belgian, British and Irish kitchens and the latter is based on recipes from a finca (farmhouse) in Spain, in Andalusia.  Luckily enough - and it is a sign of the times - most of the ingredients can be obtained locally.

Indeed, I got most of them in the English Market on Friday morning: Quails eggs from O’Sullivan Poultry, Arbutus Sourdough, Serrano (Iberico would have been better) and a chunk of Jack McCarthy’s French Style black pudding from On The Pig's Back, salmon and mussels from O'Connell's, Chicken fillets from The Chicken Inn, seaweed and organic salads (and the Turkhead book) from Fresh from West Cork, and so on.

Garlic Buttered Mussels from Turkhead (French Kitchen)

Quails Eggs on Black Pudding from Buenvino
Used Jack McCarthy's black pudding instead of the Burgos and Serrano instead of Iberico,
all on toasted Arbutus sourdough.

Romeria Chicken from Buenvino
Chicken breasts, turmeric, white sesame seeds, parsley or coriander.
May be served hot or cold.

Dutch Appleflappen from Turkhead.

Mussels with (Saffron and) Spinach by Buenvino.
Forgot the Saffron but this is one of the best mussel dishes I've ever had.

Edel's Salmon Oven Dish from Turkhead (Irish Kitchen)
Salmon, Dijon Mustard, Tomatoes, Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper, Cranberries, Raisins, Rice, Dried Seaweed.
A superb main course.

The Books

Turkhead Culinary Delights (A West Cork Indulgence) is by Alain Wille and Edel Wille. You can get all the details on this book here, even an APP that will help make out your shopping list for the recipes. I got my copy at the Fresh from West Cork stall in the English Market and you may also download a copy at iTunes Book Store for only €1.99 on this link.

The Buenvino Cookbook (Recipes from our farmhouse in Spain) by Jeannie and Sam Chesteron is a much larger book and has a more traditional layout. It was launched recently (details here) in the Ballymaloe Cookery School and is available in the shop there. It is also available on Amazon   for £20.00 and less.

Both are quite practical and it looks as we will be using them regularly, a sign that they have passed the first test! Highly Recommended.

Slow and Low at the Chicken Inn. Swing by. And Buy.

Slow and Low at the Chicken Inn. Swing by. And Buy.

Tim and the tasting plate.

In the Chicken Inn, at the heart of the English Market, they cook their chicken and ham slowly and at a low temperature and also on the bone. You may of course buy your chickens uncooked from the big market stall but hard to resist the beautiful flavours produced by their cookers.

The Chicken Inn have been here since 1955 and Tim Mulcahy, grandson of founder John Lane, told me they started cooking in a small way in the ‘60s. Then a small rotisserie  met  a fairly regular Saturday demand, a demand that grew during the summer when the holiday season kicked in and people regularly picked up a cooked chicken for the picnics.

But gradually the demand built up and Tim’s father Jack sourced an oven in the UK and since then they have been cooking low and slow and on the bone. The meats are absolutely gorgeous. Check it out for yourself before you buy by sampling from the display plate at the stall, the succulent chicken, the flavoursome ham, their own lovely spiced beef and the distinctive ham hock.

You may prefer to cook your own but the market cooked version confers big advantages for busy parents. The ham and turkey breast is sliced and cooked for you. “All the work is done,” says Tim. “You just have to assemble it.” And, with confirmations and communions and Easter coming up, those who prefer to eat at home will be glad of the service. Indeed, over the years, many have availed of it and the reaction has always been great!

Their spiced beef, now a year round seller.

“This is real turkey, real chicken, real ham, all with real flavour and the process allows that flavour come through”, Tim emphasised. “It is different to the normal. You don't have to camouflage it with loads of mayonnaise. It is also well priced. We like to give good value to people.”

And there is independent confirmation of the Chicken Inn quality. That came in 2010 when their Honey Roast Ham won a Gold Star at the prestigious UK awards. And then there is the continuing demand for their Spiced Beef, often seen as a Christmas special. “We had always kept a bit on the counter for a few weeks in January but three years ago we just kept it on display, kept selling it and it has been a constant year round seller since. It is not a-just-for-Christmas item anymore.”

Over the decades, the Mulcahy family - Tim’s parents, Mary (nee Lane) and Jack, have always been involved - have built up a large wholesale business and now supply many restaurants and annual or once-off events such as the Michael Jackson concert, the Tall Ships, the Eurovision in Millstreet, the Cork Summer Show and Ford Week.

These major events can often put a huge demand on the business (mainly because their cooked meats sell so quickly that more are demanded at short notice) and Tim says they couldn't manage without having such a great team in place, all willing to pitch in when the going gets tough. The Chicken Inn, through the Lane and Mulcahy family and their employees, has served the market and the city well for close on 60 years. Long may they thrive!

Corfirmations, Communions, Easter. All done for you.