Porcelet with Chef Kerry Heffernan at South Gate

Female: Hi. Caroline: I’m Caroline Alex McBride. Female: And we’re here at South Gate on Central Park where modern décor and modern cuisine take on new heights. Caroline: Inspired by nature, the menu is a medley of the season’s finest harvest including a spectacular porcelet. Female: So let’s go behind the burner and meet the chef. Caroline: Hi. I’m here at South Gate on Central Park, here with Executive Chef Kerry Heffernan. Kerry, what are you making for us today? Kerry: So we have a lovely porcelet which is a very young pig. Caroline: So, how do you know it’s young? Kerry: Well, you can tell by the size of the eye of the meat that is chopped, which is called the eye. And you can also see the size of the bone structure. So that sort of anatomy tells you it’s a very, very young animal which means it will be very tender. It’s going to require delicate gentle cooking and not a lot of crazy searing and screaming. So this has got more connective tissue that runs throughout it, and that makes a very good braise. And braising is when you sear the outside and you cook it very slowly. Caroline: For a long period of time? Kerry: Under moist conditions. So you allow moisture to penetrate the flesh, tenderize, etc. So, we’re going to season the shoulder… Caroline: With what kind of salt? Kerry: I’m sorry, Kosher salt, thank you very much. You know, and just a lot of fresh ground pepper. We’re going to put one side down. When you hear that sear, you’re advanced. But you see, it immediately gives that wonderful caramelization, a nice brown color, it’s nice and dry. There’s no spinning. If you would look really closely, you could see, as the meat is searing, moisture is coming out. It is going not into the oil but into the air. The atmosphere is so hot, it gets transformed into a gas immediately, so you never have that liquid to liquid to gas. It goes liquid to gas immediately and you’re never wasting any time or any of the pan’s effort. Imagine if you will, this has been seared, placed in a large amount of liquid and braised. Caroline: And braised with what? Kerry: That’s onions, celery, carrots—so it has been tied. It’s cool. It’s that raise that we saw before, and there is flour and you a combination of almonds and panko breadcrumbs. A little bit of oil. So this is already cooked. All we’re doing is coloring and crisping that one side. Caroline: Wow! This look fabulous. What did you make for us Kerry? Kerry: So this is the braised and crisp shoulder of porcelet. I braised the shoulder and then chill it. And if you can see here, coat it with panko and almonds. There is a couli of white eggplant with margarine. We have some grilled Japanese eggplant and a tiny bit of wilted spinach leaves and a few fried shallots. A few more mardrem leaves to sort of accent and finish the dish. Caroline: It’s very tender when you cut through. This is very moist. It almost melts in your mouth when you try it. The difference between traditional pork as we mentioned earlier is amazing. Thank you so much for such a lovely evening. Kerry: My pleasure. Caroline: Cheers. Kerry: Thank you for a lovely company. Caroline: Behind the burner members can enjoy porcelet, foi gras, and other fine meats and games by taking advantage of our exclusive promotion from D’Artagnan. Stay tuned to Behind the Burner where we bring you the tips, tricks and techniques that light the culinary world on fire.