We’re all about bacon and there’s certainly a time and place for pork belly, especially when stuffed with herbs and garlic. Cuts of pork from nose to hock are found on nearly every menu in the country, which makes it quite a task to pick favourites, but here are some stand-out pork dishes on menus right now.
Victor Liong at Lawyers, Guns and Money
Victor Liong at Lawyers, Guns and Money
The owners of Melbourne’s Lee Ho Fook have opened Asian café Lawyers, Guns and Money on Little Collins Street, serving modern spins on the food chef Victor Liong grew up eating for breakfast. Right now that translates to congee, or honeycomb tripe with pig’s ears, braised and served with pickled white cabbage, hot mustard and chilli oil.
Crisp sweet and sour pork hock at Mr Wong
Crisp sweet and sour pork hock at Mr Wong
Rich and robust enough to withstand long braising and roasting, pork hocks at Sydney’s Mr Wong are braised for five hours in a fragrant stock until soft and gelatinous. They’re then glazed with a thick sweet-and-sour sauce before being burnished to a crisp and sticky finale in the oven.
Casarecce with pork and fennel ragù at Tipo 00
Casarecce with pork and fennel ragù at Tipo 00
Pasta is the main event at Melbourne’s Tipo 00, and here hand-rolled casarecce forms a base for a ragù of house-made pork and fennel sausage, broken down and tossed in a pan with radicchio, sage and garlic. Don’t skip a pinot noir.
Momofuku Seiobo’s jerk pork chop
Momofuku Seiobo’s jerk pork chop
The hero of Momofuku Seiobo‘s bar menu is unquestionably the pork chop. Charred, salty and jerk-spiced, it’s also pretty damned juicy. It’s sliced and served with the bone, in a cloud of lime fragrance conjured by a bed of kaffir lime leaves, a healthy scattering of lime zest on the meat and a clutch of thoroughly grilled lime wedges on the side.
Smoked Porchetta at LP’s Quality Meats
Smoked Porchetta at LP’s Quality Meats
Rolled up with a stuffing of fennel, chilli and garlic, chef Luke Powell’s porchetta at LP’s Quality Meats in Chippendale, Sydney is slow cooked overnight before spending a few hours in his custom-made smoker over local wood, and served thickly sliced. Order it as part of a greater meat platter, or on its own.
Pork schnitzel with salsa verde and figs at Sean’s Panaroma
Pork schnitzel with salsa verde and figs at Sean’s Panaroma
Chef Sean Moran sources his free-range pigs for his Bondi restaurant from Melanda Park near Ebenezer in NSW. Cheeks and hocks find themselves with a schnitzel crumb here, paired with green sauce and the season’s sweetest figs.
Focaccia con Porchetta at Da Orazio Pizza + Porchetta
Focaccia con Porchetta at Da Orazio Pizza + Porchetta
It’s one thing to visit for chef Orazio D’Elia’s pizza skills, but those in the know come for the sandwich. Thick slabs of slow-roasted porchetta are sandwiched between slices of pizza-bread focaccia with marinated grilled eggplant, lettuce and mayo at Bondi’s Da Orazio Pizza + Porchetta.
