32 XX XXXXXX 2023 VIP VERY IMPORTANT PRODUCER “When we’re developing recipes for the slow-cooked range, we usually start with a traditional dish,” says DanMcEvoy, development chef at Pilgrims UK, which provides the products forWaitrose. “It might be a French bistro classic such as confit duck, a barbecue favourite of red eye ribs, or Mexican street food like pork al pastor. “Our starting point is the perfect cut of meat. We supply all Waitrose lamb and pork, so we’remeat experts. As well as our lamb and pork, all themeat in the slow-cooked range comes fromWaitrose farms, produced to the same quality and welfare standards as themeat you’d buy to cook yourself. “With theWaitrose chefs, we create the recipe, bringing in the flavours of the original dish. We’ll work on it in our kitchen first, trying out three or four di erent versions until we’re happy with it. Then we take it to Waitrose, and wemight have two or three rounds of tasting and tweaking the recipe to get it perfect. “Pork al pastor, for example, is a traditional dish that’s really popular in Mexico, and we did a lot of research on the recipe to get the flavours just right – there’s orange in there, and lots of warm spices ‘InMexico, it’s usually cooked on a spit, but all you have to do is finish it in the oven’ ‘WE DID A LOT OF RESEARCH ON THE RECIPE ’ A traditional Mexican street foodwas the inspiration forWaitrose SlowCooked Pork Al Pastor that work really well with pork. We use pork shoulder, which has loads of flavour, and tumble it in a chipotle chilli rub, then slow cook it for 10 hours. We cook in steamovens, because they give you good control over the temperature – we want themeat to cook long and slow. “InMexico, pork al pastor is usually cooked on a spit, with a pineapple on top that roasts and dribbles its juice down into the meat, so we added a pineapple and chilli salsa that brings in those flavours when you serve it. It’s one of my favourites from the range, really delicious with tacos andmaybe some pickled red onions. “And because we’ve already done the cooking, all you have to do is finish it in the oven and it’s ready in 25minutes.”
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