Online Butcher Pat Whelan writes on meat and food in general and this week he talks healthy eating for diabetics.

I know you’ll all be thrilled to hear that my new exercise and eating programme are going according to plan and, so far, I have managed to shift close to six pounds in weight or just over 2 kilos!  Okay, given the fact that I am a tall, broad man let’s not break out the bunting just yet.  I’m not expecting huge gasps about my diminished physical appearance and few will notice any visible difference, but I do and I’m absolutely thrilled with the progress.

If I’m honest I have spent more time working on the exercise than pursuing a punitive eating regime.  Basically I’m keeping an eye on portion size, making slightly better choices and saying ‘No’ to unnecessary snacks; hardly deprivation.  However the more I delve into this lifestyle change the more I realise how timely it actually was.  My own research suggests that my increasing waistline was pushing me closer and closer to ill health than I would ever have readily admitted. We know that being unfit and overweight makes it difficult to exert too much energy without feeling distinctly winded. Then along with the difficult breathing and gasping for air, your heart is pounding furiously and working much harder than it was ever intended to.  Now I’m not referring to feeling like this after a long run or vigourous workout, but when the exercise has been a race against a three year old one length of the hallway and even with such short legs he still wins!  I wish I could tell you that my three year old was displaying Olympic potential and that’s why I can’t beat him, but that’s just not true. While I was aware of the threat of heart disease, to my great shame, I was largely ignoring an even bigger potential problem on the horizon and that was type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes occurs when the blood sugar level is too high.  This happens when the body is not burning up carbohydrates properly due to a defect in the pancreas, the gland that produces insulin.  Insulin is the hormone which keeps blood sugar levels within the normal healthy range.  Diabetes may be present either when no insulin is made or when insulin is made but not working properly.  Type 1 diabetes often occurs before the age of 35 and usually in people who produce no insulin.  They have to inject insulin to regulate blood sugar levels.  Type 2 diabetes is where a person can make insulin but the system is malfunctioning, usually due to overload.  That is why type 2 is usually associated with being overweight and is more commonly found in adults over the age of 40.   Where type 2 is concerned lifestyle and diet are hugely important for regulation and control and, indeed, prevention in the first place.  While symptoms of diabetes vary in instensity they may include lack of energy, tiredness, excessive thirst, frequent peeing, vision blurring and recurrent infection.  Just to clarify, these are only guides: I’m a butcher and not reliable for medical facts but I do know a few people with diabetes and how they maintain normal lives despite it.

Whether type 1 or type 2 the most important thing for the diabetic is to maintain proper blood sugar levels.  The diabetic must always remember that there is a ditch on both sides of the road.  Going too long without food can be just as problematic as eating the wrong foods.  Balance is very important.  For this reason many diabetics find it better to eat several smaller meals throughout the day rather than three large meals with protracted intervals in between.  The diet should include a variety of fruits including apples, oranges, peaches and plums.  It is recommended to eat whole fruit as it provides plenty of soluble fibre as well as natural sugar.  Whole grain is much better when it comes to bread, pasta and cereals.  Fish is seen as a lifesaver for diabetics especially considering that fish, like salmon and sardines, are full of omega 3 fatty acids which are said to help reduce the risk of heart disease.  Diabetic cooking should definitely include a little seafood.  Vegetables, which should be part of any good diet are also good for diabetics particularly the greens such as asparagus, broccoli, spinach and cauliflower.  Protein is also crucial and lean and red meat and poultry play their part.  While meat and poultry are excellent sources of protein for the diabetic the key is to limit the amount of fat.  Eat the poultry without the skin and look for lean cuts of meat.

The diabetics and those that live with diabetics that I know are all a little wary of specific ‘diabetic’ food.  They use one or two products but often sparingly and most try and eat as naturally as possible seeing this as a healthier approach all round.  Specially produced diabetic foods also tend to be more expensive than their mass produced equivalents for non diabetics.  Of course the thing with food is that if you are preparing meals for a family and people have special dietary requirements, it is always good to find recipes that everyone can share without singling out the person with the ‘disease’.  That’s what I’ve attempted to do this week and as lamb is a lean meat it certainly ticks all the boxes.

Finally though, type 2 diabetes is largely preventable by a change in lifestyle.  If you are at risk forget about losing weight for cosmetic reasons and think about how just a few small changes could have you back on the road to excellent health in no time.  Life is short and we should enjoy it particularly when it comes to food, but we won’t be able to do that if we’re unwell.  Take control today, the choice is up to you.

I welcome your feedback to [email protected]

We hope you enjoyed reading this post by Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers. Pat is a 5th generation butcher, cook book author and the director of  James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Handweavers Rathcoole and Kilmacanogue, Dunnes Stores Cornelscourt, Rathmines and Swords in Dublin. Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from James Whelan Butchers

The human condition is a strange one indeed.  We are always on the look out for the next ‘new’ thing; eagerly anticipating its arrival.  It is particularly obvious when it comes to technology.  Once the object of our desire and fascination is procured we adore it for all of five minutes and then quickly get used to it and suddenly realise that despite the advantages we now have yet another gadget to mind, manage and administer.  I have noticed that we can sometimes apply the same philosophy to food.  Having lived through and survived the tiger years we are now a nation of well travelled and relatively sophisticated people.  In a lifetime most of us can recall a fine dining experience or two, sampling the exotic at least once and, of course, television regularly beams its take on epicurean sophistication into our living rooms.  With our new found interest in culinary arts we have to be careful that we don’t fall into the trap of considering it boring or old fashioned unless it is three miniscule pieces of monkfish arranged like a piece of art on a plate with a red coloured sauce dotted around the sides and the green of some rocket setting the whole thing off.

In every other sphere of human enjoyment reinvention is the name of the game.  Fashion is a good example with headlines often screaming the return of some decade or another.  To be honest it is all a little lost on me as I am in the fortunate position of having my own personal stylist; my wife.  Unless it was blatantly obvious I probably couldn’t tell you which era somebody was wearing but I understand the theory that everything eventually comes back into fashion, often with just a small twist.  For most men the analogy is probably better drawn in the world of music.  Classic songs are often recorded by modern artists who give them a new lease of life.  Often they will just re-record; a new voice offering the only freshness required. Usually there is a new arrangement, the addition of a little sax perhaps or replacing an acoustic guitar with an electric one to rock it all up.  Fast energetic songs have been slowed down to modern ballads and vice versa.  In many cases the original song with the original artist has been taken and re-mastered or re-mixed with some new instruments or an additional vocal and, like magic, a new hit is born.  It was the same lyric and the same song with just enough tweaking for it to feel new all over again.

If we apply this to food we get what I like to call the cornflakes theory.  If you haven’t had cornflakes in a long time and consider them boring, just try a bowl and you will be surprised how good they are.  Stick with cornflakes everyday for a month and pretty soon they will be relegated back to the place where you considered that eating the box was more appetising.  This just proves our need as humans for variety but we mustn’t mix up variety with the pressure of constantly needing ‘new’ and ‘original’.

Recently with friends coming over for an informal kitchen supper I suggested a simple Shepherds Pie.  While nobody said anything as such I felt little enthusiasm about it.  Now to clarify I will admit to being a philistine and making my version of Shepherds Pie with beef mince rather than lamb.  As someone once pointed out to me “You don’t see shepherds minding cattle!”  Hence Shepherds Pie is traditionally made with lamb with a mashed potato topping and Cottage Pie is the one using the beef.  So if I’m being correct, I was attempting a Cottage Pie.

So here I was with a simple dish that has sustained generations.  What happened next was interesting.  Having been sidetracked completely by the newspaper, I prepared the meat filling and suddenly realised I was up against time when it came to peeling and mashing potatoes and then baking the whole thing in the oven.  As necessity is the mother of invention I had to actually think.  I hoped that the god of the fridge would speak in a loud inspirational voice if I peered inside.  I wasn’t disappointed.  Staring up at me were some sad and slightly stale pitta breads.  There was no doubt that their next destination was the bin.  With a surge of hope I grabbed them and threw them into the blender making a decent batch of pitta breadcrumbs.  I grated some lovely local cheese and then cut up some fresh chives and mixed the whole lot together to form a crumb topping and spread it over the meat mixture.  I also randomly dotted some small knobs of butter about the top as well.  While that baked in the oven I prepared my signature creamy mash.

For fun I brought the entire dish to the table where the pitta and cheese crust had browned beautifully and looked really inviting.  Breaking into the dish with a spoon I felt like a ravenous animal breaking the ice on a frozen pond and finding the lovely ice cool water beneath. In my case it was the steaming, aroma of the meat filling that rose up and as it filled the air it drew pleasing sighs from my little hungry audience.  All I can say is that plates were literally licked clean and one or two went back for seconds.  We had all forgotten the pleasures and comfort of a simple Shepherds (Cottage) Pie.  My necessary twist of pitta bread topping certainly gave it a modern edge but the reality is that in terms of food, it was no different to how my own mother made it years ago; fresh meat, local vegetables, good quality stock and a few locally sourced herbs and everyone felt like they had been introduced to something ‘new’ again.

You see food, just like music and songs, has a wonderful power and ability to invoke memories; both good and bad.  I was blessed to have a mother and other family members who could cook well.  Looking back their food would be considered simple by today’s sophisticated standards, but like good songs they are dishes that have stood the test of time.  Indeed most modern dishes are just fancy twists on something that has gone before it.  I think it was the great King Solomon who said, “There is nothing new under the sun.”  Then again I think he would probably have been pretty impressed with the iPhone.  I welcome your feedback to [email protected]

We hope you enjoyed reading this post by Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers. Pat is a 5th generation butcher, cook book author and the director of  James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Handweavers Rathcoole and Kilmacanogue, Dunnes Stores Cornelscourt, Rathmines and Swords in Dublin. Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from James Whelan Butchers

Online Butcher Pat Whelan writes on meat and food in general and this week he talks about his plans to loose weight through exercise and healthy eating.

I really felt that the Chinese New Year falling on the 3^rd of February was so appropriate.  I’ve always maintained, and even mentioned it here once or twice, that the western way of declaring all things new in the deep winter of January 1^st is folly in the extreme.  We make impossible resolutions just after a mammoth Christmas blowout.  Instead of taking the time to savour the memories of December and complete the hibernation period of winter, humans throw themselves into new regimes that just go against nature. Generally we start off with great gusto and by the middle of January the ‘f’ word is rearing its ugly head. (I was thinking ‘failure’ but I have no doubt that the other ‘f’ word will be uttered many times also.)

For the purposes of this I am going to concentrate on those that made New Year’s diet resolutions.  If your diet and exercise plan has already been abandoned, don’t worry, you are not alone.  The problem is you started too early.  January should be about gearing up gently towards the beginning of something new that will start in the spring, which technically was February 1^st.  The first month should be used to clear the house of all the tempting Christmas leftovers and think about the year ahead, slowly.  It is also a month where dark, cold days and nights are not helpful to outdoor exercise.  By February all that is changing.  There is a noticeable stretch in daylight hours and a natural feeling of rebirth and ‘newness’ in the air.  This natural sense of energy will influence appetite and activity if you allow yourself to sync with it.

I’m unusually conscious of diets and weight loss this week because I have declared to the world, via Twitter, that I am determined to lose one pound a week until the end of the year.  Maybe you could join me?  While Twitter is a fun way to communicate, having made the statement I suddenly realised that I had just told several hundred people about my plan so I’d better stick to it.  The other factor that has spurred me to action is the frankness of some of our elderly customers at the shop.   From personal experience I am convinced that the older you get the part of your brain that says, “Don’t say that”, diminishes in effectiveness and after the age of about 75 it stops working completely and you are free to say what you like.  I know this because the only people that comment on my weight are elderly customers.  One kind soul recently enquired if I was having trouble with an overactive thyroid.  No, no, just an overactive fork I’m afraid!

And that’s really the nub of it isn’t it?  Eat less and exercise more; it is a simple philosophy but, for some reason we just don’t get it.  I probably don’t get enough proper exercise these days.  Like everyone else I’ll play the ‘time’ card and cite all the other commitments in my life.  However, we all get the same 24 hours in a day and there are plenty of very happy and successful people that haven’t lost a family or let their businesses go by spending time exercising.  On the other hand the thought of exercising is often much worse than the actual activity itself.  As someone once said, “Why punish your legs for something your lips have done.”

The other common pitfall with diets is that we set silly goals and then look at the mountain of work ahead of us and the ultimate goal weight that seems impossible.  I’ve tried all that and it hasn’t worked.  This time I’m aiming for a one pound weight loss and concentrating on this week only.   I am ‘chunking it’ down as they say in the self help world; chopping it up into tiny bite size pieces and I think I might just get there.

This first week is going to be all about awareness of portion size and rebalancing my plate.  In my case it is probably the amount of food I am consuming rather than the type of food that is to blame.  I love good nutritious, wholesome food that is health giving, but even too much of that can cause problems.  I love meat but I’m going to watch the gravy and the sauces for both content and quantity.  I did a great chicken and spinach curry over the weekend and, just as a little experiment, I used a low fat coconut milk in the recipe rather than the normal full fat one.  No one noticed the difference!  That’s my strategy this time; no big, grandiose gestures, but small, manageable changes.  I am a butter lover and have no desire to move some chemically created butter like substance into my fridge because I find that I can really believe it’s not butter, but I am going to monitor and reduce my use of the real stuff a tad.

I also intend to try and do it nature’s way this time.  Isn’t it interesting that as the animals wake after the heavy sleep of winter the foods available naturally are all light, crisp and refreshing?  Baby vegetables, like little leeks, scallions, small tender carrots young spinach and rhubarb abound with lovely fresh mint and chives from the herb gardens.  Spring lamb will be springing back into focus any day now and some juicy lamb chops and tender vegetables can make a delicious and relatively light meal.  Indeed a rack of lamb is a great succulent roast with, of course, some fresh mint sauce.  Actually mint also works well with duck and when accompanied by baby new potatoes and a few freshly cooked asparagus tips the result is sublime and healthful.

How you cook can also have an impact so for the next week I am going to include at least one stir fry, some steamed vegetables and maybe a light casserole.  And on that I leave you with my other substitution tip for the week; instead of enriching your casseroles with full fat cream at the end, try a little reduced fat crème fraiche or, better still, low fat Greek yoghurt; again a small change that won’t compromise taste.  Here’s to this time next week when I will be one pound lighter than I am today. There is definitely a slim and healthy person on the inside of me screaming to get out but up to now I’ve been trying to kill him with fine Swiss chocolate.  Next time he calls I’ll encourage him with a mange tout and who knows, maybe one day we might actually get to meet. I’ll let you know from time to time how I’m getting on and if you are taking up the challenge of one pound a week with me let me know by email, facebook or twitter or drop by the shop at the Oakville Shopping Centre. I welcome your comments to [email protected]

We hope you enjoyed reading this post by Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers. Pat is a 5th generation butcher, cook book author and the director of  James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Handweavers Rathcoole and Kilmacanogue, Dunnes Stores Cornelscourt, Rathmines and Swords in Dublin. Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from James Whelan Butchers

Online Butcher Pat Whelan writes on meat and food in general and this week he talks about healthy eating.

I’m always interested in finding new cookbooks and when one comes along that also has an interesting background story then I’m instantly hooked. I particularly like to gather a stack of such books for January and February each year.  This is never a problem as given the hectic schedules of November and December in my business, reading takes a back seat.  I still buy books during this time and of course Christmas gifts always yield a few good tomes as well.  By the short and sometimes dreary days of January my stash is rich and with fire lit and a steaming mug of tea for company I’ll settle down to explore my booty.  It’s a simple but hugely indulgent pleasure.  In the days before children this would often happen on a wet weekend afternoon but these days with the joys of family life, such delights have to wait until the rest of the house are safely tucked up in bed and so this little hobby can often take me into the small hours of the morning.

One of the books in this year’s January haul was “The Secret Ingredient”, a marvellous read by an English woman called Sally Bee.

While the recipes are great it was Ms Bee’s personal story that was the main hook.  Looking at her picture her story is both surprising and inspiring.  In 2004 Sally Bee was just 36 when she suffered three massive heart attacks that almost killed her.  She was a mother and a wife and had all the appearances of a fit and healthy woman.  Nature certainly blessed her with good looks and she enjoyed keeping fit and eating healthily and was also a non smoker.  This healthy appearance however was almost her undoing as when she presented to a hospital with severe chest pains having suffered the first heart attack, she was such an unlikely candidate for coronary problems that it was overlooked!  Two more subsequent heart attacks and the medics took notice.  She writes very candidly about her experience in the hospital, how close she came to giving up on life and the emotions that surfaced.  At one point her husband was called to say goodbye as doctors held out little hope of survival let alone full recovery.

They discovered that she had a very rare disease that literally caused the artery to the heart to disintegrate.  Miraculously having been given just hours to live, she did survive and now write about health to help others.   I’ve often banged on about healthy eating, natural ingredients and avoidance of processed foods but Sally Bee’s testimony seals the fact that proper food and good living are the secret ingredients to a good life.

One of the things I loved about the book is that it doesn’t compromise on taste and, as she cooks for a family, she understands the pressures and the need for convenience and simplicity.   There isn’t a difficult recipe or unavailable ingredient anywhere and her writing is very joyful and positive. Throughout the book she also gives tips on family life.  With a commitment to the belief that appropriate diet and good nourishment are crucial contributors to lifelong sustainability of health and fitness you could easily start by incorporating a Sally Bee recipe into your repertoire once or twice a week.

I suppose what I am most impressed with is that while low fat and low salt are hallmarks of her thinking, she does not eliminate any food group.  Her theory makes sense to me.  I have a very good friend who has done a great deal of research into diet and food.  He often cites the fact that while there is indeed a low rate of heart disease among people who eat a Mediterranean diet which is based largely on fruit and vegetables, there is also an extremely low rate of heart disease among Eskimo people who never see a vegetable or fruit as very little grows in the snow!   His point is that it is not the food but the nutrients in the food that are crucial and the body needs certain nutrients to function properly.  All natural foods carry various nutrients that the body needs.

Let’s face it food and healthy eating are not rocket science and you can’t turn around these days without something about diet being thrust into the spotlight.  What we actually need are simple ways to translate all the knowledge that we have and the knowledge available to us into a family meal that is affordable, easy to make and a hit with the crowd around the table.  While it’s always nice to go all out every now and again for a full fancy chef, cooking experience our usual day to day kitchen exploits should be simple and enjoyable for both the cook and the diners.  I spend most of my time in that area of simple, tasty, nutritious food.  I tend to use fresh ingredients and flavour my food with herbs and spices; in effect just like my mother before me and her mother did also.  It is a very simple philosophy that has served me well.  Looking at the list of recipes in The Secret Ingredient meat features with several recipes for beef, lamb, pork, chicken and fish all included.

Good food and diet are easy ways to address poor health and start you and your family on the road to wellness and long life.  Sadly too many people equate good food and diet with boring, tasteless meals and twenty two things to do with lentils and brown rice!  It needn’t be so at all.  We have an abundance of excelleny foods locally and a wealth of recipe and cooking information at our fingertips.  The only thing holding us back from long and healthy lives is our apathy to finding the truth.  If you have a healthy but tasty recipe I’d love to hear from you and I promise to share it with as many as possible.  You can email me at…….  Have a happy and healthy week.

We hope you enjoyed reading this post by Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers. Pat is a 5th generation butcher, cook book author and the director of  James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Handweavers Rathcoole and Kilmacanogue, Dunnes Stores Cornelscourt, Rathmines and Swords in Dublin. Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from James Whelan Butchers

Online Butcher Pat Whelan writes on meat and food in general and this week he talks pastry.

When we consider pastry we always think of pies and sweet food as even the desert makers in kitchens are often known as pastry chefs.  Of course the French and the Danish in particular, have made an art form of sweet pastries; often considered the dieters nemesis.  Knowing both how to use and make pastry properly is an invaluable skill for any cook.  It is actually quite simple but today the range of shop bought pastry available is a fantastic standby and works perfectly well.

It is hard to tell where pastry and its use, particularly with savoury foods, originated.   One theory suggests ancient Egypt.  Considering that they came up with the Pyramids that have mystified engineers forever, I can go along with the thought that a pie wouldn’t be beyond the bounds of possibility.  The Egyptians passed the idea along to the Greeks.  It then made its way to Rome and from there to the rest of Europe.  The English thoroughly embraced the idea of the pie and there are many references to it from the middle ages.  Originally the pastry wasn’t for eating but creating a natural casing or holder for the food.  You would crack open the pastry shell and then throw it away once the contents were consumed.  To be fair to our ancestors this isn’t too surprising as the pastry case, which was often made with oil, didn’t taste very nice.  It was only when they started using lard and butter in the pastry that it became an edible addition.  No doubt you’ve heard the saying ‘to eat humble pie’. This came from medieval England where a dish called ‘umble pie’ was served to the poor and less fortunate.  The good meat was reserved for the pies of the King and the important guests while the entrails, of a deer usually, were minced up for umble pie.  Say it with a cockney accent and you’ll get the idea.

It’s not all about full coverage pies; pastry is also useful as an open casing for savoury tarts and quiches, both large and individual.  If the pastry is good then it really can stretch the meat quite substantially.  Pastry based dishes also have a good ‘make ahead’ value and are great freezer standbys.  During the cold snap in December I know several people that availed of the time to batch cook and several others who were delighted to find their freezers full of warming pastry encased meat, ready to go.  If you are going to make your own pastry don’t forget to experiment a little and try adding some cheese to the mix for something different.

The two main types of pastry are shortcrust and puff, sometimes called flaky pastry.  At James Whelan Butchers we would often use flaky for our individual meat parcels which are always popular, but stick with shortcrust for quiches and pies.  I’m a little bit of a maverick in that I don’t believe in too many rules but definitely shortcrust works better as a base. Puff, as the name suggests, puffs up during baking becoming light and flaky.  Making homemade shortcrust pastry is very easy and allows for experimentation but I recommend buying puff pastry unless you have time to be fiddling about with layers of butter and pastry and endless rolling.

From Delia to Darina, they will all tell you that one of the rules of pastry making is to keep everything cool.  While it sounds like effort, always have a bowl of iced water nearby.  I like to use plain white flour as shortcrust pastry tends to be quite crumbly when you’re making it.  I have found that self raising flour makes it softer and more difficult to handle.  The fat you use will determine much; the taste will be affected depending on the use of margarine, lard or butter but it also impacts on the texture.  You can of course mix the fats also for different results; equal parts lard and butter is many a chef’s preference.   The water used for combining everything together should be very cold and used sparingly.   Water isn’t the only liquid as some specialist dishes call for milk or even yoghurt but hone your skill with water first.

If you see the words ‘double crust’ in a recipe this simply means pastry at the bottom as well as a pastry lid; encasing the whole dish.  This is really good for stretching a batch of meat.  The traditional apple tart would be considered a double crust.  Usually if I am making a rich meat pie that only requires a pastry lid I am happy to use one of the many ceramic or Pyrex dishes that I have gathered in the kitchen over the years but a double crust really requires a metal dish.  While enamel dishes are probably not considered as pretty as their ceramic cousins, metal is just a better conductor of heat and so will cook the pastry on the bottom so much better.  Enamel dishes come in a range of sizes and while not necessarily all frilly, brightly coloured, chunky and sexy, they are relatively inexpensive.    Many people stick fork holes in the top of the pastry before the oven.  This is not purely for decoration but allows the steam to escape during cooking and prevents the pastry lid from getting soggy.  If you are browsing a good cook shop some day try and find a pie funnel.  This sits in the middle of the pie during cooking and lets the steam out very efficiently.  Mine was a gift and I was very amused that it’s in the shape of a blackbird which always raises a comment if a pie is taken from the oven to the table.  Talking of things sticking out of the pastry, for this reason lamb shank pies are also an interesting dish and don’t be afraid to use pastry strips to build up a lattice network.

For basic shortcrust pastry, put the flour in a bowl and add the fat, which I like to cut into small cubes.  Using your very cold fingertips rub the fat into the flour, working quickly, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Add the water very gradually, mixing it in with another cold utensil.  Once you have a dough-like substance in the bowl turn it out onto a very lightly floured surface, knead lightly into a ball, wrap in cling film and pop it into the fridge for a minimum of 15 minutes.  This resting period is very important.  It will keep like this in the fridge for up to two days or you can freeze it.  When rolling shortcrust it can fall apart a little but just patch up the gaps.  However my final tip, particularly with quiches and open tarts is that shortcrust pastry tends to shrink during cooking.  I always drape it over the pie dish and cut off the excess with a sharp knife after cooking rather than trimming it before it goes into the oven.  If I have whetted your appetite for a savoury pastry but you don’t have the time to make it yourself drop by James Whelan Butchers today for some great inspiration.  We’d love to see you.

We hope you enjoyed reading this post by Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers. Pat is a 5th generation butcher, cook book author and the director of  James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Handweavers Rathcoole and Kilmacanogue, Dunnes Stores Cornelscourt, Rathmines and Swords in Dublin. Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from James Whelan Butchers