How Manteca London Uses a Whole Pig for Italian Cuisine | On The Line

Whole Animal Butchery at Manteca

• 🐷 Chef Chris Leach, co-founder of Manteca in London, emphasizes the nose-to-tail movement as a responsible and sustainable way to cook.
• 🎯 The restaurant's philosophy is to use whole animals, ensuring no part goes to waste, which also allows for better sourcing control and quality.
• 🥩 Manteca breaks down approximately two and a half whole pigs per week, starting with butchering the shoulder and other parts.

Curing and Salumi Production

• 🐖 The copper muscle is a key cut, cured for three weeks with salt (around 2.7% of muscle weight) and spices like nutmeg, bay leaf, and black pepper.
• ⏳ This muscle is then vacuum-sealed and cured for approximately 3 months before being ready for the menu.
• 🔬 The salumeria, or curing cellar, replicates Italian conditions with controlled humidity (70-73%) and temperature (around 10°C) to gently dry the meat.

Innovative Use of Pig Skin

• 🥘 A signature dish at Manteca is the pig skin ragù, made from cooked, scraped, and minced pig skin, combined with a soffritto, white wine, and a spice mix.
• 💥 Dried pig skins are rehydrated in a fryer to create chicharrones, which serve as a crispy vehicle for eating the rich ragù.
• ✨ This dish is highlighted as defining the restaurant's commitment to using less conventional parts of the animal.

Pasta Craft and Menu Development

• 🍝 Manteca makes fresh pasta daily, with various shapes like Lumache (snails) and Strut Pretti, paired with specific ragus based on their ability to hold sauce.
• 🥟 A new filled pasta dish, scarino, is being developed with a potato filling and served with a beef shin ragù, focusing on craft and presentation.
• 💧 Pasta water, rich in starch, is an essential ingredient used to emulsify and thicken sauces, crucial for cooking hundreds of portions.

Kitchen Operations and Service

• 📋 Daily briefings involve the team discussing the menu, checking stock, and planning prep for the day, accommodating up to 300 covers for dinner service.
• 🚦 The 'pass' is the central point during service, where tickets are called, orders are managed, and dishes are sent out to tables, requiring organization and communication.
• ⏱️ Starters and pasta are aimed to be served within 20 minutes, allowing more time for longer-cooked proteins, with checks managed and spiked for tracking.