Our favourite cut of pork is the Pork Scotch Fillet (AKA Collar Butt or Boston Butt), it’s also rarely used because it isn’t the kind of cut you can’t just throw on a griddle and cook in 10 mins (unlike the Beef scotch Fillet) and for that reason it’s usually very cheap.  Prepared correctly, the Pork Scotchie is like a juicy medium rare steak made out of Bacon.

This 2kg Fillet cost me $24 and made 12 x 150g steaks – Do you really need me to do the math for you?

Trivia: The Pork Scotch fillet is completely unrelated to the Beef scotch fillet (AKA Rib eye) and no-one knows why the Aussies call 2 completely different cuts of meat from 2 different places on 2 different animals a Scotch fillet.

The pork Scotch fillet is a heavily marbled cut of meat from the shoulder and it’s usually cooked slow as a roast because the fat keeps the meat very moist.  There is a secret trick to cook it like a steak, it requires several days worth of preparation and some equipment but the end result is totally worth it.

Pork Scotch Fillet on Red Cabbage

1. Brine it for 24 hrs to cause the protein to shrink around the fat keeping the juices in the meat as it cooks.

   

2. Rinse off the meat and seal it in a Vacuum bag

   

3. Then you cook it in a water bath for 12 hours at a low temperature

   

4. Rapidly chill in an ice bath to get it out of the danger zone

   

5. Slice into steaks

   

6. Freeze them in Sandwich bags and reserve the juice in an ice cube tray for making gravy.

Sear and Serve

So now you have perfectly cooked steaks in the freezer and there they will last for several months.  We have a dozen in our freezer right now.

until you need them and then to prepare them for a meal you defrost them for about 30 mins and then sear both sides on a hot griddle just until the outside surfaces are caramelised (2-3 mins each side). I use a cast iron Bacon weight to ensure maximum Meat-Pan contact surface.

Deglaze the pan with the reserved bag liquid to make liquid bacon gravy.

Pork Scotch Fillet sous vide

Print Recipe

Pork Scotch Fillet (AKA Collar or Boston butt) prepared for use as a Steak. It requires several days worth of preparation but the end result is totally worth it. You end up with a meal that is the flavour of bacon in the texture and form of a juicy medium-rare fillet steak.

• CourseMain Dish
• CuisineFrench

Servings	Prep Time
12 Steaks	3 days

Cook Time

4-6 mins

Servings Prep Time 12 Steaks 3 days

Cook Time 4-6 mins

Pork Scotch Fillet sous vide Print Recipe Pork Scotch Fillet (AKA Collar or Boston butt) prepared for use as a Steak. It requires several days worth of preparation but the end result is totally worth it. You end up with a meal that is the flavour of bacon in the texture and form of a juicy medium-rare fillet steak. CourseMain Dish CuisineFrench Servings Prep Time 12 Steaks 3 days Cook Time 4-6 mins Servings Prep Time 12 Steaks 3 days Cook Time 4-6 mins

Ingredients

• 2 kg Pork Scotch Fillet AKA Collar Butt or Boston Butt

Brine Mix

• 1 litre Water You may need more or less depending on the brining container and shape of the cut
• 250 g Salt You may need more of less based on how much water you use
• 2 tsp Coriander Seed
• 2 tsp Cummin Seed
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp green peppercorns
• 1 tsp pink peppercorns These are relatives of Cashews so Omit them if you have nut allergies
• 4 berries Junpier
• 1 sprig Rosemary
• 4 sprigs Lemon Thyme
• 3 leaves Bay
• 15 g Dried Orange Peel

Servings: Steaks

Instructions

Brining

1. We'll use the archimedean technique for estimating how much Brining liquid you'll need. Place the meat into your Brining container and fill it with water from a measuring Jug until the meat is well covered. Take a note of how much water you needed. Remove the water and discard.
2. Fill a pot with the amount of water you determined you would need in step 1, and measure out 250g of salt for every litre of Water you calculated.
3. Dry Fry the spices in small frypan a on a low heat until some of the seeds start to pop. This will release the aromatic oils, and your kitchen will smell fantastic.
4. Grind the spices in a mortar, or you can use an automated spice blender. I add a little of the salt to help carry the essential oils.
5. Add the spices to the brine mic. Hand crush the bay leaves to help release the aromatic oils.
6. I also added fresh Fennel pollen because it has just started flowering in my garden. Fennel loves Pork and Fennel Pollen is very potent (and stupid expensive to buy).
7. Bring the pot to the boil to brew the brine mix. Then take the pot off the heat and allow it to return to room temp (You can put the pot in the sink and run cold water if you are in a rush).
8. Cover the meat and put a small weight on it to ensure it is fully submerged. I use an upturned plate.
9. Leave it in a cool place to brine for 24 hours
10. Take the meat out and give it a quick wash to remove the Brining liquid from its surface. Pat the meat dry with a kitchen towel and it's ready to cook.

Sous Vide

1. Rub the fillet with a little Olive Oil and vacuum pack it a vacuum bag.
2. Sous vide the meat for 12 hours at 58C.
3. Drop the bag into an ice bath to quickly reduce its temperature out of the Danger zone. You are trying to get the meat down to a temperature where bacteria don't rapidly grow - in other words fridge temperature - before you open the bag to expose it to potential bacteria.
4. Portion the fillet up into steaks, put into Sandwich bags and freeze until you are ready to eat them. We generally portion 2 x 150g steaks per bag because most of our meals are for 2.
5. Reserve the bag liquid and freeze it in an ice cube tray to be used in recipes that need a quick hit of pork stock.

Sear and serve

1. Thaw the steaks and get them to room temperature (I often just fill a bowl with water and chuck them in for an hour).
2. Remember the meat is already cooked, to serve it you just have to warm it and sear it (for looks).
3. Heat up a cast iron pan. Add a teaspoon of lard and let it melt, then lay the steaks on the hot pan and cook 2 minutes each side until the surface is seared and the meat warmed for service. I find that a cast iron Bacon weight placed on top of the steaks maximizes the surface of the meat touching the hot pan.
4. Take out the steaks and let the meat rest on the plate for 2 minutes before serving. Meanwhile put one of the ice cubes of the bag liquid into the pan to deglaze and make into a simple sauce.

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