John Toth, The Darkroom Photography
Smoked Boar Chop from Delaney's
Not your average chop. Smoked boar gets first-class treatment in this recipe from Chef Tom Delaney of Delaney's Bistro & Bar.
Smoked Boar Chop with Blue Cheese Timbale and Honeyed Butternut Squash Puree
For boar/brine:
Ingredients:
Rack of boar
2 c. water
2 c. Guinness stout
1/2 c. cane syrup
1/2 c. sea salt
2 Tbsp. chili powder
3 bay leaves
Directions:
Combine all ingredients and stir until everything is dissolved, pour over boar rack in a non-reactive dish, cover and refrigerate for 5 hours. Pat rack dry and season with salt and pepper, wrap in foil, place in a roasting pan, and bake at 250 degrees for 90 minutes. Remove from oven and unwrap, then smoke with hickory or pecan chips for one hour. Let stand 10 minutes and slice chops. Assemble with Blue Cheese Timbale and sauce and vegetables.
For Blue Cheese Timbale:
Ingredients:
6 oz. milk
6 oz. cream
2 eggs
2 yolks
1 1/4 c. blue cheese, crumbled
pinch rosemary, fresh, finely chopped
pinch sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Directions:
Combine all ingredients. Whisk until incorporated. Pour into pan sprayed timbale moulds or a soup/or coffee cup. Bake in a water bath at 350 degrees for 15 min. Remove from oven, let stand for 5-10 min, then run a paring knife around the mould and invert on plate.
For Honeyed Butternut Squash Puree:
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
1/2 Vidalia onion
2 c. vegetable or chicken broth
1/4 c. honey
Directions:
Split squash, scoop out seeds and place on a baking dish cut side down and bake at 350 degrees until tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven, turn squash over and let cool until it is cool enough to work with. Slice 1/2 Vidalia onion and sauté until translucent, then add squash meat that is scooped out of baked shell. Add broth and cook for 5 min. Remove from heat and puree, adding honey to flavor and any additional broth depending on size of the squash.
Georgia bounty sources: Asher Blue Cheese from Sweetgrass Dairy Farms, Thomasville. Honey from Ellis Point Honey, Brunswick. Fresh herbs and squash from Vince Baker’s Farms, Hortense. Vidalia onion from G & S Farms, Thomasville.
