Rosemary-stuffed collar of bacon with parsley butter sauce

Method

• step 1

  First, open up the collar of bacon to season it with the rosemary. To do this, remove any string that’s been used to tie the meat, then use a knife to carefully run along the natural seams of the muscles, being careful not to cut all the way through to the other side – you are just trying to make some incisions in the joint, not cut all the way through it. Open it out as much as you can and rub the rosemary all over the exposed meat, then fold the bacon back onto itself. Tie securely with 3 pieces of butcher’s twine, spaced about 2cm apart.

• step 2

  Put the joint in a very large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and skim off any scum that rises to the surface. Pour the water away and cover with fresh cold water. Stud the onion with the cloves, then add to the pan along with the bay leaves, carrot, celery, garlic and peppercorns. Bring back up to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook for 1 1/2-2 hrs. Leave to cool and rest in the stock for at least 30 mins. Don’t discard the stock, as you’ll need it for the sauce.

• step 3

  To make the sauce, strain 300ml of the bacon stock from the pan into a jug. Melt half the butter in a small pan, then whisk in the flour until it has formed a paste. Cook for 2 mins, then slowly add the bacon stock, whisking all the time. When you have added all the stock, let it bubble for a further 4-5 mins. Turn off the heat and whisk in the remaining butter, then stir in the parsley. Remove the bacon collar from the pan to a board or serving plate. Thickly slice and serve with black pudding mash.