Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Meet the new meat master

Post Thumbnail

Bid farewell to parched poultry, juice-less joints and burnt bangers – Neil Rankin is on a mission to transform our meat-cooking skills. Keeley Bolger tucks in

Neil Rankin can already predict the type of complaints people will level at his newly published cookbook.

“‘I’ve cooked a chicken a hundred times before – I don’t need to be told by you how to cook it; who do you think you are?!'” jokes the former sound engineer-turned-chef, laughing.

But there’s cooking meat… and then there’s ‘really’ cooking meat, and Neil has dedicated much time to the topic, delving into the science behind ensuring perfect results, as detailed in his first book, Low And Slow: How To Cook Meat.

Based in London, the Edinburgh-born foodie, who retrained as a chef a decade ago, seeks to clear up some confusion surrounding the subject. He doesn’t, for example, “get” the idea of resting meat.

“Every chef in the world rests meat and when they read my book, I’m sure they’ll say: ‘You shouldn’t have said that, of course you should rest the meat’, but actually, when you think about the physics behind it, it doesn’t make sense,” says the 39-year-old, whose East London home is filled with the scent of roast chicken bubbling away in the oven.

FOOD Rankin 095994

Instead of bowing to popular opinion, Low And Slow attempts to arm home cooks with explanations and information so they can make the most of meals. But it’s not, says Neil, a book for “people who don’t want to learn anything new, or don’t want to take anything on board”.

Keen to further his own knowledge, he is wise to the arguments for and against meat consumption.

Though he made his name opening the meaty Barbecoa restaurant with Jamie Oliver and Adam Perry Lang, as well as working at a string of other BBQ and smokehouses, Neil is firmly in the “buy better quality meat and less of it” camp.

“I don’t expect people to eat meat every day,” says the chef, who “tends” to eat vegetable-based meals during the week, and meat at weekends.

“I don’t think it’s good. I don’t think it’s right. I don’t think we’re supposed to. It’s a supplement to our diets that we’ve been eating for one-and-a-half million years, so it is important to have, but I don’t think you should have it all the time.

“You feel it inside when you’ve overdone it,” Neil adds. “But if you cook it really nicely for a celebration, then you’ll want it like that. The less people eat all this crap meat, the less will be made, and the better it will be.”

Fancy some top-notch meat this weekend? Here are three recipes from Low And Slow to crack on with…

:: THRICE-COOKED PORK LOIN

(Serves 4-6)

FOOD Rankin 092480

1.5 kg 8-10cm boned and rolled loin joint

Salt

Start the recipe the day before you want to eat it. Put the joint in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool in the water for 15 minutes. The pork should reach an internal temperature of around 55C.

Place the pan in the sink under running cold water. When the pork has cooled down so it can be handled, lift it out and dry with a tea towel. Salt the skin, then leave in the fridge overnight, uncovered, to dry slightly and chill.

Once it’s chilled, set your oven to 140C. Cook the loin from fridge-cold for 40 minutes. On a probe thermometer (meat thermometer) it should read no more than 60C internally.

Remove the pork from the oven. Cool slightly, then leave it in the freezer for two to three hours, or overnight in the fridge, to chill completely.

When you’re ready, set your oven to 220C. Roast the pork from fridge-cold for 30 minutes, placing the meat on a rack with a tray to catch any fat underneath. The skin should puff up like a balloon. If it goes too dark, pull the pork out and turn down the temperature, then put it back in.

The final internal temperature should be no higher than 63C – if it’s lower, don’t worry, as the core temp has already been reached during the previous cooking stages.

:: CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

(Serves 4)

FOOD Rankin 092485

2kg chicken wings

4L cold water/chicken stock

300g minced chicken thigh

Soy sauce, to taste

Toasted sesame oil, to taste

2 onions, sliced

1 carrot, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2tsp sriracha (hot chilli sauce), plus more for serving

Vegetable oil, for frying

200g chicken skin (should be available from your butcher; if not, take all the skin off two birds)

250g dried egg noodles

3 spring onions, finely sliced

2 fresh red chillies, finely sliced

Maldon salt

Set the oven to 100C. Place the chicken wings in a casserole or roasting tray. Pour in the water/stock. Cover with a cartouche – a piece of greaseproof paper or baking parchment the same size of the container, laid on top of the liquid – but don’t put the lid on, and leave to braise in the oven for 12-15 hours.

Strain the chicken stock into a bowl, cool and chill (discard the wings). Once chilled, skim off any fat that has risen to the top and reserve.

Mix 50-100g of the skimmed-off fat with the chicken mince. Season with soy sauce and sesame oil. Roll into mini meatballs and chill.

Melt the rest of the skimmed-off fat in a saucepan, add the onions and cook with a pinch of salt until soft. Add the carrot and garlic and cook for a few more minutes, then stir in the sriracha and cook until the mixture is a deep reddish-brown. Pour in the chicken stock, bring to the boil then reduce until you have the flavour you want. Skim off any foam that comes to the surface.

Meanwhile, fry the meatballs in a little oil in a frying pan, until lightly browned all over and cooked through. Remove and reserve.

Finely chop up the chicken skin and fry in the pan until crisp. Remove and reserve also.

To finish, strain the soup and return to the pan. Bring back to the boil, then add the noodles and cook until just tender. Warm through the meatballs in the soup and season with soy and sesame oil to taste. Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle with sliced spring onions and chilli and the crispy skin. Serve with more sriracha on the side.

:: ‘NDUJA AND CRUSHED ROAST POTATO HASH

(Serves 4)

FOOD Rankin 092461

10 leftover cold roast potatoes

Oil for deep-frying, plus a little extra

1 onion, thinly sliced

50g unsalted butter, plus a little extra

100g ‘nduja (Italian sausage, available in Waitrose)

Juice of 1 lemon

4 duck eggs

2tbsp chopped parsley

Maldon salt

Break up the potatoes into smaller pieces – not too small and not too even. You want random chunks. Heat some oil in a deep-fat fryer or deep pan to 180C. Deep fry the potatoes until they are crispy. Drain.

Cook the onion in a hot frying pan with a little oil until soft and a good dark colour. Add the potatoes and then the butter. Toss the potatoes in the butter as it melts and foams. Add the ‘nduja and stir it in until it melts and coats the potatoes. Season with salt to taste and add a squeeze of lemon. Transfer to individual serving bowls or plates.

Using the same pan, quickly fry the eggs in a little extra oil or butter, keeping the yolks nice and runny. Place an egg on top of each serving of hash and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.

:: Low And Slow: How To Cook Meat by Neil Rankin is published in hardback by Ebury Press, priced £25. Available now

THREE OF THE BEST… Meaty gadgets

 

:: Dexam 17840318 Stainless Steel Oven Thermometer, from £5.26, Amazon (amazon.co.uk)

FOOD Rankin 092421

Rankin says many ovens are “slightly off” in terms of temperature. Make sure yours isn’t one of them, by fixing this nifty gadget inside it, so over and undercooked meals are a thing of the past.

:: Digital Thermometer, £15, M&S (www.marksandspencer.com)

FOOD Rankin 095709

Likewise, meat temperature is very difficult to gage without gadgetry. Try a probing thermometer like this, to accurately measure the temperature of your food.

:: Joseph Joseph Cut & Carve Plus, £17.99, Lakeland (www.lakeland.co.uk)

FOOD Rankin 092447

The spikes on this chopping board mean you can easily fasten your joint and carve away without fear of slippage.