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Pork belly. Candied bacon. Pig’s feet. It seems no one can get enough of Porky Pig these days, from tip to tail. Such is the premise behind Cochon 555, the annual competition that pits notable local chefs against each other in a piggy battle royale.
During the battle, chefs must use every last inch of a Heritage porker to create culinary masterpieces. (Note: Heritage piggies come from long bloodlines and are sustainably raised on family farms. Basically, they’re the best of the best.) April 21 marks the event’s second incarnation in Miami.
Yesterday, Short Order got to spend some time with Cochon competitor Chef Timon Balloo of Sugarcane Raw Bar and Grill, and we scored a sneak peek at his big plans. Check out the insider info after the jump.
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Last year, Michelle Bernstein took home top honors using a Heritage pig from Palmetto Farms, a family-owned, all-natural breeder in North Florida.
Balloo used a pig from the same farm for the porkchop creation he showed us (below) — a variation on what he’ll be cooking up for the big day.
Here’s Balloo working his kitchen magic, and how you can re-create it:
Heritage Pork Chop with Fava Beans, English Peas and Asparagus
Serves 1
Ingredients
16 oz bone-in pork chop
¼ cup english peas
¼ cup fava beans
3 spears asparagus
1 tbsp chives, chopped
1 tsbp parsley, chopped
2 tbsp whole butter
1 tbsp canola oil
salt (as needed)
pepper (as needed)
Method:
Brine bone-in pork chop for 24-36 hours in salt solution. Pat dry pork chop and season with salt and pepper. In a cast iron pan, add canola oil and pork chop. Sear the pork chop until both sides are golden brown. Place the cast iron pan and pork chop in a 350°F oven and roast until the pork chop is 145° internally. Remove from the oven and baste the pork chops with whole butter. Set aside the pork chop. On the same cast iron pan, heat English peas, fava beans, asparagus, chives and parsley. Serve vegetables with pork chop and enjoy!
This year’s other competitors include Aaron Brooks of Edge Steakhouse; Jeff McInnis of Yardbird; David Thomas of The Bazaar; Cesar Zapata of The Federal; Sarah Bigelow of The Meat Hook and Conor Hanlon of The Dutch. It’s bound to be a plethora of piggy goodness. Some pre-feast fasting is probably in order.
Miami’s Cochon 555 kicks off on Saturday, April 21 at the Four Seasons Miami. Prices run $125 to $250. You can score tickets online.
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