Launched in 2018, The Lord Strange pub has quickly built a reputation for excellence in Liverpool and the wider north west. The name The Lord Strange Bar and Restaurant was inspired by Prescot’s heritage and link to the Earls of Derby, who reside at Knowsley Hall. Lord Strange was the 5th Earl of Derby and maintained a group of actors named ‘Strange’s Men’ who performed around the country.
Based in Prescot, a revitalised part of Merseyside which will soon be welcoming the “New Shakespeare North Playhouse,” the pub serves up a stylish selection of beer, wine and cocktails alongside a formidable menu, created by former winner of Head Chef (the Irish Masterchef) Harry Marquart.
Here’s Harry’s exquisite Bacon & Cabbage – pig four ways – paired with our Weizen
Serves 2
Pork Cheek
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable/sunflower oil
- 2 pork cheeks (silver skin removed; ask your butcher to remove if you are unsure)
- ½ onion roughly chopped
- ½ celery stick roughly chopped
- ½ carrot roughly chopped
- 1 garlic clove squashed
- 200ml Krombacher Dark
- 200ml Brown Chicken or Pork stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 sprigs of thyme
Method
Put a small frying pan on a med-high heat, add the oil. Place the pork cheeks in away from you. Brown one side and then turn the cheeks. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic and cook for a minute to allow them to sweat. Add the Krombacher Dark and reduce by half. Add the chicken/pork stock, bay leaf and thyme and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and put a lid or some greaseproof & tinfoil on the pan and place into an oven at 140C for 2 hours. Allow to cool a bit before removing the cheeks and straining the cooking liquor. Reduce the cooking liquor until it is thick enough to glaze the cheeks. Add the cheeks back in and reserve until ready to plate up.
Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 500g piece of pork belly
- 750ml chicken stock
Method
Place the belly into a baking dish skin side up, add the chicken stock until the level of the liquid is just below the skin. Cover with greaseproof and then wrap in tin foil. Place into a preheated oven at 140C for 4 hours. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before unwrapping. Remove the belly from the cooking liquor and press between 2 flat trays in the fridge overnight. You may need to use a few tins to weight it down. Reserve the cooking liquid for the sauce.
Pork Farce
Ingredients
- 300g lean pork meat
- 120g double cream
- 1tbsp olive oil
- 30g finely diced apple
- 30g finely diced shallot
- 30g finely diced smoked bacon
- 5g chopped chives
Method
In a food processor add the pork meat and blend until smooth. Pass the pork puree through a fine sieve using a bowl scraper to push it through into a clean bowl. You need 100 g of passed puree. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill. Meanwhile in a frying pan on a medium heat, add the oil followed by the bacon, shallot and apple. Sweat for a couple of minutes until some of the moisture has been removed. Place on a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain the fat and put in the fridge to chill. Take the puree from the fridge and add a pinch of salt. Next, using a plastic spatula, slowly add the double cream two tablespoons at a time, mixing after every addition. Add the chilled bacon, shallot and apple mix followed by the chives. Mix together and reserve in the fridge ready to wrap the pork loin.
Pork Loin
Ingredients
- 200g piece of pork loin
- 6 slices of thin streaky bacon
- ½ the Pork Farce from above
Method
Lay a piece of cling film onto a work surface, lay the strips of bacon lengthways away from you from right to left over lapping each one slightly. Spoon a little bit of the farce in the middle of the bacon to make a bed for the pork loin to sit on. Using a spoon add more of the farce around the pork loin so it is encased in it. Use the clingfilm to help you slowly wrap the bacon around the loin and farce and roll it into a Christmas cracker shape. Twist each side so that it becomes a tight cylinder. Tie the cling film on each end and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Heat up a pan of water until its simmering. Add the cylinder to it and poach it for 15 minutes until the middle has reached 62C you can check this with a kitchen thermometer. Using scissors, cut open the cling film and sear the cylinder in a pan to crisp up the bacon. Allow to rest.
Cabbage Cannelloni
Ingredients
- 3 large spring cabbage leaves
- ½ the farce from above
Method
Remove and place into a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking. Dry the leaves thoroughly between two layers of kitchen paper. Cut out the stems and reserve as garnish. Lay out a sheet of clingfilm and lay the cabbage leaves down lengthways away from you overlapping slightly. Spoon the farce into them and use the clingfilm to roll into a long tight cylinder. Tie each end of the clingfilm and poach for 12 mins in the same pot as the above pork loin until it has reached a temperature of 62C. Cut the clingfilm open with scissors and slice in cylinder shapes in to four pieces (two per portion).
Charred Onions & Cabbage Stems
Ingredients
- 1 onion cut in half
- Reserved Cabbage stems
Method
Place the onion flat side down in a pan and start to char over a high heat for a few minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and place in the oven for 10 minutes until tender. Remove and separate the onion petals ready for serving. Heat up the cabbage stems in some water, butter and salt.
Krombacher Dark Sauce
Ingredients
- 30ml Calvados
- 200ml Krombacher Dark
- 100ml Apple Juice
- Pork Belly Stock
- 2 tbsp of the pork cheek glaze
- 30g diced carrot
Method
Heat up a saucepan add the calvados and reduce to a syrup, add the Krombacher Dark and reduce by half, add the apple juice and reduce by half, add the diced carrot, pork belly stock and pork cheek glaze and reduce until you have a quarter of the liquid left. The more you reduce it the deeper the flavour will become. If you feel it’s to intense add a tablespoon of water.
Plating up the finished dish:
You can make all of these elements the day before and have them ready. You can also use these recipes individually and serve a simple but just as delicious version. If you are feeling adventurous then give the full recipe a go. Once you have all of the elements ready, it’s just a case of heating them all up and putting them on the plate.
4 Leyland St, Prescot, L34 5QP | 0151 230 873 | @thelordstrange