1 Sheep’s pluck, *
3 lb Beef liver
1 lb Chicken livers
2 Lamb shanks
1/2 lb Beef heart
2 Cubes chicken bouillon
2 Cubes beef bouillon
2 Cubes vegetable boullion
1 lb Beef suet
4 sl Bacon/smoked salt pork,
-chopped and fried
4 lg Yellow onions, chopped fine
2 c Old-fashioned oatmeal (NOT
-instant)
1 c Steel-cut oats
2 tb Sea salt
4 ts Cracked black pepper
1 tb Cracked red pepper
4 Cloves garlic, crushed
1 ts Thyme
1 ts Rosemary
2 ts Sage
4 tb Parsley
*NOTE: To make modern sheep’s pluck, sew a drawstring bag of doubled muslin
(finished size 12″x18″). Wash in hot water with washing soda. Rinse three
times, salt and leave overnight. Rinse thoroughly in cold water and airdry.
Washing and salting should be after every use.
Place meat in a large saucepan or Dutch oven; do not drain blood (add to
pot) and cover with water. Bring to a boil uncovered, reduce heat, cover
and simmer for ~1.5 hours, adding water as required. Remove from heat and
strain, reserve stock and return to heat. While meat cools, add boullions
to stock and return to a boil for about 15 minutes. Do not reduce too far
as you will need 3 – 4 cups of stock later.
When meat is cool enough to handle, remove bones and gristle. Pass all meat
first through coarse blade of a grinder; then pass all meat and suet
through fine blade. Place ground mixture in a large bowl and cool to room
temperature.
Spread oatmeal and cut oats on a cookie sheet and place under oven broiler.
When oats begin to brown around the edges, remove and toss with a spatula
to turn, return to broiler and continue until all are lightly browned.
When meat has cooled, add all other ingredients except the stock and mix
dry with a pastry blender until uniformly blended. Slowly add stock,
stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to clump together. Add one
cup of stock to mixture. Spoon mixture into “sheep’s pluck”, pack lightly.
Add any remaining liquid to the top of the mixture and tie off.
Place bag in pasta cooker, pour any liquied that drained out over the bag
and add water to steaming level. Cover and steam ~3 hours, adding water as
necessary. Do not let boil dry! About 20 minutes before serving, remove bag
in colander part of pasta cooker and allow contents to rest and drain. Open
bag, turn onto platter and serve.
NOTES : If you desire a coarser texture, increase the steel-cut oats and
omit the second meat grind. For a smoother texture, substitute oatmeal for
steel-cut oats and add one or two beaten eggs to final mix. For festive
occasions or to suit your particular taste, substitute the final cup of
stock with a cup of Scotch whisky.
Yields
12 Servings