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Burnt Apple crusted Akakuro-Buta Pork Collar Butt Recipe

Mmmm pork collar butt. It’s a cut I usually use for making pulled pork and it favours low temperature and slow cooking. It’s a pretty tough cut with lots of fat which also means it takes longer to cook and tenderize, but has incredible flavour.

When I tried Chef Jefferson Alvarez’s Akakuro-Buta Pork Collar Butt dusted in Burnt Apple I was intrigued by the cooking process. I didn’t even think it was collar butt and it was almost like the pork version of a rib-eye steak. It was so moist and tender that I thought he must have used the sous-vide technique, but he didn’t. I had to ask him for the recipe which he was delighted to share.

Chef Alvarez served it with grilled apple, apple pine jus, mushrooms, and butternut squash puree for an elegant sweet and savoury balance, earthy flavours and winter ingredients.

I called the new Akakuro-Buta the “Ferrari of pork” in Canada since it is bred in Lethbridge, Alberta. I experimented with the two types of Akakuro-Buta cuts available exclusively at T&T Supermarkets (pork collar butt and boneless loin) to see which I preferred. It is apples and oranges to compare since one is a lean cut and the other is fatty, so it really depends on what you are trying to achieve in your recipe or what your dietary concerns are. Personally I appreciated the pork collar butt because