Garde Manger week one

Our piggy for the class

Why knife skills are so important in Garde Mange?

This week we started a new block - Garde Manger. This block is all about cold buffet, appetizers, and different techniques for preservation. We are going to make sausages, pates, and some other exciting dishes. The instructor for this block is extremely knowledgeable about the subject and very passionate. Also he is very open minded and understandable. His position is that mistake could happen, but you should analyze your mistake and learn from it, to avoid the same or similar mistake in the future. Garde mange is all about presentation. As a result knife skill
is crucial, as everything has to be uniform.

This week was short one, as Monday was a day off for student. So the first day for the class was Tuesday. On Tuesday we received about 400 pounds of meat and poultry, including a whole pig. The pig was broken down into primal cuts. The whole class on Tuesday was dedicated to butchering meat and poultry and preparing it for curing and brining. I got an extra project to debone pork shoulder and to take the skin off. Then I had to clean eye round to prepare bresaola. Bresaola will take long time to prepare, it should be brined in red wine with aromatics for seven days and then it should be air-dried for another five (?) days. Our team of four is really great we work together very well and have no argument who is doing what.

Porchetta rolled again and ready
for roasting

On Wednesday we continued working with raw products. Also we received fish - salmon and trout. Trout was cured for smoking. Salomon was split in two parts, one for smoking the second one to prepare gravlax (cured salmon). The goal for the day to process all raw product, so at the end everything supposed to be cured, brined for the future preparations. All items brined the day before should be moved in the brine, so there will be even marination all around. We did not finished anything that day (so unusual having no final product). One of my project was curing porchetta.

Smoked trout served Thursday
not the best presentation

I mixed my aromatics, prepared pork belly for the curing (it was not an easy process, as it should be split in two and butterflied for the even thickness), then I put my aromatics on the first pork belly and realized that salt was not mixed with aromatics. Fixed the salt issue, rolled pork belly, and tied beautifully. After that I realized that pork loin was sitting on my table and I asked the chef what we suppose to do with it. He asked me what is porchetta in general. Yes, it is a pork loin wrapped in a pork, cured and cooked. Also he said that my two tied pork bellies were too small for his eyes. I had to untied these bellies, place loin inside, roll then and tie again. At least that was a practise for my skills:-)

Pork rillettes great presentation

Thursday was the first day we served our food. We served smoked trout, pork rillettes and  porchetta. All our food had to be served with appropriate accompaniment. In case of appetizers there should be crunchy element (crostini for example), some spread and garnish. So we prepared cream fresh with horseradish for trout and served it on crostini. Pork rillettes (pork meat cooked until very soft and then broken into pate consistency) was served with mustarda, fig jam, candied orange peel for garnish on top of crostini. Sam did a great job in terms of presentation it was beautiful and the chef noticed that and explained all elements and why they were done in a certain way. I cooked porchetta and served it with a red wine sauce.

Porchetta first time

The sauce was my concern for almost the whole class. I started with sweating vegetables (celery, onion, leek), deglazed with wine, added dried sour cherries, mustard seed and pork stock. The taste was quite bland and I was simmering the sauce for a long-long time. After reducing from five quarts of liquid to one the taste was somehow better. So I strained the sauce and finished it with port and butter. Porchetta was also good.

Tea smoked duck served in won-ton
wrappers 

Friday was the busiest day so far. We served another porchetta, smoked salmon, salmon gravlax, smoked chicken, smoked turkey breast, tea smoked duck and pork rillettes. There were a lot of knife work to prepare all garnishes. I learned how to cut fine dice of red onion (you can use the same technique with white one and shallot). Interesting presentation was for the tea smoked duck. We fried won-ton wrappers in a form of cups,

Pork rillettes served in glasses
with mustarda and fried bread crumbs

then filled them with asian slaw (napa cabbage, carrot, mayo, soy sauce, a bit of sugar), fig jam and orange segments. For the smocked chicken I made a Waldorf salad (the chef made it a day before, but I used different dressing). It was fun and busy day.

Smoked chicken
with Waldorf salad

Porchetta again