PORK AND COOKING SOUS VIDE | The Tool Shed

PORK AND COOKING SOUS VIDE

Pork is the most widely consumed meat worldwide. Available in many different forms, such as pork belly and pork shoulder it’s clear to see why it has become so popular amongst both professional chefs and the home cook. Pork is ideal for sous vide cooking as it really does create delicious, tender meat that ‘melts in the mouth’! We’d like to share some of our favourite sous vide pork recipes and are confident that once you’ve tried them, they’ll become your favourites too.

SOUS VIDE PORK BELLY, PEA TARTARE & ONIONS…THE RECIPE

Although a relatively cheap cut of meat, pork belly can be succulent and tender if cooked properly. Low temperatures and long cooking times are essential to prevent the meat from drying out and losing flavour. Pork belly is therefore perfectly suited to being cooked sous vide as this method allows you to maintain consistently low temperatures over long periods.

This recipe from Great British Chef Paul Foster is great for dinner parties and even includes a How To Video.

READ THE RECIPE

CHINESE FIVE SPICE PORK CHOPS …THE RECIPE

Chinese five spice works extremely well with pork as it adds a mouth-watering fragrance to the meat. This pork recipe uses mostly store cupboard ingredients, is really simple to prepare and takes just 40 minutes to cook in the water bath. You’ll be amazed that you’ve created something so tasty with hardly any effort!

READ THE RECIPE

SOUS VIDE PORK SHOULDER WITH HISPI CABBAGE & APPLES…THE RECIPE

This inexpensive cut of meat is full of flavour and tastes amazing when cooked sous vide. If you’re looking for a more challenging recipe we think you’ll love this one from Great British Chef Agnar Sverrisson. Perhaps not a dish for your mid-week supper but definitely one you’ll enjoy cooking for a special occasion.

READ THE RECIPE

Sous Vide Loin of Pork with Blue Cheese, Walnuts and Grapes and a Split Pork and Walnut Sauce…the recipe

This is a delicious and simple way of preparing the humble pork loin steak. Served with a very interesting topping, this might not be flavours you have put together before but the cheese and walnuts taste truly amazing with the pork.

READ THE RECIPE

Sous Vide Pork Cheeks…the recipe

For something a little different you might want to try this simple pork cheeks recipe. This very moist and fairly lean cut of meat works brilliantly with the sous vide cooking method and will produce deliciously tender meat. Why not serve them with creamy mashed potatoes and leeks?

READ THE RECIPE

How to Cook Pig’s Ears Sous Vide

Pig’s ears are a tragically underrated and underused part of the pig. Cooked properly, they are a delicious savoury treat and, when fried and crispy, they make a great canape. Furthermore, because demand is low, they are usually very cheap, although you may have to order them in advance from your butcher.

Crispy pig’s ears are a great addition to a wide variety of dishes. Use them to add crunch and crackle in pork dishes where the meat does not have a crispy skin.

Pig’s ears also make a spectacular canape. Simon Hulstone serves his with a tangy nasturtium and caper tartare sauce but a celeriac remoulade or a sauce gribiche would also work well as an accompaniment.

READ THE HOW TO

Post by Chris Holland

Our Chef Director Chris Holland worked as Head Chef at the prestigious Alderley Edge hotel before joining us. He has a passion for using the best produce and never compromises on quality. Author of our best selling book Sous Vide The Art of Precision Cooking, Chris is a expert on the sous vide technique.During the later part of my school days at Wardle High School Rochdale I always wanted to be a chef . I knew from the very start that my path to work was never going to be academic it was always going to be something practical and hands on.

As a young boy growing up I was inspired to cook with my Grandma who was and still is an inspiration to me . I have memories of helping make the cakes that she always had made for visitors and family alike . She made the most amazing cakes and I loved nothing more than eating the sweet raw cake batter straight from the bowl . We used to fight over who got to lick the bowl/spoon after the cakes were made. My grandma’s philosophy for cooking even on a shoe string budget was always to use fresh and seasonal ingredients either home grown or bought from the market.

School was somewhat of a drag for me as I was itching to learn to become a chef.

I started at Hopwood Hall college as a chef and instantly fell in love with it .To me it was the only real time I excelled in something and this inspired me to really get my head down and put in the hard work. College was the first time I really excelled in something and gave me the opportunity to laugh at the teachers who said I would never make something of my life!!!!

During the three years at college I also took on a part time position in a local hotel working the bar and restaurant first and then the kitchen. These were great days and gave me the opportunity to see how the industry ticks. I learnt a lot from those days both good and bad !! But I have to say I was itching to work only in the kitchen but it was a good insight into the catering world .

After completing college I moved away from Rochdale for a full time roll at one of Cheshire’s most talked about Hotel restaurants The Stanneylands Hotel. This was the school of hard knocks for me as I quickly realised that although excelling at college meant nothing in “The Real World”.

I loved every minute of the 18 hour days 6 days a week on minimum wage . Although difficult I feel that without this grounding I wouldn’t have achieved what I have today. After 18 months of hard graft I left Stanneylands and went with the Head chef to open a fine dining restaurant at Mere Golf and Country Club. The opportunity to work alongside Matthew Barrett was too good to turn down. I learnt so much from the ex-Ritz chef and working in a much slower paced role helped me develop a much better understanding of how to organise and run a kitchen. We were a very small team and teamwork was and still is the only way to go for me.

After 2 years at Mere I got the opportunity to go into The Alderley Edge Hotel as Junior Souschef. The Early days at the Edge were all about learning new styles of cuising which is invaluable in any role as a chef. I got the opportunity to grow and learn all aspects of every section which was inspiring . I was offered the opportunity at the age of 29 (2004) to take the role of head chef. For me this was when I really started to develop my own style of food.

After 9 years at the top winning Cheshire restaurant of the year , Chef of the Year and appearing on GBM amongst many highlights including cooking for many celebrities and famous people I decided to move on into development with Sousvidetools.

The main inspiration for this was to train and educate people . I always had a great passion for education but could never really see myself at a college . The job is super rewarding and I am proud to say we have become the leading light in sous-vide education in the UK . This is something I am very proud of . Food is my biggest passion and this is what keeps me interested the most . I love to travel and try out other countries cuisines. I am constantly inspired by ingredients and the pursuit of getting the best out of them without destroying their natural flavour .It is super important to me to continue to try and be at the forefront of the food scene this is what inspire me and the team to keep driving forward .

Technology is now widely used in the industry and I am super proud to say we have been a big part of spreading that message.

I am very lucky to be in the position I am and the drive to constantly improve our training and links to the next generation of young budding hospitality chefs.

TI feel that my experience over the last 25 years really enables me to get close and educate the “next generation” of chefs .

The industry which I love is really struggling to bring through new recruits and if I can help that process I will be immensely proud.

The food seen in the Uk has improved dramatically over the last ten years and I feel this will continue with the correct education. What happens next only fate will tell us...

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