Tradition, ocean and land: braised Ibérico pork tails and pan-friend langoustines, reduced braising jus, by Andoni Luis Aduriz

Ingredients
(Serves four)

For the pigs' tails 4 Ibérico pigs' tails
Salt

For the crunchy ham 4 thin slices cured acorn-fed Ibérico ham

For the pigs' tail jus 25g carrot
50g onion
1.5 litres water
500g Ibérico pigs' tail tips

For the langoustines 4 x 108g langoustines
50ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt

To finish Finely chopped parsley
Anana salt

Method
Wash the pigs' tails under running water. Shave them and clean them well. Remove the tips of the tails from the last joint and set them aside for the stock. Put the raw tails in a vacuum bag with a pinch of salt and vacuum-pack them tightly.

Cook the bagged tails in a bain-marie at 92°C for 12 hours. At the end of this time, remove the bags from the bain-marie and bone the tails while they are still hot so that the bones come out easily.

Cut the tails lengthwise into similar-sized portions. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Set aside the fat released by the tails while cooking.

To prepare the crunchy ham, cut very thin slices of the cured ham in a meat slicer. Place them on a tray and put it into a hot cupboard at 60°C for 12 hours so that they dry out. Keep the dried slices in a warm, dry place until ready to serve.

To prepare the pigs' tail jus, wash and chop the vegetables and add them to the water in a saucepan. Add the tail tips and simmer for 6 hours, then sieve (strain) the resulting jellied stock and reduce it gently in a pot on a flat top griddle until you obtain a flavoursome, gelatinous jus with a strong taste of Ibérico pork. Salt to taste.

Separate each langoustine into three parts: head, claws and body. Keep the claws and the head for other dishes and peel the body, taking care not to damage the meat. Remove the vein without tearing the pieces. Pierce the langoustine with a skewer through the belly so it does not arch when cooking.

Brown the pink side of the langoustine tails soaked in olive oil in a non-stick skillet or frying pan, holding them by the ends of the skewer in order to control the browning process. Place them on a hot tray and drizzle olive oil over them. Salt them lightly with table salt and keep them warm in a salamander grill (broiler).

For service, sear the sections of pigs' tail, skin side down, on a flat top griddle with a little of the fat that was set aside. Keep them warm in a salamander grill with the seared side up.

Heat 100ml of the pigs' tail jus in a saucepan. Add the chopped parsley and salt to taste. Place a piece of the pigs' tail with the skin side down in a very hot soup plate. Place the sautéd langoustine that has been very lightly salted with a pinch of Anana salt on top of it. Arrange another piece of pigs' tail and soak the dish with a good serving of the pigs' tail and parsley jus. Finish off by scattering pieces of the dried cured Ibérico ham to provide a different, delicately crunchy texture to the dish.