Elderberry goat

Ingredients:

• 1 goat leg

• 2 onions

• 1 leek

• 2 carrots (white or purple)

• 1 tsp of fresh or fermented wild Garlic

• 1 tsp juniper berries

• 4 cups of elderberry wine

• 2 cups of beef stock

Method:

Put the leg into a large pot. Roughly slice up the onions, along with the leek and carrots, and add them to the pot with the garlic & juniper berries.

Top up the pot with Elderberry wine and leave to soak for a few hours or, ideally, overnight.

Add the beef stock to the pot and place over a fire. Bring to a boil and simmer for around 2-2 1/2 hours, until cooked through. Alternatively this can be cooked in the oven at 180 degrees celsius.

During this time top up with water, or more wine, as necessary, to keep the joint covered.

Remove the leg from the pot and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Elderberry Sauce

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups elderberries

• 1 cup water

• 1 cup honey

Method: 
Put the elderberries and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

Strain through a sieve.

Measure the liquid and put it back into the pot with equal parts honey. For example - 500ml liquid will need 500g honey. Heat for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the honey has dissolved.

Pour into clean, sterile containers and store in a cool place.

Proceed cautiously, as I have known this to start fermenting, which can lead to exploding containers.

This syrup is said to be great for colds. Either way it tastes great on porridge, or mixed with hot water to make a tea.

Elderberry & Blackberry Wine

This recipe is great if you heat, but not boil, a bottle, with a jar of honey, a few cloves, some grated nutmeg, ¼ pint of water and the juice and rind of a lemon. Add half a small bottle of brandy before serving. Drink whilst still warm.

We drink this every Christmas when family visit and we always run out!

You can also make this one with just elderberries or just blackberries.

Ingredients:

800g elderberries

800g Blackberries

4.5l water (boiled)

1.5 kg granulated sugar

1 tsp pectic enzyme

1 tsp of red wine yeast

1 tsp yeast nutrient

1 campden tablet (optional)

1 teaspoon fermentation stopper (optional)

1 teaspoon Bentonite (optional)

Method:

Put all the berries into a large bucket and crush with a rolling pin. Add the sugar, and the pectic enzyme, and cover with 4.5l boiled water. Stir well.

Once cool, make a note of your gravity.

Add your yeast and nutrient and cover loosely for 1 week before straining into a demijohn with an airlock.

When fermentation ends (once bubbles pass through the airlock at less than one a minute) add a crushed campden tablet and fermentation stopper, if using, as per the instructions on the packet.

Nows the time to check your final gravity, if you haven’t already, and want to know the percentage of alcohol in your brew.

After 3 days clear the wine by adding bentonite, if using, as per the instructions on the packet. Alternatively you can wait until it clears naturally.

Finally, syphon the wine into bottles and cork.

Age for a minimum of 3 months before drinking, but a year is better