Jamie Bissonnette's miso-cured pork tenderloin

[nonelvis]

Another one from The New Charcuterie Cookbook. Tricky only in that it's pretty messy to make, but the final results are gorgeous and both look and taste like peppered raw tuna. We put most of it in something vaguely pho-like tonight, using the hot broth to cook it just a bit (though it's perfectly delicious raw):



4oz (113g) kombu
1/2lb (227g) pork tenderloin
8oz (227g) white miso paste
1/2C (113g) cracked black pepper

Soak kombu in water for 30 minutes. Towel dry the pork, then smear it with miso paste. Lay out kombu in a thin layer. (Ideally on top of a few layers of plastic wrap/clingfilm, IMO.) Place pork on top. Roll up kombu and pork tenderloin. (Bissonnette says "like a canola," and I'm still not sure what he meant; in any case, roll it up so that the pork is fully covered by the kombu.) Wrap in plastic wrap/clingfilm, making sure it's airtight, then cure in the refrigerator for 14 days. (You will probably want to put it on a shallow pie tin or other plate, since even when tightly wrapped, there was a little seepage from the kombu.)

Once cured, brush or wipe off miso and throw away kombu. You don't have to get every bit of miso off, but you shouldn't have more than a really thin coating left. Roll in cracked black pepper and let sit in the refrigerator for 10 hours.

To serve, slice and eat it like ham, use in stir-fry or soup, or grill and put on toast with butter. Wrapped in the refrigerator, it will keep for up to 10 days, assuming you don't eat it all first.

Comments

[arcanetrivia]

The fact that it's raw is kind of putting me off (RAW PORK WHAT), but given its appearance, I wonder - are things like prosciutto actually uncooked? Have I been eating technically raw pork all this time and not noticing? (Like, I know cold-smoked salmon is actually raw fish and I don't mind that, but then I also am fine with sashimi to begin with. Raw legged animals is something else again.)

[nonelvis]

I admit, the raw pork part of this is freaky! I was slightly terrified to try eating this myself. But in fact, the long curing process for prosciutto -- which yes, technically is "raw" pork -- renders it safe to eat, and trichinosis hasn't been a significant problem in the US for many years now. Also, apparently when dealing with cuts of meat rather than ground meat, any bacteria are most frequently on the outside -- which is the part exposed to the salt cure (or here, miso and kombu cure) that's going to kill them. Here's a good post about charcuterie safety and common sense from an expert chef.