Pepper-Crusted Smoked Mortadella
A finely emulsified Italian-style pork mortadella studded with cubed fat, pistachios and olives, then smoked or poached to a silky, pepper-fragrant slice.
Ingredients
| 375 g | lean pork | |
| 75 g | back fat | |
| 50 g | blanched cubed back fat | |
| 10 g | kosher salt | |
| 1.25 g | Insta Cure #1 (curing salt) | |
| 15 g | potato starch | |
| 2.5 g | unflavoured gelatin | |
| 1 g | white pepper | |
| 0.25 g | coriander | |
| 0.75 g | garlic powder | |
| 0.5 g | mace | |
| 0.13 cup | 31 ml | red wine |
| 0.13 cup | 31 ml | cold ice water |
| 2 g | whole peppercorns (optional) | |
| 12.5 g | pistachios (optional) | |
| 12.5 g | olives (optional) |
Instructions
- Dice the back fat into small cubes and blanch for 3 minutes.
- Grind the lean pork and the fat separately, twice: first through a 6 mm plate, then partially refreeze and grind again through a 3 mm plate.
- Mix the gelatin into the wine until fully dissolved.
- Mix the kosher salt and the curing salt into the ground lean pork and transfer to a food processor. Chop for 3 minutes while adding half the chilled wine, keeping the temperature at 35-39Ā°F (2-4Ā°C).
- Once the meat is chopped, add the fat and the rest of the seasonings and emulsify. Add the remaining wine and the ice water while chopping, until the temperature reaches 57Ā°F (14Ā°C).
- Dust the whole ingredients (blanched fat cubes, pistachios, olives) with potato starch so they bind, then fold them evenly into the meat batter.
- Pack the batter firmly into the ham maker (or stuff into casings) and let it rest in the fridge overnight.
- To smoke: work low and slow, starting at 110Ā°F (43Ā°C) and gradually raising the temperature to 175Ā°F (80Ā°C) over about 10 hours, until the internal temperature reaches 150Ā°F (66Ā°C). To poach: cook in a 176Ā°F (80Ā°C) water bath until the internal temperature reaches 155Ā°F (68Ā°C).
- Cool it down in an ice-water bath and refrigerate overnight before slicing. Enjoy.