The history of eating one's fellow man is rich with culinary tradition and innovation, carried on in no small part by Dr. Hannibal Lecter. In this pivotal scene, he gives a fellow killer a taste of his own medicine, so to speak - if, at the time, he had medicine in his bloodstream, because he's eating his own leg. So to speak.

 

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds non-toxic, non-polymer, oven-hardening clay
  • 9 shallots, peeled and halved
  • 3 cloves garlic, halved
  • ½ cup dong quai
  • 4 medium-sized pieces of tong sum
  • 1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
  • ½ cup dried longan flesh
  • ½ cup dried gocce berries
  • 1 whole pork loin
  • Salt
  • Fresh ground pepper
  • 3 ounces prosciutto
  • 2 large reconstituted lotus leaves
  • 1 large beef marrow bone, halved lengthwise
  • ¼ cup parsley
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup white wine vinegar
  • Butcher's twine

Method

  1. Combine the dried dong quai, tong sum and half of the shiitake mushrooms in a blender or food processor and process until they become a fine powder.
  2. Reconstitute the longan flesh, gocce berries and the rest of the shiitake mushrooms for 15 minutes in hot water, then dry thoroughly.
  3. Cut pork loin in half and trim fat and silverskin. Butterfly each piece.
  4. Generously season both sides with salt and ground pepper. Then sprinkle the inside of each piece with the root and mushroom seasoning mixture.
  5. Place a generous heap of reconstituted longan flesh, gocce berries, and shiitake mushrooms on the inside of one piece. Then add halved shallots and garlic cloves. Place the other piece of pork loin on top.
  6. Shingle the top of the roast with prosciutto.
  7. Tie the whole roast tight with butcher's twine.
  8. Double wrap roast with lotus leaves.
  9. Lay down a bottom layer of clay larger than the roast on a baking sheet and place the roast on top. Then begin shingling the top of the roast with clay to create two layers that you can join together to create a sealed package.
  10. Once covered, create a ventilation hole on the top and place the roast in a 275°F oven for 3 1/2 hours.
  11. Set roast aside and turn oven up to 450° and roast beef bones for 15 minutes
  12. Break open the clay on roast with a pestle and peel off the clay in large pieces.
  13. Peel open the lotus leaves and cut a few of the strings off.
  14. Serve with beef marrow bone drizzled with a vinaigrette of olive oil, parsley, finely chopped shallot and white wine vinegar.