....would sum up the Taste of Elegance event at the Isle of Capri/Farradays on Monday. I was honored to be one of three judges and the only non-chef one at that - thanks to Brad Scott for thinking of me!
We sampled ten dishes and it was interesting not only to see the different preparation methods, be it braising, slow or twice-cooking, sous vide, etc but the type of dish presented. We had mostly tenderloin and pork belly (the source of bacon) but also pork heart and pork cheek. Incidentally these last two placed 2nd and 3rd respectively - the heart was prepard by chef Jerimy at The Outing Club and the cheek by Doug Lear of Bass Street Chophouse.
The winning dish was bloody mary-glazed pork belly with a praline bacon chip set in a dollop of sweet corn ice cream, served with a micro green celery salad and an amazing Uncommon Stout caramel in the background. It was the only dish all three of us finished completely. Kudos to Shawn from the Isle!!
One of the most enlightening tidbits I learned was the growing acceptance of mid-rare pork by Americans in restaurants. The tenderloins we liked best had just the right amount of pink in the middle and were not dry/over cooked. For too long we've wanted our pork like our chicken - WHITE and DRY. I even heard anecdotes about chicken dishes being sent back to a local restaurant kitchen for being TOO moist and juicy.
I suggest you all open your minds to meat not being cooked to death before you will try it; the USDA recently approved mid-rare pork actually so trichinosis isn't the threat it once was. The most flavorful meat, be it pork, chicken or beef, is that which is delicately delicious, not dry with the texture of leather, bark or bone.
The one thing missing from the day was of course - WINE! Pork can be both a challenge and a delight with which to pair wine; whether it be a riesling with an Asian-inspired theme or a fruity, hefty zinfandel...RED zinfandel... with BBQ pork, wines of all kinds can go marvelously with pork.
Just make sure you're not using it only to wash it down.
I so agree with you regarding the cooking of pork. My own tenderloin dishes always have just the right amount of pink and are as succulent as one could ever want. Unfortunately, I once visited a rather pricey (and now closed) local restaurant that served what was described as a fabulous-sounding dish. Needless to say, it was cooked to the extreme and had the consistency of shoe leather. Some chefs will never learn, and therefore, don't stay in business very long.
ReplyDelete