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Recipe: Chef O’Flynn’s Confit of Irving’s Farm pork belly
Have you heard? June is Alberta Pork Month! Yes, we know that local pork is great all year round, but summer and pork have a special relationship that is hard to ignore. Grilled pork chops, BBQ ribs, ground pork burgers are all simple things to make at home, but we know chefs love to cook with all things pig as well.
Throughout June you can visit 16 restaurants in Edmonton who are all featuring locally sourced AB pork on their menu – and the chefs are sharing their recipes!
The Westin Edmonton’s Executive Chef Ryan O’Flynn held nothing back with his June is Pork month dish: Confit of Irving’s Farm pork belly with Rocky Mountain Chorizo and PEI lobster arancini, Napa cabbage, ‘pine nut butter’ and mycelium
Chef O’Flynn is featuring two Alberta products on his June is AB Pork Month dish.
“I’m featuring Irving Farms pork belly, the quality of their free-range meat really shows through in their product. I’m also using a chorizo made by Rocky Mountain Meats out of Calgary I’ve put inside an arancini risotto ball. I’m also incorporating two great Canadian products – Prince Edward Island lobster and morel mushrooms from the Northwest Territories.”
O’Flynn, who won Edmonton’s gold medal plates and then took home gold at this years Canadian Culinary Championship, loves cooking with pork .
“Pork is great – it is the most versatile animals you can work with. It is like a gastronomic god. No part of the pig you can’t use; no part that doesn’t taste good. The pig is made to be cured, roasted, sous vide – you name it. The pig was meant to be eaten.”
For O’Flynn, the opportunity to support and showcase local producers is essential to building Canadian cuisine.
“Whenever possible it is important to use local ingredients. When you do it right – it supports someone in our community. Supporting local producers is one of the most important things we can do. Buying from hardworking producers like the Irvings will help us build our food culture.”
Chef O’Flynn graciously shared his recipe with Alberta Pork – but we recommend visiting him for dinner at Share Restaurant in the Westin Edmonton to truly experience his dish.
Confit of Irving’s Farm pork belly
Rocky Mountain Chorizo and PEI lobster arancini, Napa cabbage, ‘pine nut butter’ and mycelium
Recipe courtesy of Chef Ryan O’Flynn, Share Restaurant at The Westin Edmonton
Ingredients
Risotto
200g Grade A DOCG Arborio or Bomba rice
300g Bouillabaisse
5 shallots cut brunoise
1 clove garlic split
2 bay leaves
Sprig thyme
50g Parmigiano Reggiano DOCG
10g butter unsalted
10g first pressed Italian olive oil
1 lobster poached at 53c for 15minutes, diced
400g dried focaccia bread crumbs
1 free range organic egg
100g flour
100g sea salt
300g Rocky Mountain Chorizo diced
1 cup dry white wine
Pork belly
1kg green curing salt
1 Free Range Pork Belly
400g bacon fat (or duck fat)
Pine nut butter
300g toasted pine nuts
20g hot water
100g pomace oil
Sea salt to taste
Garnish
Fine sliced Napa cabbage
Wild Morel mushrooms from NWT
Procedure
Risotto
1. In a large shallow pot heat the olive oil to smoking point and add the chorizo sausage and fry it until crispy, reduce the heat and add the shallots and garlic and cook slowly and softly until they are tender. (bring Boullibase to a simmer in another pot)
2. Add the rice and increase the heat and fry it until the rice is hot and gives a toasted smell and deglaze with a cup of dry white wine
3. Start to ladle in the bouillabaisse little by little as if it was a emulsification until the rice is cooked with a touch of bite left
4. Stir in the parmesan cheese and the chopped lobster and spread the risotto into a sheet pan to cool in the fridge (this can be done the day before)
5. Wet your hands and roll 25g balls from the risotto mix
6. Set up a breading station and double bread the risotto balls in the flour, egg and bread cum mix to make arrancini
7. Just before plating deep-fry the arancini balls in clean oil at 180c until golden brown. Season
Pork belly
1. Cover the pork belly in herbs and rock salt overnight
2. Rinse off the belly and pat it dry, smear the bacon fat all over it with your hands and vac pack it in a air tight bag and cook it in a water bath at 84c for 24 hours
3. After 24 hours remove the bag from the water bath and put it into a ice bath to stop the cooking
4. When cold, dice the pork belly into perfect cubes and reserve for plating
5. Pan fry the belly before plating it.
Pine nut butter
Put all the ingredients into a bar blender and puree until peanut butter consistency
Morels
Shallow fry in a butter/ water solution for 1 minute
Napa cabbage
Cook slowly in chicken stock until tender