Seven Days Of Being A Greedy Pig With The Greedy Pig Butchers @ Denby
Published On Sunday 27 Nov 2022 by Sticky Beak
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The Man Bird and I recently went back to Bourne’s Coffee Shop and Bistro at Denby Pottery Village, sampling the breakfasts on offer there now that the kitchen is using Bacon and Sausage from the Greedy Pig Butchers. I have to say, it was blooming scrummy, and not just the meats; the whole breakfast was superb.
Anyhow, whilst we were there, Laura (Denby’s Social Media Manager) had also arranged for us to grab a pack of products from one of the superb midweek offers that Greedy Pig do. For those not familiar with the offers they cost between £24 and £26 and offer a variety of meat and poultry; one example is ‘Wild Wednesday’, that comprises 1lb Sausage (of your choice), 2x 280g Gammon Steaks, 1lb Minced Beef, 4x Lamb Kofta Kebabs and 4x 227g Chicken Breast fillets. I was sorely tempted by ‘Monday Madness’ but The Man doesn’t like Lamb’s Liver – fussy hound!
The Greedy Pig Butchers are able to prepare your meat products the way you want them, so if you want stunningly beautiful French trimmed Lamb (or whatever meat you plan to serve) or a tidily trussed joint, then Steve and Joe are happy to oblige. Local farmers in Derbyshire and Staffordshire are used to supply this team with the Pork, Lamb and Beef and, mindful of the environmental issues we face, the Greedy Pig guys use fully recyclable and compostable packaging – top marks to you.
As well as fresh meats and Sausages on the counter waiting to be bought, Steve and Joe appreciate that sometimes folks are time-poor and so they offer a fab selection of ready meals that just need cooking and serving. Examples are the yummy sounding Bacon and Cheese Turnovers (£2.50 each), the Peppercorn Beef Bomb (£2.25 each), and the Lamb Roulade (£1.75 each) – all of which we bought to pop in the freezer for another day.
We already have our festive meat order sorted, but those of you that haven’t yet done it, don’t panic; you can still pop along to see Steve and Joe Monday-Saturday 9am-5pm and Sunday 10am-4pm. I would advise doing it sooner, rather than later, as the fresh Turkey orders are going quickly - especially if, like me, you require a specific weight of bird!! Greedy Pig butchers source their Kelly Bronze turkeys from Derbyshire and Warwickshire poultry farmers and if you’re feeling swish and swanky, then why not push the boat out and offer your family a three-bird roast at Christmas?
Having loaded up a couple of bags with our bounty, we bade the chaps farewell and went back to the Nest. The bags of produce are clearly labelled and what I really liked was the fact that they are non-stick lined, so that when you take your meat out of the freezer there isn’t any annoying plastic stuck to the frozen flesh. Nifty or what?
We’d got enough choices from the Greedy Pig Butchers to last seven days, so we chuckled as we said that we were going to be ‘Greedy Pigs’ for a whole week as we sampled them to review for you. Saturday night kicked our gluttonous journey off; step forward a gorgeous looking pair of Gammon steaks. After lovingly massaging them with Rapeseed Oil from Northumberland (always try to shop British, folks, let’s support our industry first-and-foremost, eh?) and scattering cracked Black Pepper on their glistening surface, they were popped into the oven (on a baking parchment-lined tray) along with some chunky chips. As the cooking time was drawing to a close, His Nibs fried a couple of eggs, and everything came together perfectly.
Both Gammon steaks had got a nice rind of fat at their edges, crucial to maintain the meats’ moistness as it cooks (plus it adds a nice, extra hint of taste in the mouth). The flavour was superb and nowhere near as salty as a lot of people expect, which is what puts them off eating this wonderful cut of Pork. We both commented on the creamy-yet-rich taste that flooded our mouths, smiling happily at each other as we did so, and said that the size of them was certainly more than enough to satisfy a hearty appetite as part of a larger meal.
Personally, I would’ve also had a slice of grilled, fresh Pineapple on top of my Gammon, but we‘d been shopping before visiting Denby Pottery Centre and hadn’t got Pineapple for the weeks’ fruit basket – doh! However, the chunky chips and fried egg were still scrumptious, classic partners for this popular meal choice and our bellies were more than full as we did the pots and then went to watch a film on TV. What a fab Saturday start to our week of being ‘Greedy Pigs’.
His Nibs and I do like a lazy supper on Sunday, and what better morsel than a Bacon and Cheese Turnover with Mexican Madness glaze? Greedy Pig butchers offer these beauties ready assembled, so all you have to do is pop them in your oven and watch the flaky pastry turn a delicious shade of golden brown; then simply turn out onto a plate, add garnish and/or sauce of your choice, and off you trot. The pastry was marvellously rich and buttery, flaking nicely in the mouth and the slice of bacon was satisfyingly thick - just the ticket for greedy tummies like ours! You can’t beat proper farmhouse bacon; it has that deep, rich taste that hits the brain’s pleasure spot right in the bull’s eye (or should that be pig’s eye?!). A hearty slice of punchy, mature Cheddar cheese partnered the bacon perfectly, as well as adding a wallop of comfort with its oozy, melty yumminess, and the Mexican Madness World Grill glaze piled in with some winter warming spiciness that got the taste buds dancing. This was a marvellous supper choice that would work equally well for an easy-to-do midweek dinner; just partner with veggies and rice, or potato in whatever guise you fancy. Bosh; sorted!
Despite my best efforts, there’s always something slightly deranged and chaotic about the Nest on Mondays – especially in the kitchen department! Hoorah for the Greedy Pig Butchers’ marinated Chicken breast fillets, they were going to make my life a lot easier as they were already filled with flavour from the Sweet Chilli marinade on them. Prep time? What prep time?! I just sliced some veggies, wanged two sheets of egg noodles in boiling water, and then made a colourful stir fry on which to lay the chicken fillets. His Nibs was impressed that he’s bagged himself such a fab wifey as he tucked into a tasty dinner (thanks Steve and Joe, I owe you one).
His Nibs had got a day off work, so we planned to do some garden chores and Mummy kindly offered to come and help. Everyone knows that you have to have a good breakfast to fuel your body, so we cooked the All Day Breakfast Sausages that we’d bought from the Greedy Pig Butchers. These fat beauties have minced Pork, Bacon pieces, Tomato and Baked Beans in them, so they literally have the main components of a hearty breakfast in them already! They’re softer in texture, when cooked, than a lot of their peers but there was something rather comforting about them, and they tasted blooming lovely – no repeat factor either. We paired them simply with toasted muffins topped with fried eggs, roasted Tomatoes on the vine and some Hash Browns; just the job to get us raring to go with all the tasks that lay ahead!
Following a productive day’s graft we didn’t want to do a complicated meal, so out came the Lamb Kofte Skewers; paired with rice and Tzatziki they made for a speedy dinner. The half dozen, generously sized skewers, just got bunged in the fan-assisted oven for 20 minutes at 190c, coming out still nice and juicy but firmed up in texture. As well as the Lamb’s naturally deep, rich flavour there was a plethora of herbs and spices complimenting it, such as Garlic, Mint, Cumin and Coriander. Finely chopped Onion added a gentle textural element to this scrummy dish, and there was no ‘repeat factor’ either. All that was needed to make these meaty beasts into a satisfying meal was some citrus and Coriander rice and chunky, homemade Tzatziki. This was a quick-n-easy meal that yielded maximum flavour for minimal effort (thanks to Greedy Pig butchers doing all the hard work) and one that we both loved.
Hump day blues were in full effect chez-Nest, so I cooked Greedy Pig butchers’ Peppercorn Beef Bombs to give us that happy, full belly feeling and turn our frowns upside down! To go with these delights, I served roasted, herby ‘Tater cubes and Onion wedges, with Chantenay Carrots and Petit Pois. The oven was already nice and toasty with the roasties and onion getting a head-start, so the Peppercorn Beef Bombs went in on their tray and it was a case of mission meal: on. Let me just say that they look massive before being cooked and they come out every bit as big when they’re done – no nasty, cheap shrinkage happening here, folks!
The flavour of the Beef was superb and the bombs were ridiculously juicy, but there was a fantastic surprise at their centre... a beautifully warming Peppercorn sauce! Partnered with the spicy glaze on the bombs’ outer surface, the pepper sauce made for a superb winter warmer that got our palate’s wanting more, and for £2.75 each you really can’t go wrong; both the quality and quantity boxes got ticked here.
Thursday saw the Lamb Roulades coming out; the same minced Lamb that was used in the Kofte Skewers, but with the addition of diced Onion and Pepper in the mix. Steve and Joe layer the Lamb mix on top of a pastry sheet then roll it up (a bit like a Swiss roll, but savoury!) and cut it into individual slices, priced at £1.75 each. There’s something mesmerising about watching the pastry turn from pallid to golden, and I was willing the minutes away! In the meantime (and to distract my impatience), I busied myself with boiling potatoes for mash, trimming Chantenay carrots and retrieving my previously frozen, home-grown French beans from their icy confines. His Nibs could smell the delicious aromas wafting through from the kitchen and came prowling round, eager to see how soon he would be chomping his way through a very tasty dinner. Tasty, it proved to be, too, thanks to the wonderfully seasoned, flavoursome Lamb that Greedy Pig butchers had fashioned into a swish-looking roulade. This was another triumph; cheers Steve and Joe!
All good things must come to an end, but when that finale is Smoky Maple and Chilli Sausages it’s a pretty good one! These were what you’d call proper bangers; big, meaty and chock full of flavour. There was no mistaking the Chilli kick in them and our taste buds were soon stood to attention; thankfully the addition of rich, rounded Smoky Maple softened things nicely in the mouth. I kept things simple for this dinner and just served the bangers with Olive oil-pimped Mash and thick, homemade Onion gravy; sometimes you’re better just staying easy and classic.
Without exception, we’d had a marvellous week of meaty dinners, thanks to Greedy Pig Butchers at Denby Pottery Centre; Joe and Steve, you’re both legends!! Hot Wings happily given here.
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