LeVeL33 Executive Chef James ‘Jimi’ Tegerdine’s recipe for Confit Iberico Pork Cheek
British-born James Michael Tegerdine (Jimi) was enticed into the culinary world in 2001, and went on to cook in leading kitchens around the world.
Jimi honed his skills among others at The Relais De Coche, a fine dining restaurant in the South of France where he built his foundations for “old world” cuisine, thoroughly immersed in the creation of classic French dishes.
With his passion and creativity, he quickly rose up the ranks, and in 2008, was approached by the director of a chain of Australian restaurants to consider the position of “Executive Chef” for Melbourne based Cho Gao, a new restaurant concept – his role, to give a fresh interpretation of traditional Asian dishes from Thailand, Vietnam, India, China, Indonesia and Japan.
Now, this 30-year-old executive chef leads a team of “solid boys” from the region delivering a unique dining menu to showcase modern interpretations of European cuisine at LeVeL33.
Ingredients (Serves 2)
200g Confit pork cheek Ibérico pork cheek
Duck fat, enough to cover pork cheek in pan
Hops hollandaise
1 Egg yolk
80g Clarified butter
10ml Hops reduction
Hops reduction
40g Baby shallot
10g Garlic
20ml White wine
100ml White balsamic
4 pieces Hops pellets
Onion stout jam
250g Brown onion
150g Red onion
100g Brown sugar
50ml Balsamic
100ml Stout
4 minute egg
Eggs (room temp) 3
Flour 100g
Japanese panko breadcrumbs 100g
Method
1. Trim off sinews from pork cheek and pat dry with paper towel.
2. Cover pork cheek with duck fat, cover with baking parchment, and place into oven at 140°C for 3-4 hours until fork tender.
3. For the onion stout jam: Thinly slice onions and sauté over low heat for 20 minutes until soft and caramelized. Then add the stout, balsamic and brown sugar. Cook for another hour until texture has a jam consistency. Season to taste.
4. For the hops reduction: Rough chop shallot and garlic, and mix it in a hot pan with white wine and white balsamic (or white wine vinegar), reduce by half. Then add the hops pellets until dissolved, fine strain the remaining liquid and set aside.
5. For the hollandaise: Bring a pan of water to a slow simmer, then add the hops reduction and egg yolk into a bowl, not touching the water, and whisk until it ribbons (it should take about 1-2 minutes). Remove the bowl from the pan and slowly pour in clarified butter whilst whisking to allow the sauce to bind and thicken. Season to taste.
6. For the 4 minute eggs: Drop 2 eggs into a pan of boiling water (drop it so that the shell lightly cracks – as this helps the cooking of the egg, separating the membrane from the shell a little when the water seeps through, making it easier to peel off). Heat the water to medium boil and cook for 4 minutes. Instantly remove the eggs from the water and place them into a bowl of iced water.
7. Once the eggs are cold, lightly tap the shell on a hard surface to crack it a little more. Run the eggs under slow flowing water and peel off the shells. Once successfully peeled, pat the eggs dry. Roll it into the flour, whisked egg (the 3rd egg) and breadcrumbs. Set the bread-crumbed eggs aside.
8. Place some of the duck fat into a sauté pan and place bread-crumbed eggs into it. Baste the eggs until light brown. Remove eggs from pan and drain excess duck fat. Season lightly.
Seats are still available for the exclusive S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna Four Hands Dinner at LeVeL33 on May 27 & 28. Call +65 6834 3133 or click here to reserve.
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