{"id":5630,"date":"2013-10-24T12:18:11","date_gmt":"2013-10-24T11:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jameswhelanbutchers.com\/info\/?p=5630"},"modified":"2014-08-06T15:34:50","modified_gmt":"2014-08-06T14:34:50","slug":"ball-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jameswhelanbutchers.com\/info\/5630\/ball-skills\/","title":{"rendered":"James Whelan Butchers: Ball Skills"},"content":{"rendered":"

I came across The Bowler at an event in the UK earlier this year.\u00a0 He\u2019s part of the street food movement that\u2019s been growing over the past few years.\u00a0 He makes gourmet meatballs using meat, fish and vegetables and serving them all from an eye catching grass covered van, affectionately known as the \u2018lawn ranger\u2019.\u00a0 It\u2019s a sight to behold, never fails to raise a smile and the meat balls are stunning.\u00a0 I\u2019m a particular fan as The Bowler (real name Jez Felwick) learned to cook at Ballymaloe and I love that Irish connection.<\/p>\n

This elevation of street food to gourmet status is something of a revolution and one that could only have been born due to recession and the existence of a burgeoning social media phenomenon. \u00a0The recession was a main driving factor because for many young and enthusiastic chefs it was an inexpensive route to market; no need for restaurant buildings, kitchens, contents and staff.\u00a0 It also afforded the cook the ability to go where the people were, rather than waiting for people to come to their fixed addresses.\u00a0 Also with lower overheads than a traditional restaurant you could offer great food at really good prices.<\/p>\n

\"Persian<\/a>Because of this major shift in thinking, the most exciting new food in the UK is being served from stands and out of vehicles on kerbsides and at festivals.\u00a0 We have great street food here in Ireland too, although it is more confined to festivals and food fairs rather than being commonplace in every town.\u00a0 You will always find interesting food stands at farmers\u2019 markets and this is where the UK street food movement started.\u00a0 Any good farmers market usually has a soup stand to feed both the shoppers and the other stall holders and, if you\u2019re lucky, you could come across a stand where the common sandwich is being taken to new and imaginative heights.\u00a0 What I particularly like are the stands that sell products ready to eat there and then, along with an opportunity to take some uncooked home to have later.\u00a0 From sausages and rare meats, trestle tables groaning under the weight of various breads and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and ground beans, farmers markets are great places to stroll around.\u00a0 I love eating my fill of an early weekend morning and then arriving home with a bag load of booty to enjoy later.<\/p>\n

In case you\u2019re thinking of taking to the road it has to be said that it isn\u2019t all a bowl of cherries and the street food business has its drawbacks. It\u2019s essential that you like early mornings as you\u2019ll see a lot of them in the preparation of any food van.\u00a0 It\u2019s a round the clock job feeding hungry concert goers and families at packed food markets.\u00a0 There are things to overcome like dying generators, not being able to hook up to power, having enough water and a plethora of other little niggles that could ruin a day\u2019s trading.\u00a0 There can be long mornings, long days and long nights of physical work involved but those that succeed tend to embrace the community and lifestyle.<\/p>\n

But I started this talking about The Bowler and his balls and that\u2019s where I want to finish.\u00a0 Meatballs, and the variety of ways to create them, are a great dish for all the family.\u00a0 You can make them ahead of time, most will freeze well, and the variety of sauces and accompaniments are vast.\u00a0 The other night I made a Bowler\u2019s meatball recipe; Lamb Rosemary and Garlic Meatballs with red wine gravy, served on mashed potato stuffed Yorkshire puddings with honey roasted vegetables.\u00a0\u00a0 It was great and we all agreed that traditional beef meatballs on the same bed of Yorkshires with traditional meat gravy would also work well, so that\u2019s on the list for this week.\u00a0 Every nation has a version of meatballs and a sauce to go with them so there\u2019s plenty to explore.<\/p>\n

I discovered the main difference between my balls and the expert Bowler\u2019s was the way we cooked them.\u00a0 Like the bowler I always used breadcrumbs and eggs in my recipes.\u00a0 \u00a0I too was happy to mix meats together such as pork and beef or chicken and prawns and\"Spicy<\/a> experiment with spices, herbs and condiments in the mix.\u00a0 However when it came to cooking meatballs, I would usually fry them and finish them off in the hot sauce.\u00a0 The Bowler, more often than not, tends to bake his balls.\u00a0 This was mainly to give him more control when cooking on the road but I have found that it is indeed a better way to cook them.\u00a0 Now I usually bake them for about 20 minutes (the size will dictate a longer or shorter time) and then finish them off in the pan if I wish to crisp up the outside.\u00a0 This baking business has revolutionised my ball skills.\u00a0 They don\u2019t need as much careful attention as when I used to fry them and there no pan splatters.\u00a0 Meatballs are tremendous value when you are feeding a family and they work with everything from creamy mash or rosti to spaghetti and even coleslaw.\u00a0 You can skewer them over a bed of roasted vegetables or make mini balls and pop them on cocktail sticks for perfect canap\u00e9s and there\u2019s a vast array of sauces to go with them.\u00a0 Meatballs, you can\u2019t beat them for an ideal family meal.<\/p>\n

This post was written by me, Pat Whelan, owner of James Whelan Butchers and a passionate advocate of local artisan food. My family have been producing quality Irish Angus beef for generations using a traditional dry aging process. This tradition is one that I continue to practice at our abattoir on our family farm in Garrentemple, Clonmel. These posts aim to impart some of the wisdom to readers and help them get the best out of the meat they eat! Our meat is available\u00a0online here!<\/a>\u00a0I welcome your feedback to\u00a0Pat@jwb.ie<\/a><\/p>\n

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 \u00a0James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Handweavers Rathcoole and Kilmacanogue, Dunnes Stores Cornelscourt, Rathmines and Swords in Dublin.\u00a0Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from James Whelan Butchers<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I came across The Bowler at an event in the UK earlier this year.\u00a0 He\u2019s part of the street food movement that\u2019s been growing over the past few years.\u00a0 He makes gourmet meatballs using meat, fish and vegetables and serving them all from an eye catching grass covered van, affectionately known as the \u2018lawn ranger\u2019.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[25],"tags":[566,153,99,599,145,269,571,570,48,600,552,47,598],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n