Last weekend I went up to Shropshire for Hogfest ‘10, which you probably won’t remember from this previous post is a yearly chance to meet up with mates, chat, booze and dine on swine in beautiful surroundings.

As in previous years, it was a a good crack, and the pig, sensational. A bit smaller than the previous year’s, and cooked over a fire fueled with only oak wood, it had a beautifully smoky flavour and moist tender meat. As usual, my favourite bit was the belly. Slammed in a bap with some coleslaw that I whipped up, and some home made apple sauce (the recipe for which is below), we were all in hog heaven.

I’m not a huge fan of shop bought apple sauce. I find it’s often too watery, too sweet, or both. So for this years Hogfest I decided to see if I could to better. The following recipe makes about 4 jam jars full, which you’re unlikely to need for a Sunday roast, so adjust the quantities accordingly. You’ll also need to adjust the quantity of sugar based on how tart your apples are. Go easy to start with, as you can always add more towards the end.

Ingredients

2kg cooking apples

20g butter

7 tablespoons Muscovado sugar

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

1.5 teaspoons Chinese 5 spice

200 ml water

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Large pinch of salt

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