{"id":190069,"date":"2025-12-13T17:23:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T17:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/190069\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T17:23:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T17:23:09","slug":"special-beef-and-bacon-dishes-to-serve-on-the-big-day-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/190069\/","title":{"rendered":"Special beef and bacon dishes to serve on the big day \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week I\u2019m focusing on the main event, the centrepiece of the home cook\u2019s culinary calendar! And no, as you can see, I am not cooking turkey or ham this year. You can find these recipes in my 2023<\/a> and 2024<\/a> seasonal menus. <\/p>\n

In keeping with the focus of all our recipes, this is simple stuff. We are taking the best produce available, and doing very little to it. I\u2019m also conscious that Christmas recipes are always bandied about as if we are all catering for 30 (I couldn\u2019t think of anything worse from a standard home kitchen). While this is true of some, in many cases the number is far more manageable. For many readers of this column, there may be only two people dining, perhaps wishing to do something a little special or out of the ordinary. I\u2019m looking forward to my own Christmas dinner this year, just the three of us, plus a four-legged friend.<\/p>\n

The first recipe proposes some beautiful Irish beef. As prices have shot up this year, top-grade beef has moved toward the \u201cdelicacy\u201d category. For the day that\u2019s in it, I\u2019ve splashed out on a heavily dry aged c\u00f4te de boeuf. This is a bone-in fore rib of beef that benefits from slow, steady cooking. By cooking it in the bone, it retains moisture and offers the diner the pleasure of mercilessly gnawing at the leftovers in the most primitive fashion acceptable at your table. This is one of life\u2019s great joys. I\u2019m using the reverse sear method to cook this accurately. It may sound complicated, but it will make your Christmas cooking so much easier. <\/p>\n

\"13th:13th: The Main Event
\nCharred cote de beouf with homemade peppercorn and brandy sauce. Photograph: Harry Weir Photography <\/p>\n

When you\u2019re out doing your shopping, buy yourself a meat thermometer with a probe. This is a secret of the professional kitchen that avoids lots of drama. Place the tip of the probe in the thickest part of you beef near the bone, and set it to 48 degrees for a medium finish (the best way, in my opinion, as it allows the sinews to render). The whole thing goes on to a tray in your oven and all you have to do is let it slowly cook until it reaches the set temperature. The probe will survive the heat and the alarm will alert you when it\u2019s ready. <\/p>\n

Next, sear it off in a pan of foaming butter and allow it to char on all sides. Once sliced, the reverse searing method will deliver pink meat from edge to edge. A classic peppercorn and whiskey sauce on the side sets you up for a very special supper. This is how you treat top-quality Irish beef: fancy without the fuss.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0At the top of the meat market: \u2018It\u2019s the most delicious beef I can get my hands on\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Even more traditional is my second dish. Still just meat and sauce, this is my kind of cooking. I\u2019ve used the best quality loin of bacon I could find and just roasted it in the oven before finishing it with a simple glaze of honey and toasted seeds. <\/p>\n

\"Honey-glazedHoney-glazed loin of bacon with parsley and caper sauce. Photograph: Harry Weir <\/p>\n

The magic of this dish is that it works perfectly for two to eight people, depending on what length of loin you choose. In any case, get the biggest possible because the leftover sandwiches are off the charts. On the side is the classic parsley sauce, packed with capers, mustard and white wine vinegar to cut through the salty fat of the bacon. If you want to go all out, serve it up with some cabbage and roast potatoes and have yourself a very Irish Christmas.<\/p>\n

Recipe: Charred c\u00f4te de boeuf with home-made peppercorn and brandy sauce<\/a>Recipe: Honey-glazed loin of bacon with parsley and caper sauce<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This week I\u2019m focusing on the main event, the centrepiece of the home cook\u2019s culinary calendar! And no,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":190070,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,61,60,69986],"class_list":{"0":"post-190069","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-mark-moriarty"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}