We recently had the pleasure of hosting Charcuterie master Neil Jewell in our kitchen at African Relish.
Neil & Charlie
As usual, we were quite a big group and everyone was captivated by Neil’s energy, knowledge and passion for not only food, but the art of charcuterie. Neil and his pork supplier, Charlie brought a fantastic specimen with them and it was amazing to work with such a quality product.
Breaking down the carcass
We started the group of with a delightful welcome lunch of Ouma’s chicken pie with gravy, fresh leaves and herbs from the garden. The first day was spent braking down the carcass, getting all the brines and spices together, brining and curing different joints and talking about all the different parts and uses for a pig.
The next day we worked with fresh hake from the Cape which we brined and cold smoked over a period of 8 to 10 hours.
For Saturday lunch I served up a spicy boerewors and butterbean casserole with garlic mash and fresh coriander from the garden.
We also grinded the meat and made different kinds of sausages and a fantastic pork rilette with melt in your mouth meat and pure rendered fat. We cleaned and stuffed the whole belly and made classic Porchetta which we slow roasted over coals until golden brown and crispy.
We served the smoked fish pan fried in butter with roasted Jerusalem artichokes and lemon pork sauce and the Porchetta we served with baked tomato polenta and a crispy garden salad. On Sunday morning we enjoyed Neil’s home cured bacon with eggs Benedict and we vacuum packed all the cured and smoked goodies for the guests to take home with them.
It was a huge success and as always, we are looking forward to hosting Neil again in the near future.
Recipes
Pork & Apple sausages
Ingredients:
1.240 kg pork
112 gr pork fat
250 ml apple cider vinegar
15 ml canola oil
2 small leeks, cleaned & chopped
1 granny smith apple, peeled & chopped
15 ml coarse salt
2.5 ml ground black pepper
2.5 ml lemon zest
30 ml fresh chopped parsley
30 ml fresh chopped rosemary
Pork Rillettes
Ingredients:
2.3 kg pork belly diced into 3cm cubes
900 ml water
3 whole star anise
30 ml crushed coriander seeds
15 ml crushed white peppercorns
5 strips orange zest
Sprig of thyme
Sprig of rosemary
15 ml sea salt
2 bay leaves
Method:
Place all of the above in a casserole dish.
Braise at 120°C for 6 – 8 hours.
Cool and drain from fat; allow fat to settle – strain to remove water.
Bring the fat to the boil to clarify.
Shred the meat.
Place in jars, cover with clarified fat and store in fridge till needed.