Pork rules. The other white meat has been one of my favorites since I was a kid, and not just because of bacon, the king of smoked cured meats. I love loin, chop and cheek alike. Trotters, jowl and snout as well top my list of tasty treats. Our latest pork dish at ten01 has solidified pig as prince of palatable protein, as champion of choice cuts for carnivores. Here we have our friend the pig plated in two preparations; luscious loin and beautiful belly, both handled with care to cater to your tongue’s taste for pig. The loin is brined and then painstakingly wrapped in bacon, lightly poached, then portioned and seared to serve. The belly is cured, seared, cooked sous vide, then rendered before it is portioned and glazed at pick up. The rendering/basting portion of this preparation is food porn at it’s finest. The smell of thyme and garlic grabs me, guides me over. The clacking sound of spoon on metal mingling with the sizzling sounds of succulent fat call to me, soon I’m standing near with glazed eyes and smacking lips. As if all this weren’t enough, these two mouthwatering meats are masterfully mounded onto waiting warmed plates with caramelized apples, turnips and red wine braised cabbage and then drizzled with honey vanilla gastrique. A dish like this takes a lot of careful preparation and practiced technique. Below the video are some recipes which will hopefully inspire the artisan chef in you. The cure recipe is used to flavor and tenderize the pork belly before it is rendered and then cooked at a low temperature. It would also work to cure duck legs before doing a confit. The brine recipe is used to for a similar purpose with the pork loin. Two techniques as building blocks in a truly outstanding dish.
Pork Belly Cure. by Sous Chef Eric Suniga
6 each star anise
4 each cinnamon stick
8 tsp black pepper
4 tsp coriander
2 tsp fennel
1 tsp clove
1 cup sea salt
4 tsp ginger
2 tsp garlic
1. Butcher the protein you are going to cure.
2. Place all the above ingredients into a food processor and process to a fine powder.
3. Place the meat into a container and pack in the cure. The meat should be totally covered with the cure. Cover and refrigerate for twelve hours.
4. Remove the meat from the cure and rinse it off with cold water. Remove all cure. Pat the meat dry. Proceed with cooking. In the case of our pork belly, this means rendering then vacuum bagging with duck fat and aromatics. The bellies are cooked in an immersion circulator for twelve hours at 82 degrees Celsius.
Brine for Pork Loin by Chef Micheal Hanaghan
3 Liters water
1/2 cup of kosher salt
3 grams clove
3 grams star anise
1 bunch rosemary
3 ea cinnamon stick
1/2 cup honey
1 knob of peeled fresh ginger
1. Place all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Thoroughly chill the brine before using it. This is a good time to butcher your pork loins.
3. Add the meat to the brine and cover and refrigerate for four hours. This is enough brine to completely submerge four pork loins.
4. After four hours, remove the loins from the brine. Discard the liquid, do not reuse.
5. Pat the loins dry and lightly season with salt and pepper before bacon wrapping, poaching, and searing.
