From Tail to Snout, Grunt to Squeal, a Pig from Caledon (Plus Some Really Great Chefs) Can Teach You How to Savour Every Last Detail of Dinner

The Beauty Shoulder Pete Goffe-Wood, Kitchen Cowboys loin Laurent Deslandes, Bizerca Bistro rump Neil Jewell, Bread & Wine

The Head Bertus Basson, Overture

trotters leg Chris Erasmus, Reuben Riffel, Pierneef à La Motte Reuben’s

BELLY Margot Janse, Le Quartier Français of the Beast From tail to snout, grunt to squeal, a pig from Caledon (plus some really great chefs) can teach you how to savour every last detail of dinner

By Tudor Caradoc-Davies Photographs Igor polzenhagen

154 n o v e mb e r 2 011

I’m not @Pigspotter, but I’m nervous as hell about traffic cops right now. Winding my way over Hells Hoogte heading from Franschhoek to Stellenbosch, traffic fines and faulty Iheadlights are the least of my worries, because I’m driving with a butchered body in my car. All I can think is that if I were to get in a crash, even a minor fender bender, or get pulled over at one of those zero tolerance checkpoints, it would be difficult to explain the neatly dismembered limbs and organs I have packaged in see-through plastic bags in my boot and the head on the passenger seat. I feel like some kind of winelands Dexter. Did I get my licence updated? Do I have my driver’s licence on me? I wonder what prison food in that Correctional Services facility in Paarl is like? It might take the cops a moment to work it out, but the body in question belongs to a 90kg pig and I’ve just taken possession of what remained of it after Neil Jewell and three other chefs butchered and divided the carcass. My mission? To deliver the remainder to the other chefs who’d volunteered for this experiment. The Pig Squad (from left): Jewell is a chef, charcuterie expert and man chefs Chris Erasmus, Margot with a deeper understanding and love for meat Janse, Neil Jewell, Reuben Riffel. than Jan Braai, Vleis Visagie and Homer Simpson will ever understand. Of all the chefs competing for profits and praise in Fransch- and celebrate their cooked or cured cuts at a You see, modern man has gone from wily hoek’s foodie enclave, Jewell has carved a banquet attended by foodie writers, bloggers, hunter-gatherer to the ignorant supermarket reputation for himself as the meat specialist. tweeters and influencers. On a deeper level, the schlubs we are today. We refer to food as That’s why Men’s Health chose him to be goal was to discover the full potential of the protein, carbs and fat before identifying what Captain Pig in a one-of-a-kind event: the Pig Off. whole animal from snout to tail, offal to prime it really is. Idle aisle browsers, we pluck On the surface, the idea was to source the cuts; and to start the conversation about the indiscriminately at random cuts of meat giving finest free-range pig we could find, divide the provenance of our produce, to raise awareness little thought to what animal it is, what part of entire animal in a lottery among seven of South about the quality of what we eat and the con- the beast it came from and how it was treated Africa’s top chefs and challenge them to present ditions animals experience before we eat them. on its way to the butcher’s block. The majority

From Snout to Tail A piece-by-piece guide to cooking the most delicious pork on the planet pork \pork\ n 1 : the fresh or salted flesh of swine when dressed for food. See also: bacon, bratwurst, chicharrón, chitterling, chorizo, country ham, crackling, culatello, fatback, guanciale, headcheese, hot dog, jamón serrano, leaf lard, pancetta, pâté, pork rind, prosciutto, rillettes, salami, salt pork, scrapple, souse, Spam

156 n o v e mb e r 2 011 an interest, start the conservation with your butcher and begin to understand where your meat comes from.

f all the meats we indulge in, few are as Oversatile as pork. It holds up to a variety of preparations, from quick grilling to slow braising. You can tart it up with some bold flavours or accent its own character with subtle notes. But the biggest drawcard of pork for professional chefs is the fat. Since the mid- Eighties pork has been trying to market itself as the other white meat after health-conscious The Splits: Captain Pig, Neil consumers moved from Jewell, divides the spoils. pork to chicken, falling for a still-unproven link between saturated fat and heart disease. In response, industrial pig Of all the meats we indulge in, breeders started breeding the fat out of their pork to the extent that the average pig has few are as versatile as pork 15% less fat today than it did 60 years ago. The tragedy is that the fat those pork of us don’t know that the shrink-wrapped flesh Perhaps most worrying is that the majority producers toiled so hard to eliminate is in fact lining the aisles comes from young, over-sized of us know about these techniques, but find it the heart-healthy monounsaturated variety. animals that are maltreated and overfed on easier to embrace ignorance, because caring Take a look at the fatty profile of bacon: a steady diet of unnatural feeds and steroids. means effort. We believe that knowing may according to the USDA, 33% of bacon fat is Most of the time, we have no idea where the mean giving up what we like to eat. Hell, you saturated. But that breaks down like this: 31% meat comes from at all. From our home may even consider vegetarianism. But most is stearic acid and 64% is palmitic acid, neither province or trucked across the country? Was of you wouldn’t last. There’s a reason we have of which has much effect on cholesterol. Plus, it grass or grain fed? Did the farmer allow space all those pointy incisors and canines. Humans 41% of the total fat content of bacon is oleic acid, for it to root around for food in the sunshine; are omnivores through and through. the healthy fat in olive oil. or was it reared in a dark shed, knee-deep in its The good news is that we can continue “When you take a look at the whole picture,” own waste, face in a feed trough, back to back? to eat meat. All it requires is for you to take says Dr JeffV olek, a nutrition researcher at the

t h e l o i n 1. a mix of breadcrumbs, orange zest and parsley Laurent Deslandes Bizerca Bistro Pork loin, being so lean and tender, is one of the to add crunch and flavour healthiest cuts, but it dries to the finished dish. out easily. Keep it moist best for: and flavourful with these 3. Baking and grilling three steps: 1) Buy loin Pork and smoke are with a thin cap of fat on perfect partners, but most Once browned and sealed, the loin top; 2) brine it overnight guys don’t have smokers. can retain moisture if baked or in ½ cup of salt, ¼ cup Solution: a few pinches grilled for a short period of time. of sugar and 2 litres water; 2. of smoked sea salt to and 3) cook it to an inter- Because loin is pretty top slices of loin works nal temperature of 65°C. mushy, you should use well too.

n O v e mb e r 2 011 157 Chef Pete Goffe-Wood prepares to show his hand.

The chefs each received two cuts: a “goodie” and a “funny”.

University of Connecticut, “87% of pork fat is stock-reared pigs as well as significantly higher humane, sustainable conditions, with diets free predicted to have no effect or a positive effect levels of polyunsaturated fat and significantly of hormones and other additives. The support on cholesterol.” lower saturate-to-polyunsaturated mass ratios they get from locavore-restaurants and chefs Now they tell us. What’s worse is that the and total lipid dry masses. That means lower (people interested in eating food that is locally “healthier” pork we’re exposed to doesn’t exactly total fat and a greater proportion of fat produced) is brilliant, where menus inform go through a natural process. To breed out comprising good polyunsaturated fat. Their and educate customers about how the pork much of the healthy fat, farmers pump their findings concluded that the high levels of chop on today’s menu comes from X farm and pigs full of antibiotics and other drugs, which saturated fat in domesticated pig meat were is a Y breed of pig. While South Africa is not stimulate muscle growth and inhibit fat storage, not natural, but rather a consequence of the there yet, interest is definitely growing in the in essence replacing the pot belly with a skinnier, intensive stock-farming practices used to provenance of our food. faster-growing frame. accelerate animal growth to slaughter-weight. To bring the Men’s Health Pig Off together, Researchers at the University of Witwaters- we needed a superstar pig. Pork with character rand found that when commercially farmed ortunately, like Star Wars, the that tastes incredible; looks amazing both pork was compared to laboratory pigs raised rebels are organising. Small cured and cooked; and comes with the in near-natural conditions and wild-ranging farmers overseas have been assurance that it has had a happier life with warthogs, the lab pigs and warthogs showed working hard to reintroduce top- more sunshine, freedom and healthy food than significantly lower levels of saturates than the F quality heritage hogs, reared in most office workers experience per annum.

T h e R u mp & T h e E a r s with fennel, white wine and bay leaves or with Neil Jewell Bread & Wine a barbeque spice. If you throw your pearls to swine

and they lend you their o

best for ears, poach them in slightly u d i

: t acidic water using either a n s

m Roasting, braaing and wine, vinegar or lemon s juice until they’re tender, r

frying (ears) R a d e

then chill them. Put them h e e a n s t

The rump (as opposed to the Charcuterie selection: o i 1. through flour, egg wash & t

shanks) forms the upper portion a Rump, according to Jewell, and breadcrumbs and here’s some we pre- mp u tr of the legs. is ideal for the braai – espe- make little chips of them pared earlier from r h e

cially when it’s flavoured for deep-frying. a Glen Oakes pig. t i l l u s

158 n o v e mb e r 2 011 Your pig, roasted commercial pig farming, he took a chance on Cramming animals into sheds has to perfection farming special pigs specifically for his two consequences. On commercial chicken farms, customers, charcuterie experts Neil Jewell and their beaks are all clipped so they don’t peck Richard Bosman. each other to death out of boredom. Similarly, Chances are you don’t have access Like a day-spa and health resort for the with commercially-farmed pigs, their teeth and to a Monolith like the one Pete Goffe- Wood used to slow cook his pork beasts, his farm is perfectly suited to farming tails are clipped (with no anesthetic causing shoulder Boston-Butt style for 10 free-range pigs. If you took the mountain bike major stress) to stop the pigs from biting each hours. But you can still cook deli- track up a scrubby fynbos-covered hill that’s other when they’re packed into confined spaces. cious pork at home going to be a part of next year’s Cape Epic, you’d With an outdoor playground of swampland, Slow, consistent heat from your oven get to the beach near Hermanus. Then there forest, fynbos-covered hills and pastures, can produce good results. Here’s how are forested sections with oak trees for Crowther’s pigs are not frustrated and bored to do it at home: rub a three to six kilo- scratching against and finding acorns under, so he doesn’t need to mess with their teeth or gram pork shoulder (often sold as Bos- open paddocks with grass and plenty of mud, their tails. Watching them run around the hills ton Butt) generously with kosher salt what Crowther cites as an essential balm for squealing and grubbing, they seem like porcine and fresh cracked pepper (or, alterna- contented swine. triathletes high on endorphins. tively, brine it overnight in a brine of two litres water mixed with half a cup “As a saying, ‘happy as a pig in sh-t’ makes At birth or about three days old, commercially- salt and a quarter cup sugar, and cook no sense because that implies that the pigs lie farmed piglets get iron injections, which is it to an interior temperature of 65°C). in their own sh-t in a pigsty. Mine are as happy something they need because, with a short life Then place it in a roasting oven and as a pig in mud. They love mud, it protects them ahead living on a concrete floor, they are not cook it at 90°-100° for six to eight hours, from the sun and it’s important for their skin, exposed to the outdoors and soil. Crowther’s until the meat falls apart with the gen- like elephants and hippos. They then rub on piglets don’t need the injections because they tlest pressure from your fingertip. You don’t need to watch the pork (or even be tree stumps. They don’t like the heat.” can look forward to grubbing around outdoors awake) while it cooks, but occasional Get Crowther talking about his pigs and you in the soil. basting with the pan drippings helps. will strike a well-informed emotional nerve. It’s While the way Crowther treats his pigs is Serve the pulled pork on a warm bun clear that the man actually gives a damn about reassuring, underlying our whole visit is the fact with coleslaw and spicy vinegar; fold it pursuing more than just the bottom line. that these happy pigs are going to be transformed into warm tortillas with a scoop of gua- “Commercial pig farming is a numbers game. into food. So what they eat (and don’t eat) is camole; or wrap it Korean-style in let- tuce leaves with rice, pickle slices and They have to go big to survive, which is why important. Crowther’s approach to their chilli paste. there aren’t any small pig farms that have nutrition and growth is equally commendable. survived. It’s only the big guys, churning out Crowther says, “I’ve got to keep my pigs for 200-300 pigs per week. That’s 5 000 to 10 000 so much longer (to attain a heavier weight for That’s why I found myself standing with pigs in a hectare. It’s like chickens: 30 000 charcuterie). To rear a 90kg pig, it takes us 12 Captain Pig Jewell in the middle of a torrential chickens in one chicken run at 100m x 30. months whereas a commercial piggery would downpour on Glen Oakes farm, run by Charlie On Glen Oakes 300 hectares, with take five or six months to reach the same Crowther and his wife, somewhere between approximately 250-300 pigs, Crowther weight.” To put that into perspective, in a Caledon and Hermanus. Nothing about it or produces five pigs per week, 20 per month.A nd commercial piggery a pig takes 84 days to put Crowther falls into the conventional farm or he treats them well. Take for example the on about 80kg, and it’s precise to the day. farmer mould. For starters, Glen Oakes doesn’t distinct lack of infrastructure at Glen Oakes. “Pigs are fast growers and the quickest smell like a pig farm. That’s because Crowther’s In a commercial piggery the sows are stuck in a converters of food on a 2:1 ratio – two parts pigs do not get fed fishmeal, which is what gives farrowing crate. It’s a cage the length and width food to one part meat with their weight gain. most livestock excrement that incredibly of the pig. They lie in there, have their babies They need a high-protein diet. In the pungent, unbearably acrid pong. In fact, his and literally can’t move. It’s a straightjacket. commercial industry a lot of the protein comes animals seldom get fed, other than the occa- Crowther’s pigs, by contrast, are pasture- from fishmeal, which is why it stinks. People sional supplement of extra acorns when the raised pigs as opposed to pasteurised. There are skeptical about where they get their meat farm’s own stock is depleted. Glen Oakes pigs is no confinement, they can wander off into the from because some farms feed their pigs are simply left to do what pigs do best: forage. fynbos and sleep wild if they like in summer, offal from chicken abattoirs, chicken blood.” Crowther is an unusual farmer on several but almost always return to the comfort of the That’s the kind of lax behaviour that led to fronts. Shunning the profit margins of simple A-frames in winter. mad cow disease.

1. one that breaks down the t h e s h o u l d e r Shoulder is not fancy, but connective tissue and soft- Pete Goffe-WoodKitchen Cowboys it certainly is versatile. It’s ens the fat. Shoulder also used for chops, sausage or does not require loads of cooked whole for barbecue fancy sauces and rubs. Just o or other tasty treats. salt and pepper. u d i best for t : a n s 2. 3. m Slow cooking, smoking s r and sausage-making Goffe-Wood says that both Don’t have a smoker but

R a d e shoulder and hand benefit still want to smoke? Place h e e a n s t To break down the fat and connec- from long, slow cooking, so hickory or oak chips inside o i &

t tive tissue, shoulder needs long,

a try poaching, roasting or a foil packet and toss it beginning or end of the mp u

tr slow cooking.

r braising them. Just ensure directly onto the grill. Even cooking process will lend

h e the technique you use is 15 minutes of smoke at the big flavours to your food. t i l l u s

n O v e mb e r 2 011 159 For Crowther’s drift of pigs there’s no Makin’ bacon award-winning chefs invited to participate in fishmeal, no animal by-products, no stimulants, the Pig Off start trickling in from surrounding steroids or hormones. They get acorns while Franschhoek restaurants. They’re here because the rest of their diet is out there in the mud, Jewell challenged them, but also because they woodlands and hills of the farm. Bacon is one of the world’s most get a chance to work with one of the fabled Glen delicious foods, but supermarket Glen Oakes produces a hybrid pig, a mix strips are too often anaemic and Oakes pigs. As I watch, Jewell cleaves, hacks between the white meat-producing sows called pumped full of additives. Cut out the and saws the pig leaving us the goodies F1s and the only pig on the farm that has a name, middleman and the chemical soup, (conventional cuts): the rump, loin, neck, belly, and start curing delicious belly at a giant hairy ginger Duroc. Crowther points out home. This Italian-style treatment shoulder, leg and fillet.H e also sets aside the that his bristly-ass coat resembles my beard. from Seamus Mullen, chef/partner funnies (less conventional parts so beloved by His name is Major and with a Ron Jeremy/ at New York City’s Boqueria restau- chefs): the ears, hock, trotters, kidneys, hand, rants, replaces the smoking process Homer Simpson hybrid lifestyle of eat, breed, with a long, spice-heavy cure, which tail and head. Who gets what is determined by sleep, repeat, he has it made. While the F1 yields intensely porky, deep- a lottery, and then the smartest chef guys (and provides the meatiness, the Duroc is renowned flavoured bacon. one woman) that I know are going to cook the for its marbling, a crucial factor for charcuterie. entire pig from snout to tail. But here’s the best The pigs go to slaughter at 80-100kg, a 1 pork belly (2.5-3kg), skin removed part: the benefits will wind up on your plate – purposely-heavier weight than normal porker 6 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste you can do it all yourself too. What’s more, pigs at 50-55kg because the dry-curing process 2 tsp pink curing salt you’ll want to. in charcuterie means the meat halves in size. ¼ cup kosher salt 2 tbsp brown sugar Being bigger, these pigs provide marbled fat 4 tbsp crushed black peppercorns Miracle Cure distributed throughout the meat that’s so 2 tbsp juniper berries Neil Jewell – Captain Pig important for Parma hams, coppa and sausages. 2 tbsp crushed fennel seeds Rump & Ears Where that fat is, is where the flavour is. 4 dried bay leaves, crushed If you hang around the front of Jewell’s Bread Farmers like Crowther aspire for more than 1 tsp fresh grated nutmeg & Wine restaurant you’re likely to hear the kind just stock sales. They want us to reconnect with 5 sprigs fresh thyme of excitable screams that happen in a certain our food supply. Several factors – from our beer advert when a bunch of guys discover industrial food complex to our insistence on Combine the garlic and spices, a walk-in fridge. The reason, in this case, is convenience cuts of meat – have separated the 1 rub them all over the pork belly, Jewell’s walk-in charcuterie fridge. The size idea of animals from the meat that comes from and place the belly in a sealable of a small caravan, and covered in info about plastic bag to store in the refrigerator. Turn them. We think of pork chops and bacon and the bag every day to distribute the curing Glen Oakes pigs, it’s packed floor to ceiling with ignore the wretched creatures wallowing in mixture. After a week, check to see if the salamis, hams, sausages and more in various their own filth. We focus on hot dogs and belly is firm; it should have the firmness of stage of curing and maturation. bypass the meaty trotters, the hefty shoulders a lemon. If it doesn’t, return it to the fridge Safricanised Brits, after throwing their lot and marbled jowls. People like the Crowthers and check it every day until it does. in with the London chef scene, Jewell and his are the first step towardsS outh Africans wife Tina travelled through Africa and found Rinse the belly thoroughly under developing the kind of pig pride like the Italians, cold water and pat it dry with their way to Franschhoek where they took on Spanish, Mexicans and Brits before us. Pork 2 paper towels. With the skin side running Bread & Wine. Tina, a chef in her own celebrated as pork, not a chicken alternative down, roll it, like a bedroll, as tightly as right who runs baking classes, is front of house or beef-lite. The goal would be for farmers to possible. Use butcher string to tie off the while Jewell runs the kitchen and carries out increasingly adopt Crowther’s way. Abandon belly in 2.5cm intervals, leaving enough charcuterie courses. the mass-farming route, go with the more string at one end to hang the pancetta in The main reason Jewell wanted to get a cool, aerated basement or closet. humane treatment of livestock, charge more involved in the event, other than enjoying for the meat and develop a name for themselves After three weeks, the pancetta a good blowout, was to get recognition for and the terrain that their pigs come from. should take on a sweet, pun- Crowther’s phenomenal work. The best way for Twenty-four hours after visiting the farm, 3 gent, porky smell – that means him to do this was through his charcuterie. For Men’s Health’s 90kg pig is delivered to Jewell’s it’s ready to go. It’s not meant to be eaten the event Jewell pulled out prosciutto made HQ, Bread & Wine restaurant on Môreson raw, so get into the kitchen and cook it up! from a Glen Oakes pig delivered one year and The raw pancetta will last up to a month Wine Estate in Franschhoek. The big-name, in the fridge. 10 days before. He also served up coppa, Spanish

1. you roast it. This allows the T h e l e g Crackling (also known fat under the skin to bubble

Reuben RiffelReuben’s as pork rinds or scratch- through, making the skin o ings) is the fried or roasted crispier. Just make sure you u d i skin of a pig. It contains don’t cut into the flesh. t a n s best for: no carbs, so it’s not as m unhealthy as you’d expect. 3. Think about it this way: Add a liberal sprinkling R a d e Slow-roasting and n o a 28g serving of crack- of salt at the last moment i t

indirect braaing a ling contains 17g of pro- before you place it in a tr The leg may be one of the more tein and 9g of fat – which is 2. hot oven. If you salt it too expensive cuts, but it gives uniform nine times the protein and Ensure the fat is dry. Score soon, it’ll form moisture i l l u s shapes when it’s carved and it lends

less fat than you’ll find in a the skin by cutting across and your crackling will lose l e g itself very nicely to stuffing. carb-loaded potato chip. it with a sharp knife before some of its crackle. h e t

160 n o v e mb e r 2 011 mind it responds well to slow cooking at a low temperature for a long time. He also recommends incorporating dried fruit with your pork neck. For the trotters, he vacuum-packed them in apple juice, rosemary, dried shiitake, made a mousse and stuffed and cooked it for 24 hours, keeping the jelly from the carcass. From the offcuts he made a porchetta of cooked salami with thyme and parsley. Beyond the Bacon Margot Janse – The Classicist Belly & Kidney If there were two cuts Janse did not want, they were the kidney and the belly. The kidney because, for all her hardcore chef credentials (she’s possibly the most internationally- celebrated chef in the country, with multiple awards placing her restaurant Le Quartier Francaise in the world’s Top 50), she just doesn’t like offal. The belly because it can get very piggy… not in a good way. To Janse’s credit she relished the challenge of being forced to work with cuts she would Charlie Crowther tends not have picked herself and the results were his herd of happy hogs incredible. For the kidneys, Janse went on a at Glen Oakes. mission to eradicate any odd smells, soaking them in milk for 36 hours, rinsed and cleaned them, then brined them in a salt solution for salami, air-dried loin, mettwurst and simple Instead of limiting our national heritage menu five hours.A fter chopping them small and French saucisson sec (meat, fat, salt and pepper). to bobotie and braais, Erasmus is digging deep blanching them to boiling point they become He roasted the rump he was allocated and with researchers into what the original Cape soft and “lost their kidney yuckiness”. made crackling before putting the meat in a Dutch settlers cooked. Many of them came to Tapping into her Dutch childhood, Janse consommé. To this Jewell added the ears for Africa with their Dutch chefs who had to make made Bitterballen, traditional Dutch bar snacks poaching once cured and smoked with fennel, do with the new continent’s ingredients. with the kidneys, crumbed golden balls of glory cavolo nero, parsley, mustard and apricot. For the Pig Off,E rasmus started out by served with a dried gooseberry mustard. For Rapturous slurpings followed from the tables. carving off a sliver of the neck and trying it raw home cooking, Janse advocates the same anti- to truly appreciate the flavour of the pork. On offal treatment of milk and brining, but then Stretching the Neck Out the evening of the event he quietly got on with sautéing them with onion, flambéing it with Chris Erasmus – The Revivalist his work creating a trio of pork by deboning the alcohol and making a ragù with pasta. For the Neck & Trotters neck, taking the offcuts and mixing them with belly, in order to respect the animal, Janse was Chris Erasmus is an interesting chap on several spiced fruit, Cape spice like cinnamon and the only chef to focus on utter simplicity by levels, most importantly through what he is nutmeg, and cooked it sous vide for 16 hours simply adding salt, sous vide the belly and trying to achieve at Pierneef à La Motte on La at 70°C. The resultant flavour combo was finishing it off in the oven with the cut-off fat Motte wine estate in Franschhoek, where they probably one of the most talked-about dishes rendered as a confit. With the least tampering, are (literally) rewriting the cookbook on what of the evening. Erasmus advocates doing your it was the dish that most brought through the we define as traditionalS outh African cuisine. pork neck on the grill or on the braai, bearing in fynbos and acorn diet of the Glen Oakes pig.

t h e b e l ly 2. 3. If you’re braising the Put a tray of salt water o Margot Janse Le Quartier Français belly, be sure to use sugar below your cured belly/ u d i

t brine as it holds in the pancetta to create mois- moisture. If your plan is ture in the air and kill off a n s m best for: to cure it yourself instead, the bacteria. Brown the then the ideal conditions pancetta chunks in a pan R a d e n Slow roasting and curing you’re looking for are as a base for beans, and o i t a Boneless, fatty and very tasty, pork 60% humidity and a then fold in cooked white tr belly is a staple of Asian cuisine 1. temperature of about beans, chopped chard or (especially Chinese and Korean Belly usually means bacon, 15°C. A bit of air move- spinach, and a sharp cheese i l l u s food), and the source of most but according to Janse, it’s ment is important, so like English cheddar. Add l e g American bacon. great slow-roasted or basements and closets a fried egg and you’ve got h e t braised on a low heat. will work well. an amazing meal.

n O v e mb e r 2 011 161 Bertus Basson creating his five dishes from the pig head and fillet. Everything but the Eyelashes Robertson to take advantage of the region’s Bertus Basson – The Madman booming wine trade and recently installing Fillet & Head a third Reuben’s at the V&A Waterfront’s One Basson is the kind of guy who follows the adage, & Only luxury hotel, he’s playing and handling “go big or go home”. Before setting himself up as the pressure, payload and scale of only a few head honcho at Overture in the Hidden Valley heavyweight international chefs. between Stellenbosch and Somerset West, he While he may claim inexperience with spent years competing in international chef pork leg (chef gamesmanship perhaps?), tournaments representing SA. Now he runs the result goes down well with the foodie Overture and has a hand, a spoon and a say in crowd wrestling for plate space at the Pig Off. several other restaurants, food businesses and The leg, cooked for three hours in chicken initiatives, making him a contender with Riffel stock, port and vegetables, was served in thin for SA’s busiest chef. For the brief, instead of slices with a reduced-pineapple juice, creating one dish out of the goodie and one horseradish and greens. For the challenge from the funny, he managed to create five in of the cartilaginous tail, he crumbed it in total, matching them with excellent selections Japanese panko breadcrumbs and mustard from his partner in the sublime, Overture’s and deep-fried it before serving it with a sommelier Thembi Verenu. Man-Oven for pizza, BBQ and smoking. dipping sauce made of a reduction of Everson’s The fillet, a cut that did not particularly excite Smoking the shoulder over mesquite chips for cider and mustard. Basson, was put into a kind of gnocchi-pork- 10 hours at 110°C before allowing it to cool and stroganoff. For pork fillet at home, Basson begs shredding it like pulled pork. The resultant meat Lost in Translation you not to overcook it. Keep it juicy by sealing was incredible, having soaked up its own juices, Laurent Deslandes – The Wizard it in a pan, then put it in the oven to finish.S erve and was served with Goffe-Wood’s home- Loin, Hock & Head it with a traditional garnish of sage and apple. smoked habanero BBQ sauce with coleslaw and Every time I spoke to Frenchman Laurent Other dishes he made included perfect cornbread. For the hand, Goffe-Wood salted it in Deslandes in the build-up to the Pig Off, he scotch eggs made with quails’ eggs, pork mince brine overnight and created a jambon persillé, a asked me in his heavily-accented subtle style and panko breadcrumbs, sausages made with jellied ham and parsley terrine with capers and if he could “pleeeze av the ed”. It’s something apple, chestnut and sage, a sheet of crackling gherkin mustard that had remarkable depth of Deslandes specialises in at his downtown from the skin and an excellent terrine from the flavour and texture. Cape Town restaurant Bizerca Bistro, where head, the cheeks and the brain. The garnish? An he and his wife Cyrillia have fast established expertly charred pig’s skull that wouldn’t have Family Legacy themselves as one of the Mother City’s best. been amiss among the props for Lord of the Flies. Reuben Riffel – The Celeb His classically-influenced training, combined Leg & Tail with an imaginative Antipodean approach The Warm Shoulder I get a slightly quizzical look from Reuben to fresh produce and Pacific Rim fusion Pete Goffe-Wood – TheD ude Riffel when he gets the leg in the lottery.I n Shoulder & Hand his rags to ragù tale of a Franschhoek local Goffe-Wood is theMen’s Heatlth Food Guy and kid made good, growing up in his neigh- he got the job because he truly knows how guys bourhood, buying a pig was a huge collec- eat. And well he should – running Kitchen tive event for the entire extended family and Cowboys cookery school for legions of men friends. His family never got the prime cuts who come in with eggs and toast in their so to Riffel pork leg, while conventional in repertoire, but leave with an array of new skills cooking terms, is a relative stranger to him and flavours.H is food is whole and hearty, and as he’s always been drawn to the odder for the Pig Off he went with a combination of second-choice bits. robust flavour-soakedS outhern food and a Riffel, who made his name with the success smidgen of French sophistication. For the of the eponymous Reuben’s in Franschhoek, is shoulder, Goffe-Wood rolled out the big guns, the closest thing South Africa has to a culinary To enjoy a rich meat like pork, pair it with a bold red a contraption called the Monolith – a ceramic superstar. Having opened a second Reuben’s in blend or Shiraz.

t h e T R O T T E R S 1. terrine. Another expert tip: When you braise foods, small strips of trotter are Pierneef à La Motte Chris Erasmus your cooking liquid excellent when they’re becomes the sauce. Once fried in a tempura batter. you’ve removed the meat, best for: remember to simmer the 2. liquid until it’s thick Braised food may be tender Slow-cooking either enough to coat the back on the fork, but it can also by braising in liquid of a spoon. According to sometimes lack texture. To or dry roasting Erasmus, the gelatinous add a crispy exterior to the All the connective tissue and gelatin nature of trotters makes pork, finish it in a 260°C make trotters some of the most them good for adding oven for 10 to 15 minutes, flavourful parts of the the pig. consistency to sauces, and until the skin is deeply they also work well in a bronzed.

n O v e mb e r 2 011 163 Laurent Deslandes and Neil Jewell sample the curry.

food that he picked up working in Australia Hidden Valley continues to flow, some unsavoury aspects of the industrial food for years, means that the ever-changing Bizerca stalwarts still sliding &Union craft beers down complex, it can happen here too. By asking the menu is both challenging and inventive. If its their throats while the pig farmer Crowther right questions of your supermarket and your popularity among other chefs is anything to go brings out some of the vintage cider he makes butchers, you create a ripple effect among by, they’re on to something. in his spare time. your sphere of influence and begin to create For the Pig Off,D eslandes continued to Seven chefs took away cuts of an entire a demand that people like the Charlie surprise because, after we sourced him an extra animal and returned it in carefully completed Crowthers of this world will supply. head, we fully expected him to do something dishes with not one scrap wasted. Judging Retailers aren’t dumb, they understand French with it (dressed in lace, apple in the from the tweets going out during the speeches, demand and supply very well, but if your mouth, served whole singing La Marseillaise). the blogs the next day and the feedback in the supermarkets don’t have the answer when you Instead, he put it into an excellent multi- papers, the message got through. Twenty-five ask them where their meat comes from, make a layered flavourful curry with rice pilaf and people, chefs included, paid homage to the point of raising it with management. Get talking poached guava served with a kumquat chutney. animal, acknowledged the entire process to your corner butcher; the man’s more likely Then he created a pork paupiette – making a of its existence and, hopefully, created a to be able to find you meat that comes from very fine caramelised schnitzel-like effect with knock-on effect. reputable sources. Heck, eat less meat, but the loin while he braised the hock in honey and So what was the point of all this? Just ensure that when you do it’s not only delicious, spices, and poached it for three hours in veg another unrealistic foodie utopia? Are fancy but that you’ve made every effort to find out stock. The result he diced, adding mirepoix charcuterie pigs and top chefs accessible where it came from. And, get crackling! vegetables before creating crépinettes (sausage to you every day? Prehaps not. But this exercise mince mixtures) stuffed into the loin schnitzels was designed to illustrate a point, namely that finished with preserved lemon and served with as an individual you can effect change in the VIDEO EXTRA! Watch the pickled cabbage. meat market. It may not seem likely at first, but chefs in action at the Pig Off As the 90kg beast is reduced to gravy smears judging by the up-swell worldwide in ethical online at http://bit.ly/MH_ PigOff or scan the QR code on plates, swollen bellies and gentle burps, the eating, the increased education of consumers with your phone now! wine from Luddite, Boekenhoutskloof and and their subsequent rejection of the more

– tender and tasty by sim- whatever you like, trust us, t h e h e a d mering it in a pot of water it’s delicious. or stock laced with onions, Bertus Basson Overture r carrots, celery and garlic 3. l e ck i

cloves. If you ever happen to come t a into possession of a pig’s t best for: 2. head, Basson’s advice is to d a n s o

Bubble till the facial mus- slow roast it whole in the i Braising and curing t cles and cartilage pull oven, then serve it with a a Usually used to make brawn, stocks away. Remove the bones, dipping sauce of some sort tr or soup, the head is actually more 1. reduce the liquid and pour like a mayo aioli. “Pick at it i l l u s versatile than you might think. the natural gelatin and like you would if you were r

You can make any tough h e

cut of meat – be it head, meat into a mould. Call on your own eating a roast ot

trotter, shank or shoulder it terrine, headcheese or chicken on the couch.” a l l

164 n O v e mb e r 2 011