Tobias Bätz’s Aged Mangalitza Pork Neck with Hazelnut Cream and Sherry Gel

For the Aged Mangalitza Pork Neck

Ingredients

• 500g Mangalitza pork neck
• 1/4 bunch fresh marjoram
• 1/4 bunch fresh thyme
• salt
• ground black pepper
• hazelnut oil

Method

1. Cut the aged Mangalitza pork neck into 4cm pieces and season with salt and black pepper.
2. Vacuum seal the pork with the herbs and hazelnut oil and cook in a waterbath for 25-30 minutes at 62° C.
3. Remove from waterbath, unpack, pat dry and roast until crispy in a top heat BBQ at 800° C.

For the Sherry Gel

Ingredients

• 375ml sherry
• 25ml port wine reduction (125ml reduced to 25ml)
• 5.5g agar agar
• 5g salt
• 30g xanthan gum water

Method

1. Boil the sherry, salt, port wine reduction and agar agar. Allow to cook for two minutes, then pour on a baking tray and let cool.
2. Mix the cold mass with xanthan gum water in a mixer, then pass through a sieve and remove the air bubbles by using a vacuum-pack machine.
3. Place the finished gel into a pastry bag.

For the Morrels

Ingredients

• 200g morrels, washed and cleaned
• 500ml mushroom stock
• 40ml light soy sauce
• 20ml Ketjap Manis
• 20ml 13-year aged viscid balsamic vinegar
• 10g sea salt
• 15g fresh thyme
• 25g needles from Douglas fir
• 15g arrow root starch
• 15g water
• 50g Mangalitza lardo

Method

1. Mix mushroom stock with light soy sauce, Ketjap Manis, balsamic vinegar and sea salt.
2. Vacuum seal the cleaned morrels with the stock and steam in the oven for 40 minutes at 99° C. Afterwards, put the vacuum bag into ice water to cool quickly.
3. Strain the morrels, boil the stock and add the arrow root starch. Bring back to the boil, then add thyme and Douglas fir needles.
4. Let the broth infuse briefly, then filter the stock through a cloth.
5. Cut the Lardo in small brunoise and fry with the dried morrels in a hot pan. If necessary, finish it off with some salt.

For the Hazelnut Cream

Ingredients

• 1 piece Franconian nougat

Method

1. Roll the nougat between two sheets of baking paper to a thickness of 1.5 cm.
2. Put in the freezer and once frozen, cut into 8×0.5 cm strips.

For the Mashed Peas

Ingredients

• 500g fresh peas
• salt
• ground white pepper

Method

1. Blanch the peas and then place into ice water. Once cold, peel the peas.
2. Put three quarters of the peeled peas into a paco jet container, freeze, mix five times in the paco jet and then filter through a strainer.
3. Flavor the mashed peas with salt and pepper and stir the left over peas into the mashed peas.
4. Place the pea mixture into a pastry bag.

For the Savory Vinegar Gel

Ingredients

• 250ml white balsamic vinegar
• 15g fresh savory
• 3g sea salt
• 4.5g agar agar
• 12.5g xanthan gum water

Method

1. Vacuum seal the savory with the vinegar and salt and cook for 12 hours at 60°C in a convection oven.
2. Strain the vinegar stock, boil with agar agar, let cook for three minutes and pour on a baking tray. Allow to cool.
3. Mix the cold mass with xanthan gum water in a mixer, pass through as sieve, remove the air bubbles by using a vacuum-pack machine and place the finished gel into a pastry bag.

For the Cannelloni

Ingredients

• 1 sheet spring roll dough
• 1 egg white

Method

1. Cut the dough into 8 x 15cm strips, put some egg white on one end and roll on a metal cylinder. The part with the egg white closes the cylinder as a “glue”.
2. Deep fry until crispy at 180°C.

To Plate

1. Fill the cannelloni with mashed peas, place it in the center of the plate, top it with a thin layer of hazelnut cream and garnish with roasted hazelnuts, vinegar gel and young pea sprouts.
2. Place the fried morrels with the sherry gel parallel to the cannelloni.
3. On the other side of the cannelloni, place the Mangalitza pork neck.
4. Finish with morrel sauce.

Recipe courtesy of Tobias Bätz at 2-Michelin-starred Restaurant Alexander Herrmann at Posthotel Wirsberg