This is a basic barbecue sauce that’s based on a commercial one that was available in the UK until recently.
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Snack Sticks – Five Spice
Snack sticks offer wonderful opportunities to experiment with new flavors.
This one uses five-spice powder, which is used extensively in Chinese cooking. Here it is used to flavor fermented snack sticks.
It is an original recipe.
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Easy Salami – Snack Sticks – An Introduction
Snack sticks, along with jerky, are an increasingly popular option for people looking for a fast, portable, high protein snack food. Most snack sticks are a cooked product (heated to 68-70 C). Some are smoked and / or dried as part of the manufacture. Fermented snack sticks, on the other hand, are an interesting subset of salami products.
Important: Changes to EU curing rules
An EU directive in October 2023 introduced changes to the permitted levels of nitrite and nitrate in cured food, which came into full effect on 9 October 2025.
The reason for the change is to reduce the chance of nitrosamine formation whilst keeping the meat safe. Nitrosamines have been linked to some forms of cancer. As home curers who do not sell their products, we don’t have to comply with this, and in the UK, even commercial suppliers don’t have to now that we’re no longer in the EU. However, I intend to – I think it would be irresponsible to ignore a law whose formulation is based on the advice of some of the best meat and other scientists in the world.
Cheese Roulade with Mushroom and Spinach
A nice meat-free dish that’s been adapted to reduce the fat level. It’s by no means low-fat, but making the sauce without butter or oil has reduced the fat. It could be reduced further by using a lower-fat cheese and skimmed milk.
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Potted Ham
This is a great recipe for all those odds and ends of ham that are left after slicing. It’s also a good way of using the hock or shank of a pig’s leg.
Chicken and Wild Rice Sausage Burger
Northern wild rice (Zizania palustrisis) is an interesting grain, it is one of four known wild rice types. My sister sent me this which was harvested by the Chippewa tribe in northern Minnesota.
The Types of Smoked Fish (UK)
Smoking fish, particularly cold-smoking, is a great starter project; it’s not only the sense of achievement in doing it, but it has a fairly large cost saving.
I’ll cover the procedures in another post but for now let’s look at the types of fish that are often smoked.
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Mexican Chorizo Aromatico
This chorizo can be easily modified to use chiles that are available and just ancho and arbol (for heat) would make a decent product. Using several chile types will create a greater depth of flavor and in particular, a smokiness can be added. In many areas of the US, dried Mexican chiles can be had for low prices.
Continue reading Mexican Chorizo AromaticoFig Jam
Until a couple of years ago, I’d never come across anyone with a fig tree. Recently, I’ve met two people growing them locally. This year’s been a good one for figs and I’ve been offered surplus from both people. Whilst I enjoy eating them raw, large quantities have a debilitating effect on my digestive system! Not nice when you’re a wheelchair user.
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