Posh Bacon & Cabbage with Cider Cream - A simple Sunday Lunch

Boiled bacon and cabbage with 'Shamrock' or parsley sauce and boiled or mashed potatoes, is probably the most popular dish here in Ireland, and will no doubt remain so for many years to come! We just love it.

It is a dish full of flavour, but it is more likely that it came to be popular among the 'natives' due to financial reasons, rather than for taste alone!

Pork or cured pork known as 'bacon' was the cheapest meat available to laboring folk for many years, with the pigs head being the most affordable part of all.
It is ironic that the most tender and tastiest part of the pig, the cheeks, were destined to be eaten by those who could not afford the more expensive and supposedly finer cuts of meat!
Pig cheeks were only one of the many parts of the pig that the financially well off would never have dreamed of eating!...they didn't know what they were missing!

But now those 'better off' are less snobbish about their eating habits when it comes to the lesser well known cuts of pork, and 'brawn' made from the pigs head, pork cheeks, pork belly and even the trotters will be seen on the menus of the very best restaurants........how times have changed!

Every home in Ireland probably has bacon or pork in some form for dinner at least once a week, be it a gammon steak, grilled back or streaky bacon, a nice pork roast on a Sunday, or a piece of gammon or 'ham hock'....which is my personal favourite.
The ham hock is available either smoked or plain boiled in a whole joint on the bone or boneless and sliced.

The meat is deliciously tender and full of flavour especially if roasted with the 'crackling' on....available in some supermarkets and deli's from their rotisserie, also ask your butcher.


In Donegal households, boiled bacon will always be served with cabbage, and may be accompanied by a white sauce with parsley or mustard added (see picture above) but I have discovered it is delicious with other things.....a good dish of cauliflower cheese....or if you're adventurous, try that great American classic Macaroni Cheese...yum!..... there's something about the combination of ham and white sauce that blends so perfectly together, it's one of those taste marriages made in heaven!

In our house we will have a pork product at least once a week be it for breakfast, lunch or our evening meal. An excess of cured bacon however is not the healthiest as there is a large amount of salt and other things involved in the curing , but everything in moderation, so grilled bacon maybe for breakfast at the weekend and a pork dish for supper during the week like spicy pork meatballs or a tasty pork loin chop.

I find that pork seems to retain its moisture better when cooked on the bone so I serve my pork loin chops with the bone attached. You can easily buy pork loin boneless in a whole joint without the skin on or in single perfect portion sized chops or medallions.

So for my 'Posh Bacon & Cabbage' you will need: feeds 4-6 people

a deep casserole dish with a tight fitting lid
2 -3 tablespoons of Donegal rapeseed oil or sunflower oil
1 pork loin chop per person about 120 - 140 g raw meat weight each chop
1 medium red onion peeled and sliced
1 large leek, sliced and washed
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
500 mls of your favourite Irish cider...apple...none of those fruit flavored ones
500 mls chicken stock or water
cornflour
100 mls single cream, soured cream or creme fraiche

1 head of 'Savoy' or 'York' cabbage, or enough prepared green cabbage of your choice to feed 4-6 people

150 g Arles sausage (if you can get it) or Chorizo or your favourite smoked bacon.....there are plenty of artisan producers out there now curing and smoking their own in the traditional 'dry' manner

50 g salted butter or try the Abernethy hand made 'Dulse & Sea Salt Butter'  it's delish and goes so well with cabbage & mashed potatoes

some freshly ground black pepper

How to prepare the pork:

• Pat each pork loin chop dry with kitchen paper.....remember meat needs to be dry to brown correctly and we want our pork chops to brown!
• Heat the oil in a frying pan until nice and hot and place the pork chops in the pan. DO NOT poke and stir the chops around the place, that stops them browning! just leave them to relax and feel the heat. 
• Brown each chop for about 2 minutes each side then remove from the pan and place in the casserole dish.
• Add a little more oil to the pan if needed then add the sliced onions and carrots, fry until they are starting to brown a little. There will be some nice brown sediment on your pan at this point.
• turn the heat down a little and add the cider, bring to the boil and cook for 1 minute, add the chicken stock or water and bring to the boil once more
• pour the vegetables and liquid over the pork chops in the casserole dish and scatter in the sliced leeks
• Put the lid on and place in a pre-heated oven 180oC for about 40 minutes 
• when the chops are done, lift them from the liquid and vegetables, set aside and keep warm, you can cover them with tin foil
• the cooking liquid will be nicely browned and will hold all those delicious pork and vegetable flavors, we will now make our tasty sauce
• bring to the boil on your stove top then thicken your liquid with a little cornflour blended with water, add the cream and mix well then return the chops to the casserole pot to soak in the creamy sauce
• make sure everything is nice and hot, then serve.

How to prepare the cabbage:

• shred the cabbage as thick or as thin as you like and wash really well....do use the dark green leaves too, these are very nutritious and I think have the best flavour as well as a lovely vibrant color
• in a good heavy pot add approx 200 mls cold water, add the cabbage, cover with a lid and put on a medium heat, we want to sort of steam the cabbage until it is just nearly done and still has that beautiful bright green
• cut your sausage or bacon into cubes or batons, place in a cold frying pan and turn the heat on...........as the pan heats up the fat will start to leech out and begin to fry the meat, cook it gently, we don't want it crisp but not too hard.
• By the time the cabbage is ready there should be hardly and water left, but if there is you can always drain off any excess then return the cabbage to the saucepan.
• When the cabbage is almost done but still firm, lift the bacon/sausage pieces with a slotted spoon and add to the cabbage, season with some black pepper and mix really well to distribute the meat and juices.
• add the butter in a few small knobs then put the lid back on and let the cabbage cook on over a low heat. Any remaining moisture in the cabbage and any meat juices along with the butter will give enough liquid for the cabbage to continue steaming, cook until the cabbage is soft enough to your liking!

Serve your pork chops and cabbage with some lovely floury boiled potatoes or with some mashed potatoes if you like to soak up all that lovely sauce and those buttery cabbage flavors.....oh dear, my mouth is watering......I'm off to get some ham hocks.....enjoy!