In my eternal pursuit and eagerness for the perfect steak, I have now turned to the pig, specifically the pork chop. As a novice in the field of meat aging, I have bought dry-aging bags that dry-age meat using a technique where the meat is vacuum-packed. The bags can help the meat get rid of moisture/liquid, creating space for the proper enzymes to start working on making the meat more tender.

A good rule of thumb within meat dry-aging says 14 days for lamb, 21 days for pork, and 28 days for beef. However, I love the strong umami/nutty flavor that develops when the meat is aged, so I gave my pork 30 days.

After 30 days, the meat had overall "lost" about 20% of its weight.

The meat was then seasoned with salt and pepper and finally vacuum-packed.

It was placed in a sous vide/water bath and cooked for 3 hours at 56 degrees Celsius (133 degrees Fahrenheit).

This is a significantly lower temperature than I usually use when cooking pork, as it's almost like cooking a good beef steak at that temperature. But since the meat is dry-aged, it's important not to overcook it, as the dry-aged meat does not contain as much liquid.

The meat was then taken out of the vacuum bag and dried well.

Finally, it was fried together with rosemary sprigs at high heat for about 1 minute on each side in a mixture of neutral oil and butter.

Sprinkle a bit of flake salt on the meat, and it is ready to serve.

 

Peel the celeriac and cut it into rough cubes.

Put them in a pot and add 1/3 cream, 1/3 water, and 1/3 milk until covered.

Boil the celeriac for about 20 minutes until completely tender.

Then blend it with a bit of the cooking liquid. Add the cooking liquid a little at a time until the puree is fine and smooth.

Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and vinegar.

 

Boil the potatoes for 2 minutes in water with a couple of tbsp of vinegar added.

Let them drain, dry them, and turn them in oil, salt, and pepper.

Bake the potatoes in the oven until golden.

 

For the glaze, we used a mix of red wine and the liquid from the meat's vacuum bag.

Put the wine and liquid in a pot and boil it down until most of the liquid evaporates.

Mount the glaze with butter and season with gastrique, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Add a drop of coloring to the glaze if you prefer a darker color.

 

Serve the dish with crispy kale and pickled red onions.