Sunday 27 October 2013

Allan Truman's Pork Belly

A Chop and it’s drop.


I don’t know if you do it like me, I mean eating out now, but I tend to go to certain restaurant's for certain meals. To me it has always (almost) been a winning recipe for a  good meal and an enjoyable night. It does however happen from time to time, that you are either badly disappointed or happily surprised. Why would this be than, you might ask.
People tend to go to the same places, over and over, because they like the taste of their food, or like me, of a certain dish. In a good restaurant the food should always taste the same, whether the Head-Chef is there and cooking it himself or not and this can only happen if the kitchen work on standardised recipes.
(Just a quick explanation about standardised recipes. It is a very detailed recipe compiled by the Head-Chef for his chefs and it must be followed to the letter. It will, for instance, tell you what brand of item to use and the cooking methods will also be explained to the last detail. This explains why your making of Aunt Aggie’s well roasted blackbird taste different from hers, even though you used her recipe. Her roasted black bird don't need to taste the same every time she makes it, but the restaurants does.)
Enough said of standard recipes and back to more important matters. My theory regarding why your meal was so much better than last time lies in what you had to drink with that meal. Maybe you just made the perfect decision regarding the combination between the drink and the meal. Lets play an imaginary game.
Grab hold of an imaginary wine glass, fill it with imaginary wine and imagine bringing it to your mouth and taking a slow sip. Now, slowly let it tickle your taste butts and dance over your tongue........
One moment, will be back soon, need a glass of wine ............... real wine .............
I’m back and feeling a lot better thank you very much.
What happened, did your mouth start salivating (watering). If it did, your mouth was telling you: “I’m ready, bring on the food!”
The alcohol in wine (actually any alcohol and even the gas in gas cold drinks) tickle your taste buts and wake them up to the point where the right combination between food and drink will make your senses go .... wooooow, happy days are here again .........
Just think strawberries and sparkling wine, or dare I say, Champagne. Match made in heaven. Chillies can have a quite similar effect with the added advantage of you body releasing it’s own morphine in the form of endorphins. So they not only make the food taste better, they make you feel amazing.
Next time you are ordering your favourite meal, ask your server what the wine/beer recommendation is for that meal and try it, it might just surprise you. But try your own combinations as well, tastes differ and you might just come across something spectacular. If you do, pat yourself on the back, drink another glass and e-mail me directly at thetoofatchef@gmail.com


Here we go with Chef Allan Truman’s signature Pork Belly. (Allan Truman is the Head Chef at the Cashmere Club in Christchurch, New Zealand)


This is how you prepare the Pork belly:


Lay the Pork belly down on your (red - for raw meat) cutting board


Roll the Pork belly up and you can use skewers to keep it in place


With a sharp knive, cut the Pork belly into rounds (+/- 1.5 cm in thick)


Place the Pork belly in a oven dish in a single layer

Make the sauce/marinade to baked the Pork belly in.

Ingredients:
  • 1.2 to 1.8 kg Pork Belly as prepared as above
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) Corriander - fine
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) dried Ginger - fine
  • 1/2 tsp (2 ml) Cayenne peper (more if you like it hot like me)
  • 1 tsp french Garlick - Finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup each: Tomato sauce, BBQ sauce and Orange juice
  • 1/4 cup Sweet chilli sauce
  • Salt and peper to taste

Method:

  • Put salt and peper over the Pork belly
  • In a mixing bowl, place the wet ingredients together with the spices and garlick and whisk lightly


  •  Spread evenly overe the Pork belly.



  • cover the oven try with foil and bake in a 180c for 1 hour and 15 minutes
  • take foil of and bake at the same temp for another 15 - 30 minutes or until the Pork belly is sticky and tender
Etxtra sauce for serving:
Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup each: Tomato sauce, BBQ sauce and orange juice
  • 1/4 cup of Sweet chilli sauce
  • Corn Flour to thicken the sauce if needed

Method:
  • Add ingredients to a pot, together with the roasting juices, bring to a boil.
  • Thicken by making a slurry (paste) out of corn flour and water if needed.
And that is that, easy as pie. I would have a nice glass of fruity Rose or a Pale Ale with this, but then again, it is your meal and you should try it with the drink of you choice.

Thanks Allan for sharing this with us.

Enjoy!





Chef Allan's Pork belly served on a bed of buttery mash potatoes.



















No comments:

Post a Comment