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Sloejack recipe
Flapjacks to make as a by-product of sloe gin

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In 2005, I devised a use for the alcohol-sodden sloes left in the bottles after making sloe gin - and invented a new word! These fruity flapjacks make a delicious snack on their own, or better still as a natural partner to the liqueur itself. You can safely leave the drained sloes in their (capped) bottles for a week or two, making this recipe an ideal activity for the recovery phase after Christmas...

Ingredients

Use organic if available - complain if not!

• Half the leftover sloes, i.e. the contents of one bottle (approx. 300g drained weight) after making sloe gin
• 125g porridge oats
• 100g unsalted butter (if using salted butter, omit the next item)
• ¼-½ tsp salt
• 75g sugar

Method

Shake the sloes from the bottle into a large bowl, and tip the oats into another. Using a paring knife, shave the flesh from each fruit directly into the oats. Avoid the temptation to remove it all in one long piece, as that would make the flapjacks break apart too easily (for similar reasons, I don't recommend using "jumbo" oats). It will take a while, but you've already proved you have the necessary patience by making the liqueur! Stir the mixture every so often to disperse the parings evenly. At the end you'll have a small pile of stones to dispose of - thrifty souls could try the idea below.

Preheat the oven to 180°C, Gas Mark 4. Melt the butter in a saucepan, dissolve the sugar and salt, then add the sloe and oat mixture and stir thoroughly, taking care not to burn it. Tip into a lightly greased, shallow, 20 cm square baking tin, level out and press down firmly all over with a potato masher. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and leave in the tin until cold. Slice into 16 squares, or as the whim takes you.

Footnote: Sloe Therapy

My thanks to Robert Hopkins for emailing this suggestion. Make a small cushion or pillow from some fairly thick material remnants (e.g. light corduroy) and fill with the cleaned and washed sloe stones. It can then be warmed in a microwave or conventional oven for use as a therapeutic (and aromatic!) aid to relax muscle tension, aches and pains. Or you could put it in the freezer for use as a cold pack.

home about gallery cellar workshop soapbox
brewing winemaking liqueurs kitchen trough
pizza sloejacks steak