First of all, welcome again to Frugal Mummy as a 'new' follower, who is having tremendous bad luck with her blog continually disappearing.
The other day, I bought all the ingredients to make both faggots and our version of meatballs.
I used my recipe which you can find on a post from 28th October 2013 (an adapted version by Froogs!)
HOWEVER, I did decide this time not to put the gravy on the faggots after 30 minutes. Instead they were roasted in the oven for the full 45 minutes - turning halfway through to get them to not stick too badly.
They were put onto a plate to cool down:
Then packed into foil trays and frozen without their gravy, as the last couple of times we have frozen them in their gravy, once thawed, we found them difficult to reheat without turning them into mush so hope this new way will be better:
I made up the 4 pints of gravy, poured half of it into the two trays
used to roast the faggots, scraped them around to pick up all the sticky
bits etc, then poured it back into the saucepan. It was divided into
various containers until cold then poured into freezer bags. Each bag
held 3 ladles - enough for 2 people) plus one spare for another day:
The ones still on the plate were for our tea!
We managed to get 4 foil trays (plus gravy) and enough for tea as well. Not necessarily the cheapest meals we make but I know what has gone into them, know we will enjoy them and for me, that is worth more than gold!
Looks very appetising! If you have a Home Bargains near you I highly recommend their version of the 'Pour and Store' bags - can't recall the name! They have a stand-up base so that you can open them out and stand them up to pour the gravy in, then leave to cool before sealing and freezing. Saves a lot of washing up and they are strong enought to wash and reuse several times.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of them but just looked on-line, quite a few miles away! Thanks anyway.
DeleteHappy to pop some in the post if wanted x
ReplyDeleteThank you, I'll let you know if I do.
DeleteAh I remember your faggot recipe DC and I was so enthused as I love them. I went straight out and bought the belly pork slices (I'm sure that's what it was) and froze them as I wasn't ready to make for a day or two. Well - you can guess what happened (or didn't ) I forgot all about them and never made the faggots. I suppose the pork is now beyond its freezer life by now. Anyway they sound so delicious and I really will make them soon - once I've bought the ingredients again!!
ReplyDeletePatricia x
I use shoulder of pork but think that belly would work just as well.
Deleteyou know I've never had faggots - the name puts me off!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't eat the bought one's but these only have bacon, pork and chicken liver (you can use pork or lamb liver but the taste is stronger overall).
DeleteDc I think of you whenever I think of faggots - and that is meant to be a compliment! I must make another large batch soon, as we loved the ones I made last time from your recipe and we had them several times over from the freezer. We didn't seem to have much problem with 'mushiness' to be honest, but it is certainly a good tip to freeze the gravy separately.
ReplyDeleteMaking meatballs today from pork mince, sausage-meat and stuffing. Will be having some for tea and freezing the other two batches.
DeleteWhen I ate meat I used to love faggots. You have got my taste buds going mmmm ..... I wonder if I can make a veggie version..... Xxxx
ReplyDelete