Swamp Boiled Platter Food

PIG HEAD PLATTER

Steps:

• For the brine: Combine the salt, sugar, chiles de arbol, garlic, bay leaves, guajillo chiles, cilantro and 10 quarts water in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar and salt dissolve. Pour the brine into a 16-quart container and let cool in the refrigerator. Submerge the pig head in the brine and refrigerate for 2 days.
• For the confit: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. In a bowl, mix the white wine with 2 cups water. Remove the pig head from the brine and rinse with the wine mixture. Place the head in a large pan and cover it with the lard. Cover the pan and cook for 8 hours.
• To roast: Increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees F. Very carefully, pull the pig head out of the confit and place in a pan. Cover the head with the Salsa Verde and roast until the skin starts to blister, 20 minutes.
• To serve: Transfer the roasted pig head to a wooden board and serve with tortillas, salsas, cilantro, limes, onions and sea salt.
• Place the tomatillos, garlic, serrano chiles, poblano peppers, onions and cilantro in a blender and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

LAST MINUTE ANTIPASTA PLATTER

Steps:

• Use a separate cutting board for prepping and place a nice wooden board for the display in front of you. Unwrap all the meats and cheeses and lay them out next to your display board.
• Place the baby mozzarella in a small dish and set on 1 corner of the board.
• Roll the prosciutto like a burrito, fold the mortadella in half 2 or 3 times, and wrap the cappicolla into a horn shape and place it creatively on the cutting board. (There is no set way to roll the meats, just go with the way the meat is cut).
• Slice a bit of each cheese, the soppressata, and pepperoni and place on board in between folded meats. Scatter board with artichoke hearts, olives, pepperoncinis, and roasted red peppers.
• To finish, take a few basil leaves sliced chiffonade-style and mix with the minced garlic and olive oil. Drizzle over the entire board. Garnish with whole basil leaves and serve with cucumber slices as an alternative to crackers.

BOILED SHRIMP

Steps:

• Bring 2 cups of water to boil and add the Cajun seasoning. Add the shrimp and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and drain. In a separate bowl, combine the mango, onion, vinegar, nutmeg, to taste, and cinnamon, to taste. After shrimp is cooked, toss the shrimp with the above mango mixture. To serve, place mixture in radicchio.

THE SAMPLER PLATTER

Steps:

• First, combine the cornmeal, flour and salt together and mix. This is the breading mixture that will cover all the seafood items on the sampler. Put the milk in a container and have ready to dredge the seafood.
• Heat a deep-fryer or large pot with enough oil to deep fry to 350 degrees F. When ready to begin cooking, dip the fillet into the milk and then lightly hand bread using the breading mixture. Carefully slide the fillet into the oil and fry until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Raise the fish from the oil and transfer a perforated pan to remove the excess oil.
• Repeat the same procedure with the other seafood. For the shrimp, oysters, scallops and clam strips, dip each into the milk and then lightly hand bread. Use a shaker basket to remove excess breading. Fry until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the seafood from the oil and transfer a perforated pan to remove the excess oil.
• For the stuffed crab, carefully drop right into the deep-fryer and fry until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the seafood from the oil and transfer a perforated pan to remove the excess oil.
• To serve, place the flounder fillet, stuffed crab, shrimp, scallops, oysters and clam strips on a large plate. Then serve with desired sides.