Matt Hinkle, Executive Chef of The Athletic Club of Columbus (Ohio), prepared his Iberico Pork Presa Steak for a board of directors meeting.
“I always try and give them something different and creative,” he says. “This Iberico presa steak was something I had never used before. It is a cut behind the shoulder/collar with great marbling. I started with that and wanted to keep the rest of the dish to complement the season.”
R&D was all about getting the pork right, he says.
“I seasoned the marinated pork with salt and pepper and seared in a hot pan,” Hinkle notes. “I then cooled the pork and vacuum-sealed with a little bit of butter. The pork was sous vide for 3 hours at 145 degrees and then seared again before slicing.”
“I tried the marinade a few different ways,” he adds. “The last time I made this marinade, it turned out awesome. It gives the pork so much flavor and complements it—and the other components on the plate—very well. … The flavors are like fall on a plate. The apple cider marshmallow and rutabaga purée goes so well with the spice of the pork and the fresh herbs and garlic from the chimichurri.”
His final dish features rutabaga purée, sautéed greens, blistered cherry tomatoes, charred pearl onions, crispy Brussels sprout leaves, marshmallow fluff, and chimichurri.
“I put the rutabaga down first in a line across the plate,” Hinkle says. “Next, the greens were placed at twelve o’clock and two blistered tomatoes on either side. The ½-inch sliced pork was placed shingled in front of the greens. Then I placed two roasted pearl onions, one in front and one behind the greens. Two marshmallows fluffs were pipped on either side of the plate.”
Finally, he placed a few Brussels sprout leaves, torched the marshmallow, and put the chimichurri on last.
“You eat with your eyes first, so I like to use bright colors to achieve that,” says Hinkle. “I used turmeric in this case for the rutabaga purée to get that bright yellow color. It complements the darker colors on the plate very well.”
Ultimately, the dish turned out exactly how he’d planned.
“Our board of directors loved it,” Hinkle says, “and I am excited to run it in our restaurant.”
