What side dishes & sauces goes well with protein?

[impulseX]

Originally Posted by impulseX

I can sort of see your plate presentation, so let me just say this... you will need some colour within your veg component. Also, you will need some form of starch (assuming the small dice potatoes will only be a garnish)
The balsamic fig reduction is a nice idea, but unless it's in the form of a demi, it will be way too sweet for the pork.
^this is all assuming you're plate has to be presented like a dish at a fine dining restaurant.

Originally Posted by Santoku

^ Well I want to make a steak dinner with different ingredients!
does Celery root or turnips have enough starch?
What vegetable should i go for? I heard brussels sprouts are too strong for pork.
Nah. Just balsamic vinegar, simple syrup and some fresh figs mix together...

Alright, start off with... Plating presentation. Are you after a presentation like the keg where everything is everywhere (ie. steak at 4 oclocl, starch at 8, and garnish/veg at 12) or are you after a more fine dining look where everything is all nice and close together (you will get more marks for this one)
an example of this would be ...

^dont mind the presentation so much, but its just for an idea. Notice how tight the components are? That will score you high marks.

Second, like others have mentioned in response to your balsamic reduction. No. Sorry but if you're only reducing the vinegar with figs, then you will find that the sauce will completely overpower your pork with sweetness. If in anyway you can make a demi, then that would be ideal.

For starch, you want either grains or potatoes. Anything from Rice, Risotto, Quinoa, Couscous, and almost anything potato (mashed, scalloped, rosti, gnocchi...)

Since Root vegetables are in season now.. why not do a mix of that? Carrots, Parsnips. And even add in squashes of all sorts.

I'm throwing a lot of stuff at you, but keep in mind how much time you have for your competition (assuming it's something along the lines of.. you have 1 hour to complete your dish) and plan out from there.

[Santofu]

Originally Posted by cho

you might be careful of the spices burning as you're searing it off, i might suggest on the chargrill

I'm not really sure if they actually have a grill at the competition because most of us need to bring our own equipments.

the garnish should try be accompany the dish, i dont see any cilantro in the dish(maybe in the rub?), i dont think it will be a good garnish, perhaps maybe a candied fig?

Oh alright, thanks for heads up. I think candied fig might take too much work since I on'y have 30 mins to cook one dish.

and if the meat is spice rubbed, but the sauce is sweet/acidic so i think sauce will overpower the spices and/or make the sauce taste different

So I gotta find a new sauce or season the pork with S&P

more doesn't always mean better, just a couple imos
sorry if i sound like a douche

Ah no problem! I'm not offended!

Originally Posted by Culverin

That is exactly what I was thinking. I mentioned the figs to give you some sugar and a bit of tang.

Maybe I should find a premium balsamic vinegar no?

You're going to want to be careful about that. Balsamic vinegar (even the cheapest costco stuff) get's crazy sweet when you reduce it. It's also hella dark and has the potential to make your dish uber-ugly.

I ain't going to Costco to buy food. I just go to somewhere good like Gourmet Warehouse or something if you catch my drift.

- Caramelize some onion slivers, make it a dark caramel, like a good 15 minute caramelization). About 1/4 to 1/3 of an onion per steak. Reserve

- Fry steak at high heat to brown. Pop it in the oven to finish.

- Deglaze with a touch (just a touch) of white wine
- Orange Juice (fresh)
- a touch of white wine vinegar
- and fresh figs instead.

If you balance it right, the vinegar will give you a bit of tartness, the OJ some much needed brightness to a pork dish, then by cooking it down with the fresh figs, you'll be able to reduce that down into a pretty good sauce without destroying all the color of the figs.

Plating:
Onions as base, pork steak on top, drizzle with reduction. Starch on the side.

As for garnish, consider the zest from your orange. Tastewise, it'll be an added dimension. Plus, purple and bright orange color on your plate? baller presentation points.

How'd I do?

What is onion silvers? I never heard of it before. Maybe i should use some green vegetable, bacon and onions cuz the onion silvers you mentioned may take a lot of my time.
I'll try that sauce someday! Hopefully it'll taste great.
I'll let you know when i taste the sauce :P

Originally Posted by impulseX

Alright, start off with... Plating presentation. Are you after a presentation like the keg where everything is everywhere (ie. steak at 4 oclocl, starch at 8, and garnish/veg at 12) or are you after a more fine dining look where everything is all nice and close together (you will get more marks for this one)
an example of this would be ...

^dont mind the presentation so much, but its just for an idea. Notice how tight the components are? That will score you high marks.

I never eat at Keg before...
It's more like a fine dining.
Something like this by layer.
Some of the sauce on top and around the plate
Protein
Vegetable
Starch

Second, like others have mentioned in response to your balsamic reduction. No. Sorry but if you're only reducing the vinegar with figs, then you will find that the sauce will completely overpower your pork with sweetness. If in anyway you can make a demi, then that would be ideal.

How do i exactly make a demi?

For starch, you want either grains or potatoes. Anything from Rice, Risotto, Quinoa, Couscous, and almost anything potato (mashed, scalloped, rosti, gnocchi...)

Since Root vegetables are in season now.. why not do a mix of that? Carrots, Parsnips. And even add in squashes of all sorts.

I guess i could do a mix celeriac and potatoes pureed with a food mill?

I'm throwing a lot of stuff at you, but keep in mind how much time you have for your competition (assuming it's something along the lines of.. you have 1 hour to complete your dish) and plan out from there.

Yeah I know. I need to find a perfect sauce match with pork that can be made under 30 minutes, but I'm gonna give a orange sauce a try.

[cho]

^
demi,

brown stock + espaniogle ( i can't spell) , reduced by half

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demi-glace



is this a level 1 test/competition?
im sure you can do a pan sauce instead of making a demi and stuff

[Santofu]

Oh that one, Yeah I can't do that LOL. I can't bring prepared food except stocks to competitions which that sucks.

Uh I think it's sorta like based on categories competitions
High School
Post-Secondary
Apprentices
Chefs

[impulseX]

Originally Posted by Santoku

I never eat at Keg before...
It's more like a fine dining.
Something like this by layer.
Some of the sauce on top and around the plate
Protein
Vegetable
Starch

reverse that order and you'll score top marks. starch on bottom, veg to accompany on side in a tight presentation, starch overtop of that but still shows the starch and veg, and sauce to pool just around the protein slightly

How do i exactly make a demi?

shortcut in this case, bring a brown beef stock or something meaty, and reduce the shit out of it and once its thickened a fair amount, add your flavouring agent. you're only way of making a "demi" in your time restraint

I guess i could do a mix celeriac and potatoes pureed with a food mill?

you could. simple mashed potatoes still works. just my suggestion


Yeah I know. I need to find a perfect sauce match with pork that can be made under 30 minutes, but I'm gonna give a orange sauce a try.

try reducing if that tickles your fancy

[Santofu]

Can you make a diagram please? haha D:
Flavouring agent like what? If i don't have time, I'll just make a quick pan gravy... can't go wrong with that.
I guess i'll pansear the steak for now. Thanks guys!
Yeah mashed potatoes would be more easier.

Should i marinate the pork with cooking wine (what kind of wine tho?), salt, and pepper like from the last page? Or something else?

[impulseX]

haha. well just take a quick look at the pic i posted... i know its an off angle, and the fact that i had zucchini for dinner didnt make the pic any easier on the eyes. but for that i started with putting the mashed right in the middle. if you have like an ice cream scoop, or if your good with Quenelleing, then you can do that for a nicer presentation of the mash.

next i arranged the zucchini slices (i cut on a bias so i got ovals out of them for nicer presentation) like a spiraled stairway but tightly packed with the mash which helped keep it from sliding around and kept the height of my stairway.
after i plated my chicken breast, and poured sauce near the bottom of it. (you can also put the sauce first as your base, and put the protein over top, that works fine as well.

by flavouring agent, i meant figs or any sort of wines to add and develop the flavour of the demi.

what cut of pork are you using? depending on whether or not it's really tough, marinating isn't really necessary. For instance, if you have tenderloin, since it isn't a tough cut to begin with, marinating it would be pointless and would make searing more difficult when the moisture bleeds out from the heat.

i personally think salt and pepper is fine.

[Santofu]

Alright that's kinda help me a little haha.
So do you add 2nd starch on top of the vegetable or no?

Ohh interesting. Kk, I'll try my best then :P

The competition will offer us pork steak. I believe it's from the boston butt cut

[impulseX]

Sorry haha. Ill try and upload a picture to help you out when i get home.

As for the cut, you will want to marinate that since that is a hard working muscle and will be very tough unless marinated or brined.
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[Santofu]

Alright thanks
I've been thinking for few days.
I'm gonna do a roasted garlic & herb mashed potatoes topped with 1 carrot, 1 asparagus, one something (need to think a different colour of vegetable).
The pork steak will be marinated in white wine and S&P (Unless you have some ideas to marinate?)
The sauce will be sorta semi demiglace sauce with figs or pan gravy with figs. (Either way, both still work.)

[cho]

mash sounds good, if you have time i'd suggest making them into a duchesse potato

asparagus isin't really in season right now i'd stay away, maybe tourned carrots/zuchinni
perhaps roasted?

straight white wine and sp wouldn't work so well i dont think
olive oil, s+p, lots of rosemary?

sear off chop in pan, deglaze with stock/redwine, add more rosemary, spices/herbs accordingly, thicken up quick styles

keep it simple, clean they'll love it

[Santofu]

I want an acidity marinate to tenderize the pork steak because of it's tough muscle.

[cho]

Meat hammer lighty flatten?
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[impulseX]

alright. sorry for late response. just been busy with work and such. here are the links because i think the pics will be huge if i posted here (taken from dslr)


i have one more that i took of my staff meal on my phone. i'll have to get that up later on but basically
-mash in center
-veg top right (1 to 2 oclock position)
-protein on top of starch
-sauce just below protein
-garnish on top (mine didnt have one)

edit - links arent showing up properly. will pm you

[F1]

you don't have enough time to marinade your protein bro.
anways, i've done plenty of comps and you have to show them your skill and how much you can in 30 minutes. instead of doing mash, you could have done a flavoured spaetzle. maybe even a butter sauce instead of a glace such as a apple grainy mustard beurre blanc.
i know that its for the food expo this weekend so good luck bro.