Iberico Pork Presa, Razor Clams, Wild Garlic Butter

Graham Garrett

Graham Garrett

19th January 2016
Graham Garrett

Iberico Pork Presa, Razor Clams, Wild Garlic Butter

With a selection of delicious pork cuts available, cooking methods and flavour pairings are exceptionally varied when it comes to pork recipes. Take a look at the Iberico Pork Presa, Razor Clams, Wild Garlic Butter recipe below, as tried and tested by professional chefs - Why not give it a try? Presa is one of the finest things out there. It's red with marbling, like the pork version of Wagyu beef. It's a great cut, from just behind the shoulder area. It isn't used much here, but it's eaten in Spain, and the flavour is stunning. Serves 4-6

Ingredients

  • for the wild garlic butter
  • 125g soft butter
  • 20g parsley
  • 1/2 banana shallot, peeled and chopped
  • 50g wild garlic leaves
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • pinch of Espelette pepper
  • for the razor clams
  • 500g razor clams
  • glass of dry white wine
  • 1 presa (approx 800g)
  • white or purple sprouting broccoli
  • fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

Method

To make the wild garlic butter, put all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth. Scrape into cling film and roll tightly to form a neat log. Store in the fridge until required.

Wash the clams under cold running water for a few minutes. Heat a wide shallow pan until it's really hot. Put in the razor clams and pour over the wine. Cover with a lid straight away to trap in the steam. Leave the clams to cook for 1 minute then drain through a colander. Keep the juices. Once the clams are cool enough to handle, remove them from their shells. Cut away the intestinal tract and foot of the clam, retaining only the nice white firm fleshy bits. Slice diagonally.

Heat a grill pan or barbecue. Coat the presa in a little olive oil and season with fine sea salt. Place on the pan or barbecue and cook for about 5 minutes on each side, turning occasionally, making sure it doesn’t burn. Remove to a warm place and leave to rest for 10 minutes. It’s at its best served medium rare or no more than pink. You could probe the thickest part if you have a meat thermometer. I find 59°C is about right. If the thought of eating pork cooked any other way than well done freaks you out, then I suggest cooking something else. Iberico pork is expensive.

To serve, quickly blanch a few pieces of sprouting broccoli for about a minute. Put them on the grill to finish cooking and give them a charred flavour, then season with fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper. Warm a little clam juice in a small pan, add a couple of slices of garlic butter and the sliced clams to gently warm.

Carve the pork into slices and place on warm plates with the broccoli. Spoon the clams and buttery juices over the pork.

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 and restrict access – 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 12 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 500,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, 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.