Pork belly and pigskin are kind of
the cheaper cuts of the hog, you know,
they're kind of the throw-away parts.
I am here in Columbus Circle.
I'm going to the Mandarin Oriental at the Aviary,
which is a high-end cocktail lounge,
and I'm gonna have exalted versions of these dishes.
(gentle jazzy music)
Aviary is the cocktail-centric offshoot of Alinea.
Alinea, I guess, would be
ya know, Chef Grant Achatz hyper modern,
very technique driven restaurant.
And then The Aviary would be it's counterpart
but the cocktail version.
- [Nick] So the same sort of scientific,
molecular stuff that's going on with food
you're applying to food but also to cocktails, right?
Yeah It's a lot of modern technique.
- [Nick] So really breaking down classic techniques
analyzing the science behind it
and then sort of doing it a more modern way?
Exactly.
So then tell me about the dish
this is a dish that captured my imagination
without me even having tried it.
The giant chicharrón is something that is
the process is actually relatively simple
we take again the giant Berkshire pork belly skin
and we cook it for about four hours
just at a soft boil.
(gently jazzy music)
Once it's removed from the water
we allow it to cool and we take any access fat
off of the actual skin itself.
And then they're dehydrated overnight for about 12 hours.
Once they come out of the dehydrator
we crisp them up at about at 375.
- [Nick] So right then you've basically
expelled as much water as you can out of it.
- [Chef Dan] Exactly.
- [Nick] And then it's just about crisping it up.
And you obviously, you have to fry them in a very large...
- [Chef Dan] We fry them in a large pot.
Absolutely they get quite large once they hit the oil.
- [Nick] And they must be spectacular
Does it like blow up?
- [Chef Dan] They expand immediately.
(jazzy electric guitar music)
We season after it comes out of the fryer
red wine vinegar powder, white wine vinegar powder
and distilled vinegar powder.
- [Nick] There's a dip, presumably
that changes over time as well?
Yeah it depends on the flavor profile
of what we're currently seasoning it with
but basically with this one we decided on a spicy corn
almost like a play on a hummus
so chips and hummus, so it's a spicy corn polenta
with cilantro, Calabrian chile,
and a little bit of lime zest as well.
The pork belly is basically a riff
off of a dish that was done at Alinea
and I fell in love with the dish.
It was just something that stuck with me when I ate there.
It was a riff off of an old classic.
We're basically taking Berkshire pork belly
and curing it.
- [Nick] That's almost like a rub, like a dry rub
that you'll cure it for how long?
For eight hours.
We'll then cut it into the portions
to fit inside our bags that we use to cook it at 85 degrees
and we cook it again for eight and a half hours.
- [Nick] In a sous vide?
- [Chef Dan] In a sous vide bath.
- [Nick] You wouldn't want to eat it in that way, right?
- [Chef Dan] Well that's why we roast it afterwards.
It gives it the caramelized flavor
that you would associate with pork belly.
So we then make our Thai banana curry.
(uplifting jazzy music)
We use a little but of little flowers
to really make it look pretty.
- [Nick] So that's really a lot
of intricate work putting it,
it's classic tweezer food, right?
A lot of little tweezer work, for sure.
And then we put our Thai pork belly on top of that
and then...
- [Nick] It's basically like a sandwich.
It's like a sandwich or a iceberg lettuce wrap.
It seems like a very classic Thai flavor profile
is that what you're really going for?
Absolutely, I mean these are
classic southeast Asian flavors
that we ya know just taken
and make an Alinea group version or an Aviary look to it.
It sounds fantastic I wanna try that pork belly again
and I wanna try the chicharrón for the first time
so I'm gonna take a seat and look out
on this glorious view and then hopefully you can feed me.
Absolutely, we'll cook some up for you.
Thank you, chef.
Thank you.
(groovy piano music)
Whoa did you you hear that?
I don't know if it's because we're like
in the corner of the building but literally
that was like a shot heard around the dining room
I'm very sorry about that folks
I'm just making my show here.
Wow, I'm gonna actually try this alone
and then we'll go into the dip
because wow you can smell the vinegar
it smells like an English chip shop.
There's that hint of grease you can tell it's fried.
And then that salty, vinegary punch.
Wow, I know I'm eating like a chicharrón
but it just feels like you're eating so much more of the pig
like you're getting the essence of the animal
It's really it's kind of revealing and weird in a way.
So here is the polenta corn
Calabrian chile cilantro dipping sauce.
Try to get a bit of everything on there.
Wow it's a real flavor of maize
and that Calabrian chile is pretty spicy
I have to say it's definitely giving it a kick.
It's a wonderful juxtaposition.
There's a slight grittiness there
but it's creamy that flavor of maize and corn
perfect counter point to the crunch of this
and the acidity of the vinegar.
This is definitely the best chicharrón I've ever had.
Probably the best chicharrón anyone's ever had.
I have another fine example of pork on the table here.
And let's go onto my old, familiar friend, look at this.
Wow it's crispy though, crispy lettuce.
(jazzy music)
That is such a litany of flavors
and textures that it's like hard to quantify.
let alone recount but yeah it's really like
it's like a wild ride of flavor
it really does take you to so many places.
It is a dish that sort of changes
every bite you have because there's so many elements
so many components.
And you'd think that that would be overwhelming
but here it isn't
because there's such clarity to each ingredient
and each ingredient is almost chosen to be calibrated
so it doesn't interfere with the other ones.
It's absolutely a superb layering of flavors.
Maybe the best thing to say is
that this is worth coming down here for
because it really is the most unique pork belly dish
I've ever eaten.
Incredibly complex dish incredibly rewarding
definitely recommend it, so is this gorgeous chicharron
and let's not forget the view I mean
look at that thing it's just ya know
you're up here on the top of the world
so we'll see you on the next episode of The Meat Show
and I'm gonna finish this pig.
Wow you can actually just like just sort of dip it this way
really if you wanted to if you were
feeling adventurous right.
That's how you should eat it it's more natural right.