Dish of the day – from nose to tail on the plate

Ox liver, lamb's heart and twice braised tripe are not common dishes these days, but the proprietors of a South Yorkshire gastro pub are hoping to get people eating them again.

The Milestone in Sheffield is encouraging guests to rediscover the less fashionable but tastier cuts of meat and try out dishes that would have been all too familiar to our mothers and grandmothers.

Owner Matt Bigland said:"These cuts of meat definitely deserve more of our attention and we're aiming to show guests that the flavours they deliver can be incredible.

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"It's a shame that some of these cuts have gradually fallen out of fashion in favour of the more well-known cuts, but hopefully we will get people trying out dishes

they may never have heard of and realising what they're missing!"

The idea of the Nose to Tail week is to enable The Milestone chefs to use an animal in its entirety and butcher the whole carcass, using everything from the "Nose to Tail" of an animal

to provide a wide variety of cuts of meat.

The Milestone was awarded a prestigious Michelin-recommendation in the latest Michelin guide to eating out in pubs 2010 and last year scooped Restaurant of the Year 2009 at the eatSheffield Awards.

Lamb Heart

(served rare)

1 heart (lamb)

Salt (pinch)

1tsp vegetable oil

Rosemary (1 sprig)

15g butter

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Trim off all outer fat from the lamb heart and discard. With a small knife take out the arteries from the top of the heart then slice the heart into 1cm thick slices, or alternatively leave whole.

Oil the lamb and season with salt. Chop the rosemary and put to one side. Preheat a non-stick frying pan and, when hot, lay in the slices of lamb – cook for about 15 seconds on each side. If you are cooking the heart whole, place in the pan and keep turning until fully coloured then roast in a hot oven (180C) for 5-7 minutes.

When cooked, place the butter in the pan with the rosemary and spoon over the lamb, then serve.

Onion jam:

2 large red onions peeled and sliced

Red wine vinegar (2-3 teaspoons)

Brown sugar/Demerara sugar

(2-3 teaspoons)

1 small glass red wine

1tsp vegetable oil

Sweat down the onions with a little oil in a heavy bottom pan (on a low heat) until soft. Then add the red wine, sugar and vinegar.

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Cook for about one hour – keep checking and adding a little water making sure it does not boil dry then reduce until it is the required consistency.

Confit pork belly with winter vegetables,

sage dumplings and apple sauce

Confit Pork Belly

1kg pork belly

2tsp sea salt

250gm duck fat

1 sprig of thyme

1 sprig of rosemary

1 garlic bulb

pint of chicken stock

Salt the belly on the skin side and leave in the fridge for two hours to draw out any excess liquid. Wipe off the salt with kitchen roll.

Place the belly in a casserole dish with the thyme, rosemary and garlic bulb. Pour the stock into the casserole dish being careful not to saturate the pork skin. Melt the duck fat and pour over the belly itself.

Cover with a lid and cook at 110C for between 3-4 hours (check constantly every 30 mins after the first two hours) due to different sizes of belly pork.

Spiced dumplings

100g plain flour

50g shredded beef suet

tsp salt

tsp baking powder

Water to bind

Picked thyme leafs chopped

1 chopped red chilli

Grated zest of one lemon

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Place all ingredients into a kitchen aid or a mixing bowl and mix until all the suet is incorporated into the dough. Allow to rest in the fridge for one hour. Then shape into 10 20g dumplings

Poach in boiling salted water until floating. Finally pan fry in a little vegetable oil to gain colour and texture. Pick a handful of sage leafs leaving a 1-2 cm stem on, deep fry at 180C for 10-15 seconds then turn out on to kitchen towel to absorb any excess oil.

Salt beef

2.5kg-3kg boned brisket of beef in one piece

200g sea salt

1tsp saltpetre (optional)

100g light Muscovado sugar

1tsp black peppercorns

100ml white wine vinegar

Water

1 carrot (diced)

1 onion (diced)

2 sticks celery (chopped)

2 pints beef stock

1 bunch thyme

1 large glass red wine

Cut the string off the brisket, open out and rub in the salt, peppercorns and sugar. Roll the brisket and tie with string.

In a large plastic container fill with around 3-4 pints of water and the vinegar, and place the beef into the container with a cup or bowl on top to hold the beef down in the liquid. Place in the fridge for 3-5 days. Then bring out the beef and rinse under cold water.

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Sweat off the carrots, onions celery in a large pan and then add the stock, thyme and red wine. Place the beef in the liquid and braise in a moderate oven (140-150C) for 3-4 hours until tender. It is then ready to serve (can serve hot or cold)

Forgotten Cuts Week at The Milestone, Sheffield runs Monday to Sunday, April 5-11. Further information from www.the-milestone.co.uk