3 Meat Recipes to Get You Prepped for Brewery and the Beast

Chefs share their fave ways to highlight premium cuts—just in time for the Brewery and the Beast event this weekend.

Attention, meat lovers: the annual Brewery and the Beast event is setting up shop this Sunday (July 23) in the Concord Pacific lot. Get ready to celebrate locally sourced protein prepared by culinary chefs from some of Vancouver’s top restaurants, and wash it all down with expertly paired, award-winning beers. But before you eat your way through to a food-coma on the day, warm up that palette with one of these recipes from the experts at Cibo Trattoria, Homer St. Cafe and Pidgin.

Brewery and the Beast

Sunday, July 23, 2017 | 1 p.m. Concord Pacific Lot (88 Pacific Boulevard)

LAMB BACON PASTA 

By Chef Josh Gonneau from Cibo TrattoriaIngredients:Two pieces of boneless lamb belly (approximately 7 lbs)350 g Kosher salt500 ml maple syrup150 g Lamb Spice (see below)Lamb Spice:7 cloves1/4 cup black pepper1/4 cup fennel seed1/2 Tbsp. chili flakes1 Tbsp. coriander seed1 star anise1 cinnamon stickMethod:

1. Season both sides of the lamb belly by rubbing lamb spice (see recipe above) into the flesh.
2. Mix salt and maple syrup together in a small mixing bowl.
3. Cover the lamb completely with salt and syrup mixture.
4. Wrap lamb tightly with saran wrap and let stand in the fridge for four days.
5. After four days, rinse all seasoning off with water.
6. Dry lamb on towels or on a drying rack for one to two hours until completely dry.
7. Place lamb on a barbecue and cook slowly on indirect heat (try to keep temperature around 270F to 300 F)
8. Cook until meat reaches an internal temperature of 160F.
9. For additional flavour, use soaked wood chips in a cast iron pan on direct heat (Applewood, Maple or Alderwood.)
10. Cool to room temperature
11. Wrap in saran wrap or vacuum seal and store in the fridge for up to one month.

BEER BRAISED PORK CHEEKS 

By Head Chef Chris West, Homer St. Cafe and BarIngredients:2.5kg pork cheeks2 tbsp kosher salt2 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper2 tbsp canola/sunflower/grapeseed oil1 white onion, medium dice5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped1 carrot, medium dice4 garlic cloves, crushed100g tomato paste1 Thai chilli250ml orange juice1 bottle of your favourite BC craft lager or pale ale1.5L water or good-quality chicken/pork/beef stock10g coriander seed (leave out if you don’t like the flavour)10g black peppercorn1 stick cinnamonMethod:

1. Heat a large pan on the stove on high heat. Wait until the pan is hot, then add your canola oil (or other neutral oil of your choice, as long as it has a similarly high smoke point best for searing meat.) Sear the seasoned pork cheeks in the oil until a nice dark brown crust forms, turning to each side with a set of tongs. When browned on all sides, remove the pork cheeks from the heat, and set them in a deep braising pan.
2. Using the same large pan in which you cooked the pork cheeks (provided you didn’t burn any bits), turn heat down to medium-low. Sauté the onion, carrot and garlic until soft. Add the tomato paste to the mixture and sauté until lightly browned. Then pour the vegetable mixture into the braising pan with the cheeks. Put the large pan back on medium heat and pour in the beer. Let simmer for a few seconds, then pour into braising liquid. Pour orange juice, water/stock and all remaining herbs and spices into the braising pan. Cover tightly with foil and cook gently at 300 degrees for 2.5 to 3 hours. To test when the pork cheeks are done, test one with a fork you should need just a small amount of effort to pull them apart. When done, set cheeks aside on a tray, wrap tightly in saran wrap and allow to cool. Wrapping them will help keep the moisture in until you reheat.

Beer Jus:

1. Strain all of the braising liquid into a large pot, discarding any solids. Put the liquid on high heat and reduce by two thirds, or until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. When ready to eat, reheat the cheeks by simmering right in the sauce.

SUMMER PORK ROAST SSÄM

By Executive Chef Wesley Young, Pidgin restaurantIngredients:1kg pork shoulder roast1 head large green or red leaf lettuce quartered. Use the outer leaves only for wrapping.1 cucumber, cored and sliced into batons1 cup mixed herbs (basil, mint, shiso, sesame leaves)1 cup cabbage kim chi (can be bought from H-Mart or T&T)200 ml Ssämjang sauce (fermented soybean paste— Ssämjang sauce can be bought at Korean grocery stores such as H Mart)15 g salt2 tbsp fish sauce2 g black pepperMethod:

1. Preset the oven to 275C. Temper the pork roast at room temperature for 30minutes. Season with the salt, pepper and fish sauce. Roast in the oven for 2 hours. Turn the oven up to 450-degrees Celsius and cook for another 10 minutes to finish. Rest the pork roast for 20 minutes before thinly carving.
2. In separate dishes set the table with the lettuce, cucumber, herbs, kimchi and Ssämjang sauce.Build the wraps to your own preferences and enjoy with an ice cold lager.

For more chefs’ tips and recipes, subscribe to the Vancouver newsletter!