Sous Vide Pork Collar: Chef Christopher Morales
Chef Christopher Morales
Sous Vide Pork Collar
One of our favorite things is getting to see how people all over the nation utilize our Cheshire Pork in their own way. Each chef comes with their own story, style, and talent to showcase to the world. There is a lot to be said about Chef Christopher Morales from The Chef’s Table in Melbourne, Florida who exhibits drive and passion in each dish he creates. If you’d like to read more about who he is and how he came to be a chef, check out our Hog Blog here!
Please enjoy this recipe for Sous Vide Cheshire Pork Collar brought to you by Chef Christopher. He has created a beautiful Sous Vide Cheshire Pork Collar with a sweet tea brine. It is paired with nagaimo yam, carnival cauliflower, gochujang, rice wine chive emulsion, mirin, chinese mustard miso air, and black summer truffle.
Begin with the Sous Vide Pork Collar Brine:
3-4 # Collar ( Cut in half)—2 Ea Large Onion—1 Ea Whole Celery—2 Ea Carrot—8 Clove Garlic—1/2 C Sherry Wine—2 Ea Apples—2 C Apple Cider Vinegar—2 C Apple Cider—2 C Water—1/4 C Peppercorn—Few Sprigs of Thyme—Few Sprigs of Sage—Few Sprigs of Rosemary—1/4 C Chinese 5 Spice—2 TBSP Crushed Red Pepper—2 TBSP Nutmeg—2 TBSP Ginger—2 C Salt—2 C Brown Sugar—4 Bay Leaf—Ice as Needed.
Set sous vide (immersion circulator) to 145 degrees fahrenheit.
In a stock pot, roughly chop mirepoix and add to a heated pot with oil. Add the garlic and saute until translucent. A little color on vegetables is ok. Then add your peppercorns and all fresh herbs. Deglaze pan with sherry wine and cook out alcohol. Add all apple cider, water and apple cider vinegar to the pot. Finally add all your dry ingredients to the stock pot.Bring brine to a boil for 30 minutes and turn off. Transfer into a nonreactive pan to accommodate brine, ice and pork. Add enough ice to cool down the brine and put in the refrigerator until it reaches 41 degrees. Fully submerge pork in brine for a minimum of 24 hours and up to 48 hours. When the pork is ready to be pulled out, rince the pork under cold water to get rid of excess salt and vegetables. Place in a vacuum sealed bag and add 4 ounces of compound butter.
Compound Butter:
1 # Butter—2 Large Shallot—6 Ea Garlic Clove—1/4 C White Wine—2 Ea Bayleaf—Few Sprigs Thyme—1/4 C Peppercorn
Sweat shallots and garlic with white wine until translucent. Add all herbs and butter and simmer on low heat for 20 mins. Push through a fine mesh strainer and push with a ladle on onions and herbs to squeeze the liquids out. Reserve and cool.
Nagaimo Yam:
Peel and slice yam to 1 inch slices and set in salt water for a few minutes. I used the warmest water that my faucet would produce. The yams will be slimy and stringy. Take out of water and pat dry with a towel. I used a cast iron skillet to sear the yams. Heat the skillet with oil and season the yams. Place the presentation side down and let sear on medium heat for approximately 5 minutes until golden brown. Deglaze with Mirin and Miso until the yam is halfway submerged. Add the butter and emulsify. Set aside.
Cauliflower Puree:
1 Head Cauliflower (I used yellow)—Cream As Needed—1/4 # Butter—2 TBSP Gochujang—Salt & White Pepper (as needed)
Slice down the cauliflower to make 1 inch thick "steaks" and set aside. use all the scraps left over from steaks and put in a small saucepan. Add Gochujang and cover with cream. DO NOT SALT! Chili paste will be salty enough for now. Heat on low heat until the cauliflower is tender. It should take less than 15 minutes due to the size of cauliflower being used. Take out all the cauliflower with a slotted spoon and put in a blender, not adding any of the cream it was boiled in. Turn the blender on high and slowly add cold diced butter while the blender is on. Add salt and white pepper as needed. Strain and put in deli cup or squeeze bottle.
Cauliflower Steaks:
Heat oil in a saute pan and lay cauliflower in evenly. Flip steaks of cauliflower over and season with salt, pepper and dehydrated zested lemongrass. Sear both sides and set on drip rack or paper towel to absorb the oil/ grease. Cut to desired size for plating.
Chive Bulb Emulsion:
1 Bunch Chive Bulb Stems (reserve bulbs for garnish if desired)—Boiling Salt Water—4 Oz Rice Wine Vinegar—1 tsp Sesame Oil—8 oz Oil—Ice
Blanch stems in boiling water for 20 seconds and transfer to an ice bath. Add rice wine vinegar and stems to the blender. Blend on high and then add sesame oil and emulsify with oil until thick. Strain through chinois.
Mustard Miso Air:
400 Grams Water—45 Grams Miso—150 Grams Chinese Mustard—3.2 Grams / 6% total Soy Lecithin
Add all ingredients to a deli cup and blend with an immersion blender. Do this a few times to create bubbles and let sit for 2 mins. Do it again and then serve immediately.
For Service:
Slice Cheshire pork to desired thickness. Mine were about 1 inch pieces.
Heat Oil in a saute pan.
Dust pork with chinese five spice.
Sear one side of the pork and put on a drip pan. In the same pan that the pork was just in, add cauliflower and yams. Add both of those to the drip pan.
Dress plate with cauliflower puree first with a swipe. It should be ultra smooth. Then add your cauliflower steaks and yams to the plate. Shave black truffles with microplane and pork. Transfer and arrange pork as desired on the plate. Buzz the mustard miso foam. Dot the plate with chive emulsion. Add foam to the plate and serve.
Voila, you have this incredible dish! Big thanks to Chef Christopher for this recipe and for sharing his passions with the world.
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