Haslet Meatloaf Recipe, by Caleb Botton
Haslet or Hayslet, Aslet, whatever way you pronounce it, is a dish close to my heart. My family would pronounce it Ay-slet. It’s sage and pepper taste was almost exotic; it would be a Sunday tea thing or for supper, something you stuck between thick sliced bread.
My grandfather had it as part of his salad, a few tomatoes, a bowl of gem lettuce, sliced cucumbers in malt vinegar and bread and butter it would go down a treat. I would be sent out to gather the herbs for this, parsley, sage and thyme. They grew out the back of my grandparents’ or in the farmers’ gardens close by. I would knock on the door and ask if I could pick some, they knew me, so always said yes.
I would proudly bring these bundles of flavour back home to be incorporated in this savoury beast of a loaf. This way I always felt I was part of what I was eating. I still think this important to this day.
This recipe is close to my heart as it is one of comfort, joy and remembrance. Haslet is a practical, no nonsense nose to tail eating that reflects all that I like about food. Simple, everyday sustenance and great in a sandwich.
Recipes for this vary by place and family within my culture; and have never written down because of culture and literacy. Though there is no fixed recipe, this one is from my family and to us is considered the only recipe.
Within my culture you were taught by watching, asking and listening, by standing close to the table without getting in the way (which I did all the time).
Haslet you ate cold, maybe standing maybe crouching, maybe at a table, a knife for slicing a pickled onion and to butter bread.
The ceremony of salt, fat, herbs, and an idea that if you didn’t earn tomorrow, you’d be eating the same again. Which we didn’t mind but we would want something else and work the harder for it; but we always had haslet.
Tips for Haslet:
- Taste before baking, you can fry a small patty and taste to see if the seasoning needs adjusting.
- The flavour will calm down after cooking but the saltiness won’t. It should be very flavourful and if it’s not, add more herbs.
- Pepper is good in this.
- There is a shaping and baking debate about whether to use a loaf tin or make a free form boule shape. I prefer to shape it myself rather than use a bread tin as I like the shape better and it browns more.
Ingredients for Haslet
- 500 to 700 g of belly pork, pork cheek and fatty minced pork, a few pork sausages will do too.
- 100g pig's liver, finely chopped
- 1 large onion
- Some course sea salt
- Half a cup of full milk, less is better
- Four slices of wholemeal bread, slightly stale to be crumbed.
- A knob of butter
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 to 2 tsp of smoked salt
- 2 tsp dried sage and a palm full fresh sage
- Handful of thyme
- Handful of Parsley
- Pig’s caul fat to wrap the meat
How to make Haslet
- Preheat your oven to 200 C, or gas high.
- Roughly chop the bread and parsley together and add to a bowl.
- Gently heat a knob of butter with the milk, do not boil. This will only take a few minutes as its just to melt the butter into the milk.
- Pour the milk and butter over the bread and stir and leave.
- Mince the pork and the liver, if you have bought pre-minced pork, chop the liver and add it to the mince. If you have a food processor, use this to mince the pork. Then put aside. My grandmother had some minced and some hand chopped course.
- Chop the onion in medium to small, diced pieces.
- Roll the sage into a cigar shape and finely cut and dice.
- Remove the thyme from the stalks and add to the sage and add this to the onion.
- Squeeze the excess liquid from the bread and break or chop into small chunks.
- Combine the pork mince with the liver, add the bread and onions, fresh and dry herbs and egg, with the salt, both peppers, and mix thoroughly, either with a wooden spoon or hands. Do not use all the salt and pepper at this point.
- Take a small ball of the mixture and shape into a patty or ball and fry in butter or oil until cooked through. Once cooked let it cool and taste. Add more salt, pepper, or herbs to the remaining mixture if needed.
- If using a loaf tin, grease with butter or lard and line with the caul fat. Then add the haslet mixture to the loaf tin pressing firmly so there are no air pockets or gaps.
- If using a roasting tray or large pot, shape into a boule, the top should be slightly domed and cover with the caul fat.
- Place the baking dish or loaf tin in a deep roasting tray and pour boiling water from a kettle into the tray until it comes just less than halfway up the sides. Cover with foil or parchment paper.
- Place into the oven and cook for 1 hour or until the juices run clear when a skewer is inserted.
- For the final 10 minutes take off the foil or paper and discard the tray with the water, increase the temperature to max to finish and brown.
- Remove from the oven and leave and leave for ten minutes.
- After ten or fifteen minutes pour off any juices, best to save this for gravy stock and leave to further cool for 50 minutes.
- Once cooled, place in the fridge for at least six hours to firm up.
