For someone like me who grew up not particularly fond of chewing on pork due to my mum not cooking it right in my growing up years, most times I just give pork a miss.
Chef Jean-Philippe Patruno at Bomba Paella Bar totally changed it all. I took a bite out of the Secreto Iberico ($34) he made and I am totally won over.
The Secreto Iberico essentially is a by-produce of the Ham industry, from which edible parts of the pig that are unused (after the key portions are harvested for used in the Ham industry) are exported outside of Spain. This practice of exporting these edible yet unused parts of the pig started only 5 years ago. Before that, most of these edible parts are for local consumption within Spain.
Over here at Chef Jean-Philippe Patruno's kitchen at Bomba Paella Bar, the Secreto Iberico (which essentially comes from the flank of the pig) is marinated with garlic, tomato, olive oil, thyme, vegetable soya sauce for 24 hours in vacuum pack in the chiller, then grilled over mangrove charcoal flavored with pieces of apple tree to give a sweet aroma. This Iberico meat can be served medium well, no need to be well done as the pork is obtained from Ham grade healthy pigs.
Chef Jean-Philippe Patruno gets his Iberico in frozen form direct from a farm in Madrid, Spain, and typically uses meat from 3-4 year old pigs. The Iberico is liken to waygu beef, and is of good grade. The pigs are fed on a very healthy diet typically consisting of corns, and are allowed to roam freely on the farm - so they were happy pigs.
How it is prepared : The frozen Spanish pork meat section taken from below the arm, the flank of the 3-4 year old pig is marinated with vegetable soya sauce, olive oil, thyme, garlic, tomato that are crushed. The entire meat plus marinate is then vacuum packed and kept in chiller for at least 24 hours before use. This ensures the spices and herbs are totally infused and become one with the meat.
When an order is placed, Chef Jean-Philippe Patruno takes the trouble to let the chilled marinated meat rest on the kitchen tabletop for a while before putting the the meat on the grill over the apple-flavored mangrove charcoal fire to slow cook the meat.
Food Tasting Note : The apple-flavored mangrove charcoal fire cooks the meat tenderly, slowly, gradually without charring it, and lends a rustic fragrant aroma to the meat. The crush garlic, tomato, thyme, olive oil, vegetable soya sauce are fully infused with the Iberico to present an aromatic flavor and a sweetness to the tender, juicy meat. And when you roll up the slice of meat, add the thyme and chew it for over 20 times in your mouth, all the juices from the meat just ozzes out inside your buccal cavity to lend a sweet aroma and taste. Even as you chew, the sweetness of the meat comes out even more. A rather delicious treat indeed, a must try for all you carnivores out there!
Bomba Paella Bar is found at :
38 Martin Road
Singapore 239059
Tel : 6509 1680
www.bomba.sg
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