Neil Rankin can already predict the type of complaints people will level at his newly published cookbook.

“’I’ve cooked a chicken a hundred times, I don’t need to be told by you how to cook it!’” jokes the sound engineer-turned-chef.

But there’s cooking meat... and then there’s ‘really’ cooking meat, and Rankin has dedicated much time to the topic, delving into the science behind ensuring perfect results, as detailed in his first book, Low And Slow: How To Cook Meat.

The Edinburgh-born foodie, who retrained as a chef a decade ago, seeks to clear up some confusion. He doesn’t, for example, ‘get’ the idea of resting meat.

“Every chef in the world rests meat but when you think about the physics behind it, it doesn’t make sense,” says the 39-year-old.

Keen to further his own knowledge, he is wise to the arguments for and against meat consumption.

Though he made his name opening the meaty Barbecoa restaurant with Jamie Oliver and Adam Perry Lang, as well as working at a string of other BBQ and smokehouses, Rankin is firmly in the “buy better quality meat and less of it” camp.

“I don’t expect people to eat meat every day,” says the chef, who ‘tends’ to eat vegetable-based meals during the week.

“It’s a supplement to our diets that we’ve been eating for one-and-a-half million years, so it is important to have, but I don’t think you should have it all the time.

“But if you cook it really nicely for a celebration, then you’ll want it like that. The less people eat all this cheap meat, the less will be made, and the better it will be.”

Fancy some top-notch meat this weekend?

Here are two recipes from Low And Slow...

Thrice-Cooked Pork Loin 

(Serves 4-6)

  • 1.5 kg 8-10cm boned and rolled loin joint
  • Salt

Start the recipe the day before. Put the joint in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Leave to cool in the water for 15 minutes. The pork should reach an internal temperature of 55C.

Place the pan under running cold water. When the pork has cooled so it can be handled, lift out and dry with a tea towel. Salt the skin, then leave in the fridge overnight, uncovered, to dry slightly and chill.

Once it’s chilled, set your oven to 140C. Cook the loin from fridge-cold for 40 minutes. On a meat thermometer it should read no more than 60C internally.

Remove from the oven. Cool slightly, then leave it in the freezer for two to three hours, or overnight in the fridge, to chill completely.

When you’re ready, set your oven to 220C. Roast the pork from fridge-cold for 30 minutes, placing on a rack with a tray underneath. The skin should puff up like a balloon. If it goes too dark, turn down the temperature.

The final internal temperature should be no higher than 63C – lower is fine as the core temperature has already been reached during the previous cooking stages.

Chicken Noodle Soup

(Serves 4)

  • 2kg chicken wings
  • 4L cold water/chicken stock
  • 300g minced chicken thigh
  • Soy sauce, to taste
  • Toasted sesame oil, to taste
  • 2 onions, sliced
  • 1 carrot, roughly chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2tsp sriracha (hot chilli sauce), plus more for serving
  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • 200g chicken skin (should be available from your butcher; if not, take all the skin off two birds)
  • 250g dried egg noodles
  • 3 spring onions, finely sliced
  • 2 fresh red chillies, finely sliced
  • Maldon salt

Set the oven to 100C. Place the chicken wings in a casserole or roasting tray. Pour in the water/stock.

Cover with a cartouche - a piece of greaseproof paper or baking parchment the same size of the container, laid on top of the liquid - but don't put the lid on, and leave to braise in the oven for 12-15 hours.

Strain the chicken stock into a bowl, cool and chill (discard the wings). Once chilled, skim off any fat that has risen to the top and reserve.

Mix 50-100g of the skimmed-off fat with the chicken mince. Season with soy sauce and sesame oil. Roll into mini meatballs and chill.

Melt the rest of the skimmed-off fat in a saucepan, add the onions and cook with a pinch of salt until soft.

Add the carrot and garlic and cook for a few more minutes, then stir in the sriracha and cook until the mixture is a deep reddish-brown.

Pour in the chicken stock, bring to the boil then reduce until you have the flavour you want. Skim off any foam that comes to the surface.

Meanwhile, fry the meatballs in a little oil in a frying pan, until lightly browned all over and cooked through. Remove and reserve.

Finely chop up the chicken skin and fry in the pan until crisp. Remove and reserve also.

To finish, strain the soup and return to the pan. Bring back to the boil, then add the noodles and cook until just tender. Warm through the meatballs in the soup and season with soy and sesame oil to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle with sliced spring onions and chilli and the crispy skin. Serve with more sriracha on the side.

Nduja and crushed roast potato hash

(Serves 4)

  • 10 leftover cold roast potatoes
  • Oil for deep-frying, plus a little extra
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • 50g unsalted butter, plus a little extra
  • 100g ‘nduja (Italian sausage)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 4 duck eggs
  • 2tbsp chopped parsley
  • Maldon salt

Break up the potatoes into not too small or even pieces. You want random chunks. Heat oil in a deep-fat fryer or deep pan to 180C. Deep fry the potatoes until crispy. Drain.

Cook the onion in a hot frying pan with a little oil until soft and a good dark colour. Add the potatoes then butter. Toss potatoes in the butter as it melts and foams. Add the ‘nduja and stir in until it coats the potatoes. Season with salt to taste. Add a squeeze of lemon. Transfer to individual serving bowls.

Using the same pan, fry the eggs in a little extra oil or butter, keeping the yolks runny. Place an egg on top of each serving of hash and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.

Low And Slow: How To Cook Meat by Neil Rankin is published in hardback by Ebury Press, priced £25. Available now