Beef Stracotto, Fried Brussel Sprouts, and Pork Saltimbocca

Fried Brussels sprouts

savory zabaglione, lemon, bonito bread crumbs $8

Brussels sprouts part of the cabbage family, are fried in Canola oil for a crunchy texture.  The fried vegetable is then tossed with sour dough bread crumbs, bonito flakes, lemon juice, and then finished with the savory zabaglione and allepo pepper.

Terms to consider:  

Zabaglione:  Typically a sweet dessert, that is made by tempering sweet wine, sugar and egg yolks to a custard like texture.

Our process: Egg yolks, salt, butter, and milk in a criovac bag.  Cook at 72 degrees celcius for 20 minutes.  Place in an isi aeration canister and charged with n02. For lighter texture.

Bonito: Dehydrated tuna.  Adds saltiness and Umami.  The bonito is tossed with the crunchy ass bread crumbs.

Allergies: Gluten*, fish*, dairy*, eggs*

Beef Stracotto

Braised chuck steak, root vegetables, crispy potatoes, salsa verde

This dish is fairly ubiquitous to most cultures, and the differentiator between them is the braise.  Ours is heralding from Piedmont, via our use of red wine to deglaze.  “Stracotto” literally means “cooked over and over.”  The beef is seared, then cooked on a very low heat for several hours.  This cooking process allows the beef to become tender and the sauce to build a full flavor.  It is a classic dish for the fall and winter months.

Our process: We will be using the chuck steak flap (similar in texture/flavor to a short rib, it runs under the sirloin) of the cow.  We will season them with salt an hour before searing to caramelize the outside in a pan.  We will braise them at low temperature in a fortified stock.  The braise will include mirepoix, garlic, thyme, peppercorn, and bay leaves.  Once tender we will cool the beef in the braising liquid.  At service, we will serve 8 oz portions with the reduced braising liquid, the mirepoix from the braise, crispy potatoes tossed with chopped herbs and pecorino, confit root vegetables, and garnish with salsa verde.

The braising liquid:

We start by roasting beef knuckle bones that have the most marrow and collagen = flavor and viscosity.  We build a stock that will run for 8 hours.  We strain the stock and reduce to fortify.  Next we take beef trim, caramelize it with mirepoix, deglaze with red wine and pour the stock on top to simmer for flavor.  The next step is to caramelize more beef trim and dried porcinis and add broth on top again.  We then reduce to fortify.

Root vegetables: onion, turnip, carrot, celery, all confit in pork fat.

ALLERGIES: dairy*, fin fish*, allium, mushroom, pork.

Pork Saltimbocca

Black Lentil-Pistachio Stufato, Chanterelle Mushrooms

We will be using Berkshire Pork loin.  Berkshire pork is a heritage breed from England. They are well-known for their tender meat and fat content.  They work well in long cooking preparations and high heat.  

The preparation:  We begin by first cleaning some of the top fat off of the loin.  We then brine the loin in a solution of water, salt, white wine, sugar, lemon overnight.  Once brined, we dry and season the meat with chopped sage.  The loin is then rolled in prosciutto then finally caul fat.  Caul Fat is the stomach lining of the pig.  We’re using it because loin tends to be on the leaner end and caul fat protects and adds fat as it cooks.  

The loin will be cooked at low temperature immersed in pork fat, mirepoix, thyme, peppercorns until at an internal temperature of 53 degrees celsius.  When the desired temperature is reached, we will cool the loin in the fat.  At service we will sear an 8oz. piece of pork to medium internal temperature.  The dish will be served alongside a pork brodo, chanterelle mushrooms, and roasted carrots.

Pork Brodo

Procedure:   We begin with a dark chicken stock, mirepoix, and aromatics. The mixture is then cooked for 6 hours. The next day, the stock combined with pork bones, more mirepoix, and more aromatics. The stock cooks until reduced to ¼ the size.

The stock is then strained and set aside. All remaining  now caramelized pork meat and mirepoix are deglazed with wine and reintroduced into the stock for fortification. The mixture is strained once more, placed in a clean pan, and reduced slowly while cleaning and skimming for sauce consistency.  

Every stock must be strained through fine chinois and cheese cloth.

Stufato:

We render smoked slab bacon with onions and garlic.  We add carrots and lentils to the pan to toast.  We deglazed with wine wine and then cook the lentils to tender with mushroom stock, thyme, bayleaf.

At service we caramelize chanterelle mushrooms add cooked stufato and finish with pistacio, parsley and a scant amount of butter.  

Allergies: Nuts*, Allium, legumes, dairy*