Easter feasting with some great menu choices from Swaledale Butchers

All the food and cuisines that we love and cherish today have evolved from these moments, tables laden with dishes and platters and all engulfed by a convivial spirit. These are the scenes that Swaledale want to help you re-create this Easter.

This Easter the butchers have decided to offer up a cockerel as an option for your family feast. These birds are a fantastic way to feed the family; with a deeper, darker meat than chicken, the flesh retains a satisfying succulence and carries a great depth of flavour.

Enhance the cockerel further still, by pairing pork, chicken and wild garlic stuffing, which is a pure celebration of that wonderful springtime ingredient.

Serving alongside a hearty, bubbling dish of jabron potatoes and spring greens tossed in olive oil will make a wonderful line up.

Or how about dry-cured York-style ham?

Swaledale produce theircured products using the same quality pork they use for the whole muscle cuts – free range Middle White and Tamworth pigs, both traditional heritage breeds with exceptional depth of flavour. Their versatile gammons and York-style ham joints are dry-cured for four weeks then hung for a further four; these artisan techniques enhance the naturally occurring flavours and give the meat a satisfying complexity.These larger hams are perfect for a celebratory meal, and will make a fitting centrepiece for any occasion. The leftovers are just as good as the main meal itself, and you’ll have sandwiches and cold cuts to look forward to for the week ahead. Two birds with one stone, and all that.Or maybe you wish to stick to tradition and for a whole leg of lamb.

This is a classic Sunday roast cut and sits beautifully next to all the usual trimmings; mint sauce or jelly being essential. Pierce the flesh in several places with a small, sharp knife and then stuff each hole with half a garlic clove, a salted anchovy and a sprig of fresh rosemary before roasting for a pleasing twist.

Gigot d'agneau à la ficelle is the French method of hanging a leg of lamb on a piece of string over an open fire. This allows the leg to spin back and forth as it soaks up the smoky aromas whilst it cooks very slowly - a kind of vertical rotisserie and is most certainly worth the effort if you are entertaining outdoors.

Leg of lamb marinates well - think yogurt and tandoori spices overnight, followed by a hot oven or BBQ for a deliciously alternative take on a classic cut.

Swaledale lambs roam free across vast distances, migrating between valleys and hill tops, foraging as they go. The limestone pastures of the Yorkshire Dales are home to a unique range of herbs, grass and wildflowers, the cocktail of which bestows the lamb with a rich, deep colour to the meat and distinctive flavour.

Robust and slightly sweet in character, the Swaledale lamb also has a subtle herbal undertone; the provenance is unmistakably Yorkshire. Swaledale Lamb Leg Roast is Always Fresh Never Frozen®, butchered to order, vacuum packed, and shipped in recyclable packaging to arrive safely insulated and ready to enjoy.

Visit https://swaledale.co.uk/collections/lamb

If you fancy a sensational pork roast, then look no further than the boneless leg, perfectly cut and rolled by expert butchers. Unlike its neighbours the pork shoulder and pork belly, leg of pork is a leaner cut and carves well in beautifully uniform slices. Swaledale suggest you let the meat naturally find its way to room temperature before roasting, and for the best crackling results ensure the skin is nice and dry before the leg of pork goes in the oven. Being lean, the pork leg doesn’t need to be cooked as long as some other joints, and pork is magical when cooked to medium with a blush of pink still lingering. Visit https://swaledale.co.uk/products/pork-leg-roast-rolled-boneless

Check out the whole Swaledale Easter collection at https://swaledale.co.uk/collections/easter