CHEF’S CORNER Melt in the mouth pork belly is a treat
Raise cash for Cancer Support
Both restaurants currently have pork belly on their menus.
Slow braised for hours in honey, butter, red wine, tarragon, root vegetables and amp; chicken stock until soft.
It melts in the mouth, but the meat is never dry due to the high fat content.
Served with the smooth carrot puree, nutmeg mash and sweet honey reduction, it is truly an outstanding food combination with flavours are to die for.
Wee tip – pork belly is so versatile even if there is left overs, pull the pork with a fork and mix with some bbq sauce makes a wonderful pulled pork burger.
Preparation is less than one hour and it takes four hours to cook. One large piece of pork belly approx 2kg, bottle of red wine, 25g fresh tarragon, 8oz block of butter, 100ml pure honey, mixed root vegetables, chopped 1kg, 500ml of chicken stock. Six large carrots, peeled and amp; sliced, few small knobs of salted butter, salt and amp pepper for seasoning, 200ml fresh orange Chris Steele, our Ayrshire Life chef runs The Stage Door Restaurant and Hollybush House restaurant.
Each week Chris will be sharing one of his favourite dishes from his collection for you to make at home.
This week he prepares slow braised pork belly, nutmeg buttery mash, orange carrot puree, pak choi, honey, sesame seed and amp with tarragon reduction juice, one orange, juice and zest, 200ml vegetable stock. 400g of Red Rooster Potatoes, one small piece of nutmeg, zested or ground, 50g salted butter, 50ml double cream, salt and pepper for seasoning. Eight heads of pak choi. Micro red cabbage, 20g sesame seeds. Pre Heat oven to 130C Place all ingredients and stock into a large deep oven tray and submerge the pork belly in it. Cover with tin foil and bake until soft.
When ready remove pork belly from juices & amp; cling wrap tight and chill. After few hours remove from cling film and slice. Pre- heat a nonstick frying pan with little olive oil until really hot, place the sliced pork belly into pan and sear until golden brown on both sides.
Watch for the fat or crackling spitting at you. Once golden ready to serve. Crispy on outside but soft and melt in the mouth on inside. Place sliced carrot into the orange juice & amp; stock, boil until soft, remove from heat and drain in a colander. Place back into pot and dry of any excess water with a gentle heat through. When done place into a food processor and blitz until smooth, add butter and seasoning as required. Peel and 4cm cube the potatoes and boil until soft. Drain and place back on heat to dry them out.
Then mash with potato ricer until smooth. Add butter, seasoning, nutmeg and double cream as required. Pre- heat a small sauce pan and add all the juices from the pork belly oven tray, make sure sieve all vegetables out first. Reduce for 20mins until dark in colour and strong in taste, finish with a knob of butter to leave a shiny pork belly demi glaze reduction. Blanch the pak choi in boiling water for 2- 3 mins until soft, drain and season. Place that and a quenelle of nutmeg mash in centre of plate and drag a spoonful of the carrot puree down the plate with the back of a spoon.
Place the fried pork belly on top and drizzle with a few spoonful’s of the pork belly sweet honey reduction.
Garnish with some micro red cabbage, sprinkle some sesame seeds and serve. Leading counselling charity, Cancer Support Scotland, has launched an appeal for more fundraisers to help it support the increasing number of cancer patients wishing to use its free services.
The appeal coincides with June being Cancer Survivor’s Month and the start of National Volunteers’ Week and follows the latest official
Government figures show almost 32,000 people were diagnosed with the illness in Scotland in 2014.
The numbers are reflected in the unprecedented demand for the wide range of free complementary therapies Cancer Support Scotland provides at its headquarters in Glasgow and outreach centres in the west of Scotland.
Colin Graham, the charity’s chief executive, said there had been a 40 per cent rise in the number of people seeking its support.
Colin said: “We offer services which the NHS does not and all our therapies are free.
“We get no government support and rely on the hard work of fundraisers, the generosity of the public and trusts, and companies which select us as their ‘ charity of the year.
“We are always on the lookout for people to take part in our annual cycle ride from Moscow in Ayrshire to Houston, Renfrewshire, the Great Scottish Run, attend our Ladies Lunch and get involved in a host of other events.”