The third course of this sumptuous tasting was a Duo of wild boar, chops with morel mushroom fava bean fricassee,crispy belly with tomato and pepper confiture. Chef Adam Horton, like me and many other chefs loves pork and all things pig. Whether it’s domestic, wild or heritage, pig is in my mind the finest meat out there.
Rick & "Goose" on the line ready to plate the pork duo
Earlier in the evening I was helping Ramon and Chris the Sous Chef, prep the wild boar racks for service. Each rack needed to be trimmed of all fat and sinew to leave only the tender meat on the bone. Each bone needed to be “frenched” a process that removes all meat and cartilage from the rib bone above the tenderloin leaving only a clean exposed rib. The pork belly was braised the previous day to a melt in your mouth tenderness, and chilled in the walk-in. The day of the event the pork bellies were removed and cut into 3/4″ thick slices and then deep fried for service to give them a crispy outside with a soft center. The boar racks were all grilled on a mesquite grill, by Ramon, grill master extraordinaire, to add some of that smokey flavor. Nothing beats cooking meats over a wood fire whether it be steaks, pork and even seafood. It was time to get all the components together on the line for plating. We assembled on the hot line, Rick working sauté, Ramon working the grill, Heather heating the morel fava bean fricassee and Manny, Goose & myself there to plate.
- Marco and Juan Garcia ready to go
Time for service, the hot plates go down on the line and in assembly line fashion we each grab an element of the dish and start to go down the line. We traded off one had the tomato confiture and the other the fricasse those went down first, followed by the greens on the tomato confiture and next the meat. Ramon was getting the chops up to temp and slicing them while Rick was heating the pork belly up to temp for us to plate. Once the meat was down the sauce was applied and it went up on the pass for the Garcia Brothers to take out to the dining room.
Ramon, sous Chef Chris Kufek and Goose after thrid course goes out
Boar Chops foreground - Duo of wild boar, chops with morel mushroom fava bean fricassee, crispy belly with tomato and pepper confiture
Pork Belly foreground - Duo of wild boar, chops with morel mushroom fava bean fricassee, crispy belly with tomato and pepper confiture
This dish had a flavor profile unto it’s own. The medium rare boar was tender and very flavorful with a smokey and mildly sweet flavor. Combining that taste along with the earthy flavor of morels, the freshness of the fava beans and silkiness of cream made for an irresistable tirumverant of decadence that could soothe the most savage of beasts.
The pork belly had a pleasant crunch followed by the sweet moist flavor of bacon without the smokyness melteing in my mouth. The tomato & pepper confiture complimented the pork belly to round out the experience and cut through some of the richness of the meat. Once I tasted the heavenly duo I couldn’t resist doing some flavor combining of my own, so I took a spoonful of the morels and placed a slice of the pork belly on top and endulged myself for the ultimate gastronomic experience. This course was served with the 2006 Mountain Cuvee.
