Personally I am very picky with steak and have on more than one occasion refused a steak as being too over done even though I did state ‘blue’ or very rare. It is always best to say immediately in an English restaurant how you want your steak though they normally do ask and emphasis rare as many people seem to think rare is either medium rare or medium which in my book unless it is a very very prime piece of meat will be tough. The Aberdeen Angus Steak Houses dotted around London serve a reasonable steak; nothing remarkable unless you have their best steak on the menu but for chain not bad.
Regarding the sausages yes we tend traditionally to go for herbed pork sausages that are not in least bit sweet and we tend if for breakfast serve them with brown sauce similar to your A1 brown sauce but a bit thicker. Children tend to like tomato ketchup or as we tend to call it tomato sauce on sausages. When I visited the States and found out about maple syrup on sausages I loved that taste and continue that at home but conversely I also like very hot English mustard on sausages. Again I am certain that if you asked a restaurant would serve you maple syrup with your sausage.
I know the type of pork you mean normally referred to in Britain as roast pork with stuffing in a roll or bap or baguette. Often served with a couple of spoonful of apple sauce. Pork does not often seem to appear on restaurant menus as many people seem to think of it as either high in calories and fat or worry about it being cooked properly at a restaurant and therefore may end getting food poisoning, my theory anyway. Maybe as simple as because compared to beef and lamb it is a cheaper meat people tend to order the more expensive and something they do not have everyday when they go out for a meal.
I love roast lamb or lamb shank but prefer my own home cooked to what most restaurants serve up. The same for chicken, chicken in restaurants always seems dry to me but I cook mine slowly in foil with sage and onion stuffing and serve it with cranberry sauce not very English the cranberry but dad and I prefer that to bread sauce the traditional English accompaniment to roast chicken.
I prefer my meat roasted to grilled (broiled) as I think this keeps it moist, makes it tender and you get a better flavour. I tend to cook it without any sauces or marinades but always serve it with a sauce or gravy made from the meat juices and some form of stock cube or granules etc. The exception to this is if I do a stew or casserole and again I prefer to cook this slowly either in the oven or a slow cooker (crock pot).
I must admit I prefer things made with wheat flour rather than corn the exception being flour tortillas but they do not seem to have that strong corn taste that I am not keen on so that limits me with a fair amount of American/TexMex type dishes.
I love curry and not too hot chili (beef and kidney beans) served with plain and horror above horrors to an American and most Brits a starchy almost stodgy rice. I tend not to drain my rice as a prefer lumps to grains.
Pasta I like spag bol, and my own sort creations made from left over meat from Sunday roasts.
As you do not like lamb then a great British favourite is out though many people use beef not lamb for it shepherd's pie. It is basically minced (ground) meat and thick gravy with mashed potato over the top a knob of butter and grated cheese if you like. Fry the meat off with some flour and make a thick gravy (or if cooked meat left over from the roast meal just add the gravy) cook in the oven until the top crisps. Traditionally if using beef you add mixed veg mainly carrots and peas and it is called cottage pie.
I think like most countries the best way to try to the food is actually go into someone's home and get a home cooked meal and talk to them on what you like and dislike. We found this very helpful in the States staying at a B and B though all we had there was breakfast apart from one evening when they gave us what us Brits call supper a snack before bed. They talked to us about American food and terminology which helped a lot because often just looking at a menu does not really tell you what you would get and sometimes you miss something by not knowing what is meant by the name or description. For example you used the term pulled pork not a term that is familiar in Britain though personally I think it sums up what pork often becomes when slowly roasted.
Often in a Chinese restaurant duck will be served in similar fashion as pulled pork normally referred to on the menu as crispy duck and pancakes.
Sorry if I have bored you but I do feel my country has much to offer in food if you know where to find it and what to ask for. I wish I had met you in 2006 and could have shown you some good English food and maybe even cooked you an English meal myself.
I’m picky with steak as well, and usually only order filet mignon (rare) when I do eat out. I love meats cooked on an outdoor BBQ, but I live on the 3rd floor of an apartment building, and have no place to cook out. I love hamburgers with everything on them: onions, dill pickles, mustard, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, bacon. I also like hamburgers with blue cheese either mixed in them or placed on top. I make a special meat sauce for my hotdogs. Years ago I frequented a hamburger/hot dog joint where I lived. They eventually went out of business, and for years I tried to find the recipe for their hot sauce. My sister-in-law discovered it in a newspaper article and sent it to me. I make it occasionally, freeze it in small containers, and use it when I get on a hot dog kick. I also like hotdogs with beans and/or sauerkraut. Like I said, I have pretty simple tastes.
As mentioned before, my father was a great cook. We weren’t Italian, but he made spaghetti sauce every Saturday, and it was delicious. He’d make his own meatballs, plus brown the Italian sausages, and use either pork hocks or pork steak that he had browned. He’d add all those ingredients and cook it most of the morning. On Sundays he’d make a big meal like roast ham, roast chicken, pork roast, pot roast, etc. We had mashed potatoes & gravy every weekend. We never had lamb, fish or seafood when I was growing up, which is probably one of the reasons I don’t eat it now. I’ve tried all three, but do not enjoy the tastes. My Dad ate anything. He used to fry himself up calves brains, or other stuff. My mother would make tuna noodle casserole or salmon patties on Fridays (Catholics), or she’d fry liver during the week, but I wouldn’t touch any of it. I eat canned tuna fish, but only in a sandwich.
My father put ketchup on just about everything. He’d put in on his eggs in the morning. I used to put it on my fries, but usually don’t do that anymore. My youngest son will eat anything. It was nice when he was living with me because nothing was ever wasted. He enjoyed having leftovers. Occasionally I’ll cook him something special so he can take it home with him. At Thanksgiving, I usually have to cook a 20 lb. turkey and extra side dishes so both sons have leftovers to take home with them. At Christmas I cook Prime Rib, and have to order 6-7 ribs in order to have leftovers. My oldest son tends to be a picky eater. The only vegetables he eats are peas, corn and snow peas. But he loves dishes cooked with curry, eats Chinese and Indian food. He won’t eat fresh onions, use ketchup, mustard or mayonnaise, yet has no problem finding food to eat when he goes to Europe each year. He spends most of his time in Germany when he does travel.
Last summer I was in London for a little over a week. The one weekend I was there, friends of mine from Liverpool came in and stayed at the same hotel as me. They had wanted to eat at Convent Garden and asked if they could make reservations at TGIF, as they had eaten there the last time they were in London and enjoyed it. I had to laugh, as TGIF is an American restaurant chain. I had no problem eating there as I knew the menu and what I’d be able to get. I ended up having a Caesar Salad with grilled chicken on top.
I’ve heard of Shepherd’s Pie. My ex-husband used to buy canned Steak & Kidney Pies. I used to even cook chicken livers and regular calves liver for him, but wouldn’t eat it myself.
You haven’t bored me one bit. I’m a big fan of England, and Scotland. I love both, and their history. I download a lot of programs from a UK website. My favorite program is Time Team. They used to show old episodes on the History International Channel here, but then stopped. I managed to find a website run by a fan, and have kept up with the series ever since. As I write, I’m watching a series of programs on Medieval Britain.
My biggest wish would be to tour the countryside in a rental car. There is so much to see, and you certainly can’t do it on a tour bus. On my first trip to London in 2006, I had a week to myself before taking off on my 3 week bus tour. I had a list of places I wanted to see, and managed to complete the list. Last summer I had 9 days. I revisited some of the previous places I’d been to (British Museum, Tower of London & Hampton Court), plus some new ones: Bletchley Park, Buckingham Palace, Petrie Museum, Sir John Soane’s Museum, National Portrait Gallery, etc. Last August, it rained the whole time I was there.