So a while back I wrote a bit about my final project for school. Well since then a lot of things have changed, and I did not end up doing a 7 course Bacon menu. Instead I decided to use the project as an opportunity to be really creative and came up with a menu for my very own fictional Gastropub called “The Bearded Pig”. If any of you steal my name I will be extremely mad. Anyway so what I did was come up with a short menu that consists of three appetizers, three entrees and three desserts. All three categories include at least one item that involves pork.
Mushroom Risotto
Mushrooms, Parmesan, Thyme and Truffle Oi
Devils On Horseback
Dates, Bacon, Almond and Brie
Bacon Dashi Abalone
Abalone, Rice, Pan Sauce, Lemon and Scallion
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Soy Marinated New York Strip Steak
NY Strip, Saffron Mashers, Brussels Sprouts
Thyme Crusted Scallops
Scallops, Dungeness Crab, Forbidden Rice, Asparagus and Orange Butter Sauce
Country Style Pork Ribs
Pork Shoulder Bone In, Purple Potato, Zucchini, Squash, Carrot and Jack Daniels Sauce
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Vegan Nightmare
Bacon
Forbidden Rice Pudding
Forbidden Rice, Coconut Milk, Mango and Kiwi
Pumpkin Cake
Pumpkin, Ginger Cardamom Ice Cream, Pepita Brittle, Almond Soil and Cranberry Coulis
On top of creating and cooking each dish, I was required to take pictures of each and it just so happens my roommate wants to be a photographer so I had exceptional equipment at my disposal to do so and that is how these pictures look so good, so thank you Andi Wang.
I also had to explain my menu concept and have a reoccurring “main ingredient” with a bit of background information on said ingredient in a short essay. Additionally a wine or beer pairing for at least one dish. Being the co*cky over achiever that I am I decided to pair all the entrees with beer because after all the theme is Gastropub. Anyway here is what I wrote for the essay…
The Bearded Pig… a Gastropub
The concept I came up with for this project is Gastropub. I really enjoy the idea of good food and killer craft beers living together under the same roof, and my ultimate goal for after I finish school is to open my own restaurant so I thought, what a perfect opportunity to come up with some dishes that I would like to serve if I were to own one. Gastropub really appeals to me because I love good food and I really love good beer. I also really enjoy elements of fine dining like intricate plating and that is reflected on a few of my plates in a way that I think fits perfectly with what I wanted to accomplish with this menu. Before I came to the International Culinary Center I really believed all I wanted to do was extreme fine dining similar to the Relais & Chateaux property “The Point” I worked at in New York, but the more I thought about it the more I realized, those kinds of places are amazing but how frequently are there repeat customers? I think its more important to be able to share my ideas with people who after visiting my restaurant would say things like “I can’t wait to come back and get another one of those crazy Vegan Nightmare desserts!” or “Those scallops were amazing, I really want to try the Bacon Dashi Abalone next time!”. With the recurring theme being that they will be coming back and probably soon. Personally I want to be comfortable when I’m out to eat, but I also expect that wherever I happen to go is on point with what they are producing. Gastropubs I believe are a wonderful blend of both. At the end of the day I think that everyone that wants to be in this industry is in it because they want to share something that they are passionate about with the world, and this project I feel is a good place to start. As far as a main ingredient goes, for those in my class and who know me it will come as no surprise that I chose the majestic Pig. I love everything about that animal and thoroughly enjoy the fact that you can use about 99% of it in culinary applications. Though with limited equipment in my apartment I was confined to some of the more popular items. Nonetheless however I was able to create, what I believe to be some awesome plates. Some alternative methods that I would have really enjoyed utilizing would include sausage making, use of the bones for stock and blood for blood sausage. I would have also loved to get my hands on some jowl, trotters, and fatback. As far as a bit of history goes… This lovely animal is actually one of the oldest forms of livestock in the world. The first domestications believed to be in China from the wild boar. They were used for food as well as other things, for example there hides were used in various textile applications, and its stiff bristles for brushes and such. They till up land quite efficiently with their feet aiding in farming, and they eat everything so you could argue that the pig was the first form of thrash removal. Today you see less of the trash eating and farm plowing and more of just factory farmed animals, which is unfortunate. I believe we as a people are starting to really understand how crappy these methods are, and try to change and go more with heritage pigs and ones that are allowed to roam free and not confined to a cage, but I digress.
I have paired all three entrees with some really cool beers, and they are as follows…
Brooklyn Brown Ale to go with the steak dish: Hailing from, you guessed it Brooklyn NY. The sweetness of the malt pairs great with the caramelized flavors of the meat. Hops cut the heaviness and fats, giving you a direct path to the awesome that is beer and meat. Brown ales have a sort of earthiness to them as well, which would play well with both the steak and the Brussels.
La fin du Monde to go with the Scallop dish: la fin du monde is a delicious beer out of Unibroue Brewery in Quebec, Canada. The lightness of the beer is refreshing and goes well with the scallop. The underlying citrus flavors complement the buerre a la orange sauce, and add to the dish as a whole. Also I think that it helps cut through the richness of the butter sauce.
Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale to go with the Country Style Pork Ribs: Flying dog brewery out of Maryland creates this along with several other really great brews.This beer has citrus, grassy flavor notes that I feel compliment the flavors in the sauce for the pork. Pale ales and India style Pale ales are best suited to pair with foods that are spicy, they “put out the fire” if you will. With the Sriracha spiciness in the sauce I believe this beer to be a great choice.
I’ve spent about a month and a half working on this project and I am very pleased, although my college student wallet is not as thrilled for sure. Here’s a few of the recipes, enjoy!
Mushroom & Parmesan Risotto
For the Rice
50 g – Oil
200 g – Shallot (Ciseler)
800 g – Arborio Rice
220 g – Chardonnay
3.6 Kg – Vegetable Stock
200 g – Parmesan Cheese (Freshly Grated)
For the Mushrooms
60 g – Butter
5 – Garlic Cloves (Minced)
125 g – Dry Porcini Mushrooms
280 g – Clamshell Mushrooms
tt – Salt
tt – Black Pepper
For Garnish
25 g – Parmesan Cheese (Freshly Grated)
tt – Black Pepper
8 – sprigs Tarragon (Hacher)
8 – sprigs Thyme Leaves (Whole)
As Needed – White Truffle Oil
Pre Game
1. Preheat oven to 175
2. Add Dry porcini mushrooms to vegetable stock to rehydrate the fungi as well as reinforce the stock.
3. Arrange grated cheese (for garnish) on a silt pad in 2” circles. Put in 175 degree oven and cook until golden. Remove, and allow to cool.
For the Risotto
1. In a pot combine mushrooms, wine and rice and cook until mixture is dry, this will slightly toast the rice and allow for a bite of sorts when consuming.
4. Add vegetable stock a ladle full at a time (about 6 oz of liquid at a time) until rice is finished cooking
5. Finish with the 200 g of parmesan.
To Finish
1. Adjust seasoning.
2. Plate and garnish with parmesan crisp shards, whole thyme leaves and a quick drizzle of white truffle oil.
*I know a lot of you might be thinking, “why doesn’t he just toast the rice by itself first?” and the answer is simple, classically in Italy that is just not how it is done.
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Country Style Barbecue Pork Ribs
For the BBQ Sauce
2.5 – Onions (slices)
15 – Garlic Cloves (minced)
800g Gentleman Jack
1200g – Ketchup
400g Apple Cinder Vinegar
312g Soy Sauce
30g Sriracha
13g Salt
10g Black Pepper
5 – Lemongrass Stalks (beaten)
500g Brown Sugar
For the Country Style Ribs
8 Ribs (13oz each)
tt – Salt
tt – Black Pepper
For the Vegetables
Bacon Fat
1/2 – Shallot (Brunoise)
3 – Cloves of Garlic
2 – Carrots (Julienne)
2 – Zucchini Squash (Julienne)
2 Yellow Squash (Julienne)
For the Purple Potatoes
Salted Water
20 – Purple Potatoes, small
Garnish
Scallion (thin asian style bias cut)
Pre Game
1. preheat oven to 400 (to reheat individual pieces of the dish)
BBQ Sauce
1. Over medium heat, sweat the onion just until translucent then add garlic. continue to cook for 60 seconds and then add the Jack Daniels!
- reduce the Jack down about 75%. and reduce heat to low.
- Now your going to want to add the remaining ingredients for the BBQ sauce, so your ketchup, soy sauce, Sriracha, salt, pepper, lemongrass and brown sugar. And just let that simmer for about 20 minutes to develop flavor.
Pork
- Cut each rib in half, season with salt and pepper and give each side a nice sear in the pressure cooker pot you are using.
- Reserve meat until sauce is completed.
- When sauce is ready combine meat and sauce in pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 17 minutes. Meat should be tender and falling off the bone after this point.
Vegetables
- Julienne all the vegetables, and then blanch in heavily salted water and shock in an ice water bath.
- When ready to serve heat some rendered bacon fat in a sauté pan, briefly sweat shallot and garlic and then add your julienned veg and cook until hot.
Potatoes
- Put cleaned unpeeled potatoes in cold water and cook until done. You can check doneness by inserting a paring knife into a potato and if it comes out easily its done.
- After, peel and cut potatoes into 1/2” pieces for service.
- Reheat in oven if necessary.
To Finish
1. Put BBQ sauce on plate first, then the potato and vegetable. Third place the meat on top of vegetables and potatoes and garnish with scallion
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Vegan Nightmare
**To serve 8 people you will need 34 slices of Bacon… thick cut
Ring Molds
16 pieces of bacon
Bacon Brownies
210g Butter
16g vanilla extract
150g flour
2g Baking powder
358g Sugar
4 eggs
56g cocoa powder
2g salt
10 Bacon Strips (crumbled)
Maple Ice cream
500g half and half
1/2 vanilla bean, halved and scraped
220g maple syrup (The real stuff not Aunt Jemima crap)
5 egg yolks
87g sugar
Chocolate Dipped Bacon Garnish
200g dark chocolate
8 slices of Bacon
Bourbon Whipped Cream
150g Heavy Cream
16g Bourbon
50g Sugar
For the Bacon Ring Molds
- Wrap two slices of bacon around a 3 inch cookie cutter (8 cookie cutters), and tie with butchers twine to secure.
- . Bake at 400 until a beautiful crispy bacon color is achieved, remove and let cool before removing from the molds.
For the Rest of the Bacon
- Arrange the remaing 18 slices of Bacon on a sheet tray. (For those with no self control I would add 5 extra strips in case you get hungry during this whole process).
- Bake at 400 for about 14 minutes or until delicious crispy brown color is achieved.
- Remove and place on some paper towels and let dry.
- Set aside 8 slices and cut those in half for chocolate dipping…. we will get to that later.
For the Maple Ice Cream
- In a russe combine the half and half, vanilla bean and maple syrup. Slowly bring to a simmer.
- Meanwhile whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until ribbon stage.
- Temper cream mixture to eggs and return to heat and continue cooking until nappant.
- Cool down in an ice bath, stirring until no steam rises from the mixtures surface.
- Strain into Ice cream machine and spin until solid but still soft. And put in the freezer to finish the set up.
For the Bacon Brownies
- Preheat oven to 350, and rub an 18×18 inch baking tray with straight butter.
- Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl.
- Add eggs and beat with a wooden spoon.
- Combine the remaining ingredients in another bowl and slowly stir into the wet until smooth, well blended chocolate and bacon mixture is reached.
- Evenly spread this deliciousness into the 18×18 tray, and bake for about 20 minutes or until the toothpick test is passed.
For the Chocolate to go on the Bacon
- Over a double boiler heat the chocolate to 115 degrees. Remove from heat and stir until 90 degrees seeding as necessary.
- Dip those Bacon slices we cut in half earlier into the chocolate and place on a silicone mat and place in the fridge to set up.
For the Bourbon Whipped Cream
- In a bowl combine the heavy cream, bourbon and sugar.
- Whisk until stiff peaks, transfer to piping bag with star tip and reserve in refrigerator.
To Finish
- Place Ring of Bacon in center of a round plate. Place Bacon Brownie within those meaty walls.
- Quenelle Maple Ice cream on top of brownie.
- Two pieces chocolate dipped bacon on top of ice cream.
- Bourbon whipped around the outside of bacon mold. And drizzle some chocolate over the whole thing.
