Chefs around Britain continue to cook their way through an entire pig
I thought the head would be the hardest bit to get chefs to work with. However, Hywel Jones asked for it without hearing what other cuts were available - blimey, he's keen.
The stately Lucknam Park nestles in the rolling Wiltshire countryside. The 18th century building, however, houses a 21st century kitchen complete with state of the art electric conduction ranges and is presided over by executive chef, Hywel Jones. Hywel chose the head as: "It’s truly an undervalued yet tasty cut, and even cheaper than the belly." Hywel’s dish is an tour du force, taking this unloved and often discarded bit of the animal and giving it the full-on chef treatment. However as Hywel readily admits, "Recipes are a guideline. You could, for example, have your butcher remove and trim the cheeks and just slow braise them in the same sauce and simply serve with potatoes."
Crisp compression of Tamworth pork with roast langoustines
The Gauls loved hams at their banquets, with the bravest man given the upper part of the leg. If any other man disputed his right to it, there followed a fight to the death. I, on the other hand, gave the leg to Sue Ellis to see what she would make of it.
Sue learned her skills under Gordon Ramsay at Hospital Road, before working with Thomas Keller at the French Laundry in America. She’s now the head chef of Belle House in Pershore. She kept things tasty but simple by making a classic roast, as well as cutting off a couple of quick cook steaks. Top tips include rubbing crushed coriander and fennel seeds into the crackling and making sure the joint sits on a trivet of veg and fruit. "Adding dried apricots gives a real punchy flavour," says Sue. For the steaks, well keeping them slightly pink and juicy is the key. "You don’t have to cook pork for 5 hours," Sue says. "Keep it juicy and moist."
Roasted noisette of pork with vegetables recipe
Pork escalope with rosti potato recipe
We've reached the loin in our fantastic voyage around the Channel 4 porker, home of back bacon and pork chops. And we've entrusted it to chef Paul Askew from The London Carriage Works in Liverpool.
I first met Paul on the Big British Food Map, where he cooked me a lovely bit of beef. Here he's turning his attentions to pork. I really like his approach to this dish. The 'French trimming' of the bone looks excellent, but what's even better is that the trimmed section is served too. Add to that the fact that it's benefited from being cooked on the bone rather than taken off beforehand and you've got pork that looks and tastes fantastic. Paul's a big fan of pork: "It's a greatly underrated meat," he tells me. He's serving this with shredded cabbage and leeks, as well as a crisp salad of sharp apple:
Roast loin of pork with vegetable puree recipe
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