Bally bostin' food and memories frum the Black Country
Faggots
Location: Black Country
Era: Timeless
“We cooked various Black Country dishes in our shop, like hocks – you know, pigs’ feet and stuff like that. I would come down in the morning and find my Step Mum boiling hocks for ages and people would order them because they were so popular. And we made faggots and peas. My abiding memory of making faggots and peas is this – you had to mince the meat with an old-fashioned mincer which was strapped to a table. I was given this job one day just before going out. I’d just bought the best pair of shoes I’d ever had in my life – a nice pair of suede shoes, not fashionable today but very fashionable then. Anyway, I pushed all the meat into the top of the mincer and minced away. But as the meat comes out at the bottom, the blood comes out too. And I looked down and my new suede shoes were all spotted with blood. So, they were no good after that. But I learned a lesson. Never make faggots with your best suede shoes on! People used to order faggots from our shop and come and collect them. I remember the BBC doing stories about regional foods and they wanted to do something from the Black Country. And because a newspaper had already done a feature about our home-made faggots, the BBC rang up and asked for some. Then they actually sent a taxi to our shop! Not to collect a person, just a tray of faggots. So, our faggots appeared on the telly and they actually had their own taxi to take them there!” Roger Vincent
“We cooked various Black Country dishes in our shop, like hocks – you know, pigs’ feet and stuff like that. I would come down in the morning and find my Step Mum boiling hocks for ages and people would order them because they were so popular. And we made faggots and peas. My abiding memory of making faggots and peas is this – you had to mince the meat with an old-fashioned mincer which was strapped to a table. I was given this job one day just before going out. I’d just bought the best pair of shoes I’d ever had in my life – a nice pair of suede shoes, not fashionable today but very fashionable then. Anyway, I pushed all the meat into the top of the mincer and minced away. But as the meat comes out at the bottom, the blood comes out too. And I looked down and my new suede shoes were all spotted with blood. So, they were no good after that. But I learned a lesson. Never make faggots with your best suede shoes on! People used to order faggots from our shop and come and collect them. I remember the BBC doing stories about regional foods and they wanted to do something from the Black Country. And because a newspaper had already done a feature about our home-made faggots, the BBC rang up and asked for some. Then they actually sent a taxi to our shop! Not to collect a person, just a tray of faggots. So, our faggots appeared on the telly and they actually had their own taxi to take them there!” Roger Vincent
Ingredients
- Pig innards – Lungs, Liver, Heart
- Pork belly
- Breadcrumbs
- Dried herbs
- Salt and Pepper
- Caul Fat
Method
Chop the meat products and then use a food processor to break them down to a fine mince.
Mix the meat mince with the dry ingredients.
Shape into balls and cover each ball in caul fat.
Put the faggots into a baking dish and add enough water to come halfway up the faggots.
Cook in a medium oven for about 40 minutes.
Serve with buttery mashed potato, mushy peas and a good
rich gravy.
