A weekend spent trying to find fresh corn tortillas and eating fantastic pork pies has meant that this weeks newsletter is slightly more word light and recipe heavy - let me know what you think.
You can sit with me if you enjoy pork fat. All the richness of butter, without the milky after-burn, all the utility of oil, with added savoury depth. Pies, cakes, biscuits and pastries are dramatically transformed once laced with the stuff. Boring bakes become interesting takes. An apple gallette made last year stands out. Short pastry spiked with pork fat surrounded sweet, soft Bramley apples spiced with savoury cold weather spices. A supple corn bread felt the benefit of pork fat too. It had all the visual appeal of a flesh wound thanks to a poorly seasoned cast iron pan, but once unceremoniously scooped onto plates and dolled up with syrup and chilled double cream, it hit the spot.
To write about pork fat, without doffing my hat to Mexican food would be an oversight at best. Tortillas, rich in pork fat, have helped to create some of my most memorable breakfasts. Good eggs fried in lard until crisp and lacy, atop a warm flakey tortilla with a punchy vinegar forward hot sauce is a potentially perfect food. Tamales are another staple that I crave, often when the temperature dips. A soft, dense dough surrounds stewed meat creating a pockets of comfort neatly wrapped in a delicate corn husk. As far as fillings are concerned, I turn to trotters, head or belly - any cut that contains more fat than meat. All things slippery work perfectly against the backdrop of a steamed tamales dough.
WOTSIT PORK FAT ELOTES // SERVES 4
While tamales may well be the essence of authenticity, Wotsit adorned Elotes are the antithesis. Charred cobs of corn, rubbed with rendered pork fat, rolled an amalgam of parmesan and vivid synthetic cheese dust. Easy to make and blissfully messy to eat. The perfect snack for those who want to manifest a classic 90s child playground scene complete with genuine break time snacks and sticky cheese dust fingers. It often feels as if I went to sleep a stroppy primary school student and awoke a marginally more stroppy twenty-something with no in-between. These filled an emotional void and I was quite pleased with my creation - but mildly worried about the diplomatic implications of such an abomination.
4 cobs of corn, husk on preferable
60g rendered pork fat, room temperature (see below)
2 small bags Wotsits, crushed
40g parmesan, finely grated
1 lime, cut into wedges
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Wrap each of the cobs tightly in plenty of tin foil, bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes on a tray, until the kernels are soft and semi-giving.
Unwrap the corn from the foil - you might want to hold off for a few minutes. If you were lucky enough to get your hands on cobs with the husk on, now would be a good time to strip them from the corn. Pat the cobs dry with a clean kitchen cloth and char on all sides in a ripping hot frying pan over a fierce heat.
Brush the cobs in plenty of the pork fat. Roll them in the crushed Wotsits and grated parmesan. Serve with the lime wedges and extra Wotsit dust.
GUANCIALE, OCTOPUS AND NUMBING BITTER LEAF SALAD // Serves 4
I first developed this recipe over a year ago, encouraged by a similar recipe from the Black Axe Mangal book. For those who think the idea of braising octopus is daunting, it probably is. Avoid the gore, hassle and buy some good-quality, pre-braised octopus.
4 tbsp rendered pork fat, see below
1 octopus, massaged with coarse salt for 10 minutes (seriously)
1 orange, cut into wedges
100ml vegetable oil
1 tbsp sezchuan peppercorns, lightly crushed
4 tbsp honey
50ml cider vinegar
150g guanciale, very thinly sliced
3 heads of chicory
Tip the pork fat into a large pot and place it over a medium-low heat. Once the fat has melted, add the octopus and orange wedges. Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook gently for around an hour, shake the pan occasionally - the idea here is that the octopus cooks in its own juices. Once ready, a knife slid into one of its tentacles should meet little resistance.
While the octopus cooks, make the dressing. Tip the oil and peppercorns into a small pan and place over a medium heat. Allow the peppercorns to become deep golden in the hot oil. Take the pan off the heat and set aside.
Tip the honey into another small pan and place it over a high heat. Once it begins to bubble and darken in colour, tip in the vinegar and stand the fuck back. Strain the oil through a fine sieve into the burnt honey/vinegar mix and set aside to cool for later.
Once the octopus is ready, remove the tentacles. Slice the body open, remove the ink sack, stomach, beak and eyes - a gruesome task. Chop what remains into thick slices and transfer all the meat to a tray.
Lay the guanciale over the octopus. Once you are ready to eat, whack the whole tray under a hot grill for 4-5 minutes - until the fat becomes golden and melts over the octopus.
Transfer to a large bowl and toss with the chicory and plenty of the numbing dressing. Season to taste and divide between plates.
RENDERED PORK FAT // Makes a lot
1kg good pork back fat, diced
Preheat the oven to 150°C. Tip the fat into a casserole dish and follow with 200ml of water.
Ensure the fat is dispersed evenly across the bottom of the pan and bake for around 3 hours, until all the fat has rendered from any solids.
Allow to cool slightly, strain into a sealable container and store in the fridge.
YUM