Heritage pig, smoked eel and raw peas

damian broom

damian broom

11th August 2017
damian broom

Heritage pig, smoked eel and raw peas

This recipe for heritage pig, smoked eel and raw peas is from the menu at Seaham Hall and serves four.

Ingredients

  • Pig:
  • 1 piece heritage pig cut from the top of the shoulder (ask the butcher for a presa)
  • Trim any excess fat and place in the fridge
  • Eel:
  • 1 whole smoked eel
  • Skin the eel, reserve
  • Fillet the eel cut into 4 small squares
  • Keep all the bones and skin
  • Peas:
  • 100g shell on peas
  • Pod the peas, keep the tiny sweet peas whole and reserve the larger ones for the sauce
  • Bacon breadcrumbs:
  • 50g sourdough – torn into tiny pieces
  • 50 g dry cured smoked bacon
  • Bruniose the bacon and dry fry in a pan until really crispy, drain off and reserve the fat
  • Fry the sourdough until crispy, season and drain
  • Herb sauce:
  • 20g Lovage
  • 40g parsley
  • 30 g large peas
  • 40g eel fat
  • 10g Dijon Mustad
  • 10g champagne vinegar

Method

In a blender place all the ingredients and blend on high speed until bright green. Pass and chill
Eel fat:
Chop the eel trimmings and skin into small pieces, render the eel pieces with the reserved pig fat until the fat melts and stats to caramelise, cook until the eel bones have fried golden brown. Leave for 1 hour then pass.
To finish:
Brush the pig lightly with some reserved eel fat, season. Grill over charcoal, turn very regularly so the pig cooks evenly, cook until its medium and leave to rest somewhere warm – reserve the pan and the fat. Dress the peas in a small amount of the herb sauce. Warm the eel in the reserved pan and fat.
Carve the pig into the desired shape. Spoon some herb sauce around the plate. Scatter the peas around the plate, followed by the bread/bacon mix. Split the eel into 2 pieces and rest either side of the pork. Pick a few calamint leaves and add to the dish.

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall  – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.