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Date Published:

08/01/2009

As part of the Big British Food Fight season we’re wallowing in all things pig related here at 4Food. Andrew Webb returns fresh from his food tour of the UK to find out how to make the most of every inch of our very own porker.

Bangers, bacon butties, the odd sausage roll... if these are your only dip into the wonderful world of pork then you're missing a trick. There's so much more you can do with this versatile and tasty meat.

To inspire you, I'll be taking different pork cuts (prepared by Tim Wilson from the Ginger Pig) to 10 different chefs around the country over a number of weeks, so they can work their culinary magic.

The chump is often overlooked, nestling as it does between the back bacon-giving loin and the ham-giving leg. You can roast it, but I was hankering for something warm and spicy to blow away those winter blues.

The perfect man for the job then, was Bengali born Vivek Singh, executive chef of the Cinnamon Club and the Cinnamon Kitchen restaurants in London. Vivek and his team create stunning modern Indian food sees finely sourced UK produce – think rack of lamb, venison and Cornish mackerel – combined with beautifully balanced spicing.

For our chump, he’s made a pork stir-fry, drier than a curry the meat is slowly braised (you can do this the day before) before being shown the heat of the pan. A key ingredient in this recipe is the kokum berries (related to the mangosteen). As well as providing the distinctive sour taste, it also helps darken the sauce:

Coorg pork stir-fry recipe

Tenderloin is a delicate piece of meat that doesn't need a huge amount of cooking. Being rather small it's best suited to bite-sized portions and works particularly well when used as a starter.

And so who better to show me how to get the most out of it than Benjamin Tish, head chef at the Salt Yard tapas restaurant in London. Ben's cooking strolls around the Med, taking in produce and influence from the Iberian peninsula as well as plundering Italy for inspiration. The emphasis is often on letting just two or three quality ingredients do all the talking on the plate.

Because the tenderloin can be cooked quickly and easily, Ben offered to show me not one but two recipes:

Roasted pork tenderloin with butter bean puree recipe

Poached and roasted pork loin with spinach recipe

Ah the belly, favourite cut of chefs everywhere. And it can be your favourite too.

Chris Wicks has been head chef and owner of Bell's Diner in Bristol for 11 years. Belly of pork remains one of his favourite ingredients and he couldn't wait to get his hands on it. "It’s superb to cook with, has fantastic flavour and can be used in so many recipes," he tells me while prepping his ingredients. Chris braises the belly, stripping the skin off - which can be roasted and served as crackling - and rolling the joint before cooking it in a spicy sauce flavoured with oloroso sherry for extra oomph. With this he serves creamy mashed potatoes, and adds extra luxury with a few flakes of truffle:

Braised pork belly with Perigord truffle recipe

The shoulder, according to butcher Tim, is one of the tastiest cuts on the animal. So let’s see what Anthony Demetre, head chef of Arbutus in London, will do with it.

Ex-Putney Bridge pals, Anthony Demetre and Will Smith, set up Arbutus in 2006: "I really wanted to own and run a good modern bistro," says the chef, who's well know for putting the lesser thought of cuts and ingredients on his menu. "We buy whole animals and break them down ourselves, making sure we use every last bit - nothing is wasted," he tells me. Anthony’s making two meals from the large shoulder I've brought him. He’s slow braising most of it in garlic, white wine and sage for three hours, adding the milk towards the end. This is an old Italian way of cooking pork he tells me. "Traditionally, they may have used pig milk," though that's understandably a little hard to find. The more meaty piece that joins the loin is being minced and made into a modern style pork bolognese.

Shoulder of pork braised in white wine, sage and milk recipe

Pork shoulder bolognese recipe

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