A search has been launched for the ultimate Norfolk sausage roll. Amateur cooks, professional chefs, butchers and bakers are being called on to enter the Porkstock Sausage Roll Off and create the ultimate Norfolk sausage roll. The winner will take part in a national competition in early 2018.
The 2017 Roll-Off was won by Norfolk's Charlie Hodson, founder of Charlie's Norfolk Food Heroes and Patron of the Porkstock Food & Drink Festival.
Mr Hodson was this week joined by Ben Handford, one of the founders of Porkstock, Archer's Butchers director Jamie Archer and Porkstock committee member Pippa Lain-Smith to recreate his winning sausage roll. Called 'The Nelson', the recipe pays homage to locally sourced Norfolk ingredients.
'The sausage roll shows off everything that is amazing about Norfolk,' he said. 'What we're trying to do is bring more awareness to high street butcher shops like Archer's and show that it doesn't cost the world to buy from them.'
Ingredients in his recipe include pork sausage meat, rapeseed oil, fresh blood black pudding, Norfolk saffron and even some Wild Knight English Vodka.
Asked what the secret was to making a winning sausage roll, Mr Hodson said: 'A lot of people over complicate making a sausage roll but its really easy. Keep it simple.'
This year's Porkstock Festival is taking place at the Royal Norfolk Showground on October 14.
Entrants in the roll off must be prepared to travel to London and recreate their sausage roll in a professional kitchen in front of a large audience.
The Sausage Roll Off, held at the Red Lion Pub in Barnes, London, has become an annual event. The Porkstock Roll will be judged against sausage rolls created by high profile chefs from across the UK and will win its maker huge prestige.
Entries for the Porkstock Roll Off should be sent to oink@porkstock.co.uk by 12 noon on Friday June 30.
Entrants are asked to provide as much detail as possible including where in Norfolk their pork is from and full details of all ingredients. For more information visit www.porkstock.co.uk
How to make The Nelson
Ingredients
•3/4kg of pork sausage meat
•Teaspoon of rapeseed oil
•10 ounces of fresh blood black pudding
•Couple of strands of Norfolk Saffron broken down in a drop of water
•15ml of Wild Knight English Vodka
•Pinch of Sea salt
•1/2 kg of puff pastry roll to 3mm using Nortons Dairy butter
•1 egg for egg wash
•Charlie's Norfolk Food Heroes original smokey and sticky BBQ sauce
Method
•Combine all ingredients except egg, pastry and BBQ sauce into bowl.
•Bind with hands and break into small pieces.
•Roll out pastry into a 3mm thick rectangle shape.
•Place two rolls of sausage meat with 6 inches in between each roll, horizontally across the sheet of pastry.
•Egg wash pastry and fold pastry over the middle and cut. Repeat process for other part of sausage meat.
•Crimp pastry together.
•Cut into 6.
•Egg wash top and bake in a fan oven between 170-180 degrees for around 20-30 mins or until golden brown.
•Serve with Charlie's Norfolk Food Heroes original smokey and sticky BBQ sauce.
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