Bacon Steakie
By Chef Tyson Cole, Owner/Chef at Uchi in Austin, TX
Pork Belly
INGREDIENTS
- 5 oz. Pork belly
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 2 tsp. Ssugar
- 1 pinch Ground coriander
- 1 pinch Ground juniper
- Corn Starch (Enough to dust and coat the pork belly for frying.)
DIRECTIONS
- Set up the immersion circulator at 164º F. Mix the sugar, salt and spices together. Season the pork belly well with the cure mix and seal the pork belly in a vacuum bag.
- Place the bag in the circulator making sure it is completely submerged. Cook overnight for 12 hours. Remove and let cool. *Note: An immersion circulator is typically a commercial-grade appliance. You can substitute this method by tightly sealing the pork belly in a Ziploc bag and submerging it in a pot of water at the same temperature. You will need to continue to add water through the 12-hour cooking process as it will evaporate from the pot.
- Before serving, preheat oven to broil. Heat a frying pan with vegetable oil over high heat. Dust the pork belly in cornstarch and fry until golden. (About 3 to 4 minutes.)
- Remove and glaze with fish caramel, and place in oven until heated through. (About 5-7 minutes.) Slice and plate.
Fish Caramel
INGREDIENTS
- 1 stalk Lemongrass, rough chopped
- 1 bulb Garlic, rough chopped
- 1 large Shallot, rough chopped
- 1 large Piece of fresh ginger, peeled and rough chopped
- 1 ea. Thai chili, rough chopped
- 1 cup Fish sauce
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Water
DIRECTIONS
- Combine lemongrass, garlic, shallot, ginger and Thai chili in a pot and cook to caramelize.
- Deglaze pan with fish sauce.
- Add the water and sugar and cook until reduced by half. (About 30 minutes).
- Strain, let cool, and reserve for later use
Thai Basil Puree
INGREDIENTS
- 3 ea. Garlic cloves
- 1 whole Shallot
- 1 oz. Thai basil leaves
- 6 oz. Vegetable oil
- 1 pinch Citric acid
- tt. Kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
- Peel and rough chop shallot and garlic to a uniform size. In a small sauté pan gently sweat the garlic and shallots in about 1 ounce of vegetable oil over low heat. Add a pinch of kosher salt to enhance flavors from the garlic and shallot.
- Prepare an ice bath for shocking the basil after blanching.
- While garlic is heating, bring a small saucepot of salted water to a boil. Quickly blanch basil leaves in boiling water for about 30 seconds, and then immediately shock it in the prepared ice bath. Remove from ice bath and place on paper towels or a kitchen towel to soak up excess water.
- Place sweated shallot and garlic, with cooking oil, into a stainless bowl and place on ice bath to cool. Next in a blender, purée oil, shallots, garlic, and blanched basil, salt and citric acid. Try to keep the oil as cool as possible while blending to keep the purée from turning color. Once all ingredients are consistently puréed, remove from the blender and cool down again on the ice bath.
- Reserve the basil purée at room temperature for later use.
Shaved Watermelon Radish
INGREDIENTS
- 1 ea. Watermelon radish
- Ice water bath
DIRECTIONS
- With a peeler, shave the radish into paper-thin slices.
- Place shaved radish into a bowl with ice water to shock it, and give it a more toothsome texture.
- Let the shaved radish sit in ice water and use immediately.
Garnish
INGREDIENTS
- 1 ea. Kumquat, sliced into 1/16-inch rounds
- 1 ea. Serrano pepper, sliced into 1/16-inch rounds
- Olive oil
- Lime Juice
- Salt
- Thai Basil
TO ASSEMBLE
- On a rectangular plate, place a 2-inch strip of fish caramel down first followed by the sliced pork belly. Using a squirt bottle, place three rounds of the basil purée around the pork belly.
- In a stainless bowl, combine the radish, serranos, and kumquats and dress with a drizzle of lime juice and olive oil and a dash of salt to taste.
- Top the pork belly with salad and garnish with Thai basil.