Iberico Pork Secreto with Fennel, Onion Puree and Oloroso Pan Juices

35 mins

4 people

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

35 mins

This delicious Iberico Pork Secreto recipe is the ideal main course for a dinner party. The onion puree can be made in advance and cooking the iberico pork and fennel only takes a few minutes. The oloroso sherry sauce is made ‘a la minute’, so you can show off your chef skills to your guests.

Ingredients
Method

400g secreto iberico, all excess fat trimmed
1 fennel bulb, cut into ½ inch thick slices
Olive oil for frying
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
For the caramelised onion puree:
2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tbsp of unsalted butter
1 tsp of caster sugar
1 sprig of thyme
Salt to taste
For the oloroso pan juices:
100ml oloroso sherry
100ml chicken stock
1 tbsp of unsalted butter
Salt to taste

For the caramelised onion puree, place a heavy based medium sized pan onto a low medium heat. Add the butter followed by the onions. Gently fry the onions, sugar and thyme, stirring regularly for 15 -20 minutes until soft, sweet and golden. Place the onions into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and add a touch of warm water if the puree seems to be a little thick. Pop the puree into a clean pot or squeezy bottle that can be reheated easily, cover and set aside.
For the chargrilled fennel, place a heavy based cast iron chargrilled pan onto a moderate heat. Brush the fennel slices with olive oil and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until well charred. Keep warm.
Heat some oil in a medium sized frying pan, once hot, fry the secreto pieces for about 3 minutes on each side. Keep the heat on a medium setting. Do not move the secreto pieces around, as this will prevent them from caramelising and getting crispy. Once cooked, take the secreto pieces out and allow them to rest for a couple of minutes in a warm place. The secreto should be served medium rare to medium.
In the same frying pan, drain the excess of fat, add the oloroso sherry and boil on a high heat until the liquid had reduced by two thirds. Make sure you scrape the caramelised sticky bits from frying the secreto. Add the chicken stock and reduce by two thirds again. Reduce the heat, season with salt and a tablespoon of butter to make the reduction silky and glossy. Do not boil the sauce at this stage or the butter will split.
To plate the dish, make sure you serve it on a hot plate. Spoon the hot caramelised onion puree over the plate and lay on some slices of chargrilled fennel. Slice the secreto into thin pieces and lay on top of the hot puree. Sprinkle with some sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Spoon over some of the oloroso sauce and drizzle a few drops of a fruity extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately.

Ingredients

400g secreto iberico, all excess fat trimmed
1 fennel bulb, cut into ½ inch thick slices
Olive oil for frying
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
For the caramelised onion puree:
2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tbsp of unsalted butter
1 tsp of caster sugar
1 sprig of thyme
Salt to taste
For the oloroso pan juices:
100ml oloroso sherry
100ml chicken stock
1 tbsp of unsalted butter
Salt to taste

Method

For the caramelised onion puree, place a heavy based medium sized pan onto a low medium heat. Add the butter followed by the onions. Gently fry the onions, sugar and thyme, stirring regularly for 15 -20 minutes until soft, sweet and golden. Place the onions into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and add a touch of warm water if the puree seems to be a little thick. Pop the puree into a clean pot or squeezy bottle that can be reheated easily, cover and set aside.
For the chargrilled fennel, place a heavy based cast iron chargrilled pan onto a moderate heat. Brush the fennel slices with olive oil and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until well charred. Keep warm.
Heat some oil in a medium sized frying pan, once hot, fry the secreto pieces for about 3 minutes on each side. Keep the heat on a medium setting. Do not move the secreto pieces around, as this will prevent them from caramelising and getting crispy. Once cooked, take the secreto pieces out and allow them to rest for a couple of minutes in a warm place. The secreto should be served medium rare to medium.
In the same frying pan, drain the excess of fat, add the oloroso sherry and boil on a high heat until the liquid had reduced by two thirds. Make sure you scrape the caramelised sticky bits from frying the secreto. Add the chicken stock and reduce by two thirds again. Reduce the heat, season with salt and a tablespoon of butter to make the reduction silky and glossy. Do not boil the sauce at this stage or the butter will split.
To plate the dish, make sure you serve it on a hot plate. Spoon the hot caramelised onion puree over the plate and lay on some slices of chargrilled fennel. Slice the secreto into thin pieces and lay on top of the hot puree. Sprinkle with some sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Spoon over some of the oloroso sauce and drizzle a few drops of a fruity extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately.

Add To Basket

Secreto Iberico 1kg

£29.95
Añana Salt Flakes

£3.50
Enate Chardonnay Barrel Aged 2017

£21.00
Heroina Extra Virgin Olive Oil

£12.90

Chef's Profile

Javier De La Hormaza

Javier is a Basque born, trained chef and hospitality professional, owner of Basco Fine Foods, a Spanish food and drink importer based in Yorkshire. He regularly runs client food and drink events around the country and he is a course tutor at Hartingtons of Bakewell cookery school. Javier's passion lies on bringing quality Spanish ingredients and recipes to as many people as possible.

Twitter: @bascofinefoods
Instagram: @mrbasco