Aspen Spotlight: Chef Michael Symon

The plethora of celebrity chefs attending the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen was overwhelming and enlightening.  Always in awe off all legendary chefs, several of them truly carved a footprint for being approachable, personable, and happy to talk with their fans.    In addition to Stepanie Izard, Michael Chiarello, Richard Blais,  Hosea Rosenberg, and Ming Tsai, we also fell quickly into chefophile love with Chef Michael Symon.

Owner and Executive Chef of Lola and Lolita in Cleveland and Roast in Detroit,  Michael held the title of a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 1998, and is recently was named as a James Beard Best Chef in America in the Great Lakes Region for 2009.  He has also been a winner on Iron Chef America, and a host on the Food Network show Melting Pot, as well as Dinner Impossible.  An wrestler in high school, Michael’s strong presence is softened by his frequent high pitched laugh, and even the most timid of foodies are sure to feel comfortable after a few minute of hearing him speak.   I attended his cooking demo entitled “In Praise of Pork” (who could miss that one?) with Chef John of Food Wishes to my left in our prime 2nd row seats.  Chef John caught an amusing moment on video of Michael Symon describing his conversation with Tom Colicchio on how to rename “Pork Belly” on his menu for greater customer appeal in the restaurant.  This truly is a must see,  check it out!

In the demo, Michael prepared a braised pork belly with pickled green tomatoes.  Mr “meatcentric” admitted to loving all portions of pork, such as pork tenderloin, but said that he is  partial to the fattier portions of the animal such as pork belly for having the best texture and flavor.  Here is the recipe for you to make at home, courtesy of Michael Symon, thank you!

Braised Pork Belly

Ingredients:
2 lbs of pork belly, skin removed
2 tbsp of kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
Grated zest of 1 orange
1 red onion sliced
1 carrot sliced
1 bay leaf
1 cup of white wine
1 quart chicken stock
1 cinnamon stick

Mix together the salt, sugar, coriander seeds, crushed red pepper, ground cinnamon and orange zest. Rinse the pork belly and pat dry. Coat the pork belly with the seasoned salt and place in a sturdy resealable plastic bag, and refridgerate overnight or for 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 275F. Rinse the seasoning off of the pork belly, pat dry. In a large pot, combine the onion, carrot, garlic, bay leaf, white wine, chicken stock and cinnamon stick, bring to a simmer. Place the belly in a casserole dish or dutch oven and pour the liquid over it. Cover and bake for 7 hours.

Remove the casserole from the oven and let the pork belly cool in the liquid, let cool until ready to serve.

In the demo he cut the pork into sandwich friendly slices, making a savory baguette sandwich topped with pickled green tomatoes.

I had several questions to ask him after the show, but had to put on my nursing hat for 10 minutes, ask Chef John about that one!    All and all a very memorable lesson in pork, and if you are lucky enough to live in Michigan or Ohio, absolutely pay a visit to one of Michael Symon’s restaurants.  Also be sure to  visit Amazon and preorder his new cookbook due for release in November, Michael Symon’s Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen.

For more delicious Michael Symon recipes, check out:

• His top 100 Food Network recipes
• Pickled Chilli Peppers
• Greek Meatballs and Tomato Salad from the Dinner Impossible show
• For Scallops with a Warm Ginger Vinaigrette, Roast Salmon with Ancho Chili Ginger Sauce and Couscous,Pork Shoulder braised in Ginger Beer, and Ginger Mango Rice Pudding with Thai Basil recipes go here
• Spicy Sriracha Chicken Wings a must try recipe receiving 10 5 star ratings from food network reviewers
• Spicy Tomato and Blue Cheese Soup
• Creamed Corn
• Cheesy BLT’s
• Famous Mac and Goat Cheese
• And a delicious looking Sopressata, Prosciutto, Mozzarella, Egg, and Basil Breakfast Sandwich recipe.

Also be sure to feast on savory Food & Wine Classic in Aspen photos from our slideshow!