Tony Beran, the executive chef at Lake Avenue Restaurant in Duluth, received first place, chef par excellence honors at the 25th annual Taste of Elegance pork culinary competition on January 15th via the Minnesota Pork Board and the Pork Check Off.

A panel of judges awarded Beran for his recipe, Judges awarded Beran first place for his recipe, Lipstick on a Pig. Beran received $1,500 in prize money and will represent the MPB at the 2013 National Pork Summit, an educational event at the Culinary Institute of America in Graystone, St. Helena, Calif. Want to try and replicate his recipe? Here's your chance! For more information on the 25th Annual Taste of Excellence competition and other delicious recipes, click here.

Lipstick On A Pig

Created by Chef Tony Beran Serves 4

BACON BBQ CONSOMMÉ
Ingredients: 

 

3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup molasses	2 bay leaves
2 lb diced slab bacon	2 quarts pork stock
1 ⁄2 cup soy sauce	2 Tbsp peppercorns
3 yellow onions, julienne	5 fresh thyme sprigs
1 ⁄2 cup cider vinegar	6 tomatoes, cut into wedges and smoked
8 garlic cloves	12 gelatin sheets

Make it: In Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat; add bacon, onions and garlic. Cook, stirring, until onions are well browned. Add 1 cup stock; bring to a simmer, scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon. Add all remaining ingredients except gelatin. Simmer 1 1 ⁄2 hours. Strain; skim any fat from surface. Soak gelatin in cold water 10 minutes. Wring out excess water; whisk gelatin into warm broth. Transfer mixture to 3-gallon bucket; freeze 24 hours.

Place colander in pan large enough to hold consommé. Line colander with cheesecloth. Turn bucket upside-down into colander; thaw in the cooler overnight. Discard gelatin raft that remains in colander.

SPARERIBS
Ingredients

1 ⁄2 cup packed brown sugar	2 spareribs (bones 2-4)
1 ⁄4 cup plus 1 Tbsp salt, divided	1 ⁄4 cup Bacon BBQ Consommé (recipe above)
1 ⁄4 cup cider vinegar	1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 cinnamon stick	2 tsp black peppercorns
2 1 ⁄2 cups ice

Make it: In large pot, bring 1 cup water to a boil. Stir in brown sugar, 1 ⁄4 cup salt, the vinegar and cinnamon stick. Add ice; mix to cool. Pour over spareribs. Refrigerate in brine 12 hours.

Heat oven to 200°F.

Drain ribs; rinse with cold water. Pat dry; place each rib in its own vacuum bag. In bowl, mix consommé, fish sauce, remaining 1 Tbsp salt and the peppercorns; divide evenly between bags. Seal. Place bags in 6" hotel pan; fit 4" perforated hotel pan into 6" pan to weigh bags down. Fill with cold water to halfway up sides of perforated pan. Weigh perforated pan down with sauté pan. Cover with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Bake 18 hours. Place bags in ice bath to chill.

BLACK GARLIC AND WALNUT OIL
Ingredients

1 cup toasted walnuts	1 ⁄4 cup canola oil
1 ⁄4 cup walnut oil	1 head black garlic, peeled

Make it: Blend together walnuts and oils; strain through coffee filter. Discard nuts. Blend strained oils with garlic; strain through chinois. continued on page 1212 CORN JAM 8 ears corn, shucked 1 habanero pepper, cut in half and cobs reserved 1 star anise 3 cups vegetable stock 2 Tbsp xanthan gum 1 ⁄2 cup sugar Salt to taste 2 fresh thyme sprigs Sherry vinegar to taste In stockpot, combine half of corn kernels, all of cobs, the stock, sugar, thyme, habanero and star anise. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer 40 minutes. Discard cobs, habanero, thyme and star anise. Blend corn mixture; pass through chinois. Blanch and shock remaining corn kernels. Blend 2 cups corn broth with xanthan gum. Fold in blanched corn; season with salt and vinegar. 

PLATING
In saucepan, bring consommé to a simmer; hold warm. Heat nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Heat separate sauté pan over high heat; add canola oil. Brush spareribs with garlic and walnut oil. Sear in pan over medium heat until browned on all sides. Add mushrooms to pan with smoking canola oil; sauté until browned and tender. Add buttermilk, fish sauce and pepper. Reduce until mushrooms soak up all of liquid