Pork Jowl and Peas

SAVORY

Feb 15

Pickled Melon, Melon Skin MSG, Melon Seed Paste, Shiitakes, Peppers

Chef Jarrett Stieber of Eat Me Speak Me | Atlanta
Yield: 20 servings

INGREDIENTS

MSG:
Skin of 1 canary melon (flesh, seeds, and juices reserved), dehydrated and ground to powder
Salt
Sugar
Dried onion skin
Dried garlic skin

Melon Pickles:
1 quart simple brine (16:1:1, water-salt-sugar)

Peas:
2 cups Anson Mills Sea Island red peas, soaked overnight in a pot
Salt
Sugar
Cider vinegar

Pork:
1 skin-on pork jowl
Salt
Sugar
Pork stock
1 head garlic, smashed

Seed Paste:
1 clove roasted garlic
1 tablespoon sorghum syrup
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
Salt
½ lime
Canola oil
Sugar

Shiitakes and Peppers:
Canola oil
1 quart shiitake mushrooms, trimmed
2 pounds Jimmy Nardello peppers, cut into 1-inch chunks
Salt

To Assemble and Serve:
Canola oil
1 Thai chile, minced
Salt
Pork stock
Diced cold butter
½ lime
Maldon sea salt

METHOD

For the MSG:
Combine all ingredients.

For the Melon Pickles:
Cut the reserved melon flesh into bite-size pieces; reserve seeds. Soak in brine for 2 days in refrigerator.

For the Peas:
Add more water to peas, so they are submerged in liquid. Bring to boil, decrease heat, and fast-simmer until almost perfectly al dente. Season with salt, sugar, and vinegar, and continue to simmer until beans are creamy. Drain, cool on a sheet tray, and refrigerate beans; reserve cooking liquid.

For the Pork:
Heat oven to 280°F. Season pork with salt and sugar. In a pot, cover pork halfway with water, and add garlic. Cover and braise 3½ to 4½ hours, until tender. Allow pork to rest overnight in braising liquid; shred meat.

For the Seed Paste:
To a heavy bottom saucepot, add reserved melon seeds and juice, roasted garlic, sorghum, and rice vinegar. Cover with water and season with salt. Add more water as needed, and cook seeds until they break apart and are chewy, no longer grassy and fibrous. This will take several hours. While hot, drains seeds, reserving liquid, and transfer to a Vitamix blender. Add a little of the cooking liquid and a squeeze of lime. Blend, while slowly streaming in enough oil to emulsify. Pass through chinois and adjust seasoning with salt, sugar, and lime.

For the Shiitakes and Peppers:
In a large sauté pan over high flame, heat oil and hard-roast shiitakes and peppers on one side only. Remove from heat and season with salt.

To Assemble and Serve:
In a large skillet over high flame, heat oil and add some of Pork, Shiitakes and Peppers, and Melon Pickles. Add Peas and chile, and season with salt; stir. Add stock (or reserved liquid from Peas) and bring to a hard boil. Add butter, stirring to emulsify and to glaze solids. Season with salt and lime. Splatter a shallow bowl with Seed Paste. Plate the Peas and Pork on the splattered sauce, making sure not to cover all the paste. Finish with a healthy covering of MSG. Garnish with sea salt.

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