Meat notes of the aged kind.
Update: Great class from Thomas, we hear. Sad to have missed it, but at least we have photos of what went down courtesy Beth!
On the eve of Thomas’ first in a series of Genuine Cooking Classes at Bon Vivant’s beautiful new store in Camana Bay, I get this photo in my inbox from Beth — a gorgeous, housemade and ready-to-eat prosciutto that our executive chef in Grand Cayman made. I had noticed two hams dangling in a corner of his walk-in on our last trip down for Slow Food Day. Apparently it eats like a fresher, moister prosciutto. Not quite as dry or developed in flavor, but quite good for a first try in the Cayman Islands. Salty at first but the pork flavor definitely comes through. It’s making its way to the table now on Thomas’ gnocchi (which are themselves said to contain magical powers,) and he’s thinking about pairing them with Donna’s eggs, possibly poached with the sliced ham and a ham double cream.
We hear the ladies love Thomas' gnocchi.
“I started with about 2, 5-pound legs. They roughly weigh about 4 pounds each now,” Thomas explained over email after service last night. ”This one happens to be from Paul Bodden. Such an excellent product, you cannot go wrong. When i started it, I just thought about 6 months, but 8 months passed, and I said, ‘hey why not let it stay for a year.’ I began it exactly at taste of Cayman.”
This was his first time making a prosciutto, and knowing Thomas’ love of a good experiment, he just went for it having ”only” seen, eaten, and read about it. If ever there was an experiment, Thomas is conducting one in more calculated a way than he will admit to. Methodically, but never to without a free spirit. Continue reading
