Harvest Scallops

Harvest Scallop

For IPA-Braised Pork Belly:

Amt    Ingredient
One-half    pork belly, slightly trimmed, fat-side
scored, and cut into 6” squares mirepoix
10    garlic cloves, crushed
5     leeks, cleaned and chopped
2 pitchers     good India Pale Ale (we use Dogfish Head)
3 bunches     thyme
3 bunches     sage
3 bunches     rosemary
3 tbsp.     peppercorns

Procedure:

• Preheat oven to 220º.
• Sear pork on all sides in a braiser, until golden brown on all sides. Remove from pot and turn heat up until smoking. Add mirepoix to caramelize.
• Replace pork back in the pan, along with garlic and leeks. Add beer until about halfway, covering pork. Cover the top with herbs, and sprinkle in the peppercorns.
• Braise in the oven, tightly covered for about 3 and 1/2 hours. Remove pork from the pan and let cool.
• Return the braiser to the range and reduce the braising liquid until almost syrup. Strain, cool, and reserve.

For Smoked Pumpkin Nage:

Amt    Ingredient
1 #10 can     pumpkin puree
black cherry wood chips, soaked in
hot water for an hour
1 qt.     heavy cream, warmed in a pan
½ lb.     butter, melted with the cream
1 bunch     fresh thyme, steeped with the cream
5     peppercorns, with the cream
5     garlic cloves, crushed, with the cream

Procedure:

• In a hot smoker, add the wood chips, creating a yellowy, billowing smoke.
• In a perforated hotel pan, lay down as many coffee filters as you need to cover the bottom and half of the sides of the pan.
• Using a rubber spatula, spread the canned pumpkin around the pan. Lay the pan in the smoker. NOTE: Every smoker is different; the point is to impart a medium amount of smoke flavor into the pumpkin.
• Scoop the pumpkin out of the pan, discarding the filters, and place in a hotel pan.
• Roast pumpkin for about 20 minutes at 350º, to dry it out a bit.
• Dump the pumpkin into a bowl and slowly ladle the cream mixture in, whisking to incorporate, until the nage has reached the consistency of whipped potatoes.

For Braised Kale:

Amt    Ingredient
10    heads Tuscan kale, roughly chopped
and cleaned
1    smoked ham hock
3    carrots, peeled and finely diced
3    yellow onions, julienned
3    garlic cloves, minced
1    lemon, juice
roasted chicken stock
to taste    salt and pepper

Procedure:

• In a braiser, bring a little blended oil to a smoke.
• Add carrot, onion and kale. Cook until the kale becomes just wilted.
• Add garlic and drizzle in lemon juice.
• Add enough stock to halfway submerge the greens.
• Add the hock, and cook on the stove over a light flame for half an hour, with a tight-fitting lid. Reserve the liquid for a future soup.
• Mince the meat from the hock and toss with the greens.
• Lay everything on sheet trays and cool.

For the Orange Butter:

Amt    Ingredient
1 lb.    butter
zest    from 3 oranges, minced
10    red clover flowers, dried and crushed to a powder (substitute: chamomile)
1/4 tsp.    fennel pollen
3 tbsp.    caramelized shallots, minced
2 tbsp.    fresh thyme

• Soften butter and whip with the rest of the ingredients.
• Roll in plastic wrap about the size of a scallop, and freeze.

Final Assembly:

• Trim and pat-dry scallops.
• Sear in a smoking pan with a bit of blended oil. Turn once caramelized, and add three slices of the pork belly.
• Add to the pan 1 tbsp. butter, 1 tbsp. minced shallot, 3 fresh sage leaves, and one thyme sprig. Turn off the heat, and continue to baste until the heat dissipates.
• Discard browned butter and flavorings. When fired, broil to warm, and place a slice of the orange butter atop each scallop.

Submitted by John Zeggert, Executive Chef, St. Davids Golf Club, Wayne, Pa.

Tags: harvest scallops john zeggert St. Davids Golf Club wayne pa