Mark Jensen

Chef and beer enthusiast Mark Jensen, of acclaimed Sydney restaurants Red Lantern and Pork’d, has joinedAustralian Brews News as a monthly columnist.

I like to cook free range pork low and slow. As the temperature drops and we head into winter my attention turns to the secondary cuts that can be cooked in one pot.Pork neck is relatively inexpensive and for me it has the perfect meat to fat ratio.

I’ve chosen to use Feral White beer in this dish because of its coriander and spicy citrus characteristics.The combination of barley and wheat in the White also brings a nice sweetness to the sauce.

All of these flavours marry perfectly with the roasted capsicum and garlic. Enjoy.

Feral White

Feral White pork and potatoes

Ingredients
1 kg of pork neck cut into 2 cm cubes.
500 mls of milk
4 bay leaves
5 tb olive oil
8 French shallots sliced thin
4 garlic cloves
½ quantity capsicum paste – recipe follows
½ bunch thyme
750ml of Feral white beer
500g of new potatoes, cooked in boiling water and cut in half
2 handfuls chopped parsley
salt & pepper

Serves 6

Feral White pork and potatoes

Place pork, milk, bay leaf and pinch of salt and pepper in a container, mix and marinate over night. Remove pork from marinade and rinse under cold running water. Dry with paper towel.

Place a deep-sided frying pan over medium high heat and pour in half of the oil. Seal and colour the pork in the pan in small batches, then set aside. Wipe the frying pan clean with a paper towel then add the remaining oil and fry the shallots and garlic gently until soft. Return the pork to the pan with the capsicum paste, thyme and beer. Stir to combine the flavours and bring to the boil, cover, and reduce the heat to a slow simmer and cook for 40 minutes. Check pork is tender with a skewer. Add the potatoes, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Check broth for seasoning, stir through parsley and serve.

Capsicum paste

Ingredients
4 red capsicums
1 head of garlic
1 tb pickled minced chilli
olive oil
salt & pepper

Method
Preheat oven 180º C
Place the capsicums and garlic in a roasting tray and cover generously with the oil. Place the tray into the oven and roast the capsicum until the skin blackens. Remove the tray from the oven and place the capsicums into a plastic bag and allow them to sweat and cool slightly. Peel the garlic cloves placing the flesh into a food processor. Remove the capsicums from the bag and scrape away the blackened skin and discard the seeds. Place the roasted capsicum flesh and chilli into the food processor with the garlic. Add salt and pepper and process until smooth. Scrape the puree into a sterilised glass container then cover generously with olive oil. The paste can be stored in the fridge under the oil for up to 2 weeks.

Click here to read our interview with Mark about Pork’d, located at545 Crown Street, Surry Hills. Look out for monthly recipes from Mark Jensen on Australian Brews News.

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