Tag Archives: pork

“Great Balls of Fire” Bourbon Mustard Sauce

Posted on January 15, 2013 by | 8 Comments

Hat tip to Pork n Whiskey blog!

Bourbon inferno

Bourbon, mustard, and pork…great combination!  Oh look, the recipe says to flambé the bourbon.  “I can do that”, I think to myself.  “This will make a great photo for the blog”, I tell James.  I set my phone on the butcher block, in camera mode.  I want to be ready in case the flames are short-lived.  I brown some pork tenderloin medallions in coconut oil.  I sauté the shallots, then pour in the bourbon and deglaze the pan.  The pan is carefully pulled back and tilted toward the flame.  Whoosh!  I grab the camera to take a couple of shots….I feel the heat.  My eyes follow the flames up, up….becoming aware that the flames are high above the stove top, licking at the ventilator hood.  The hood that is on, drawing in the heat.  The hood that vents through our attic to the outdoors.  The hood that I have neglected to clean for a while, with filters that are coated in grease.  It takes a moment to register in my brain – GREAT BALLS OF FIRE (and holy — expletives deleted) – I’m about to set the house on fire!  I grab the flaming pan and stand in the middle of the kitchen holding it away from the hood.  James comes in to check on the commotion – he has a slightly panicked look.  “It’s okay”, I say.  “I got a great shot of the flambé.”

Bourbon-mustard porkOkay, so I learned a couple of things about cooking with fire.  1) It’s probably a good idea to remove the pan from the heat source after setting it on fire.  2) BEFORE you set it on fire, make sure that you have a pan lid in a convenient place, in case it gets out of hand.  A camera does not help with flame control – although the phone would be handy in case a call to 9-1-1 is necessary.

I didn’t get such a great photo of the finished product – I’m sure you’ll understand that the excitement got to me.  Regardless, this sauce is rich with grainy Dijon mustard, butter, and subtle bourbon flavors, and VERY tasty with pork.  I served the pork with a side of roasted cauliflower, which also paired really nicely with the sauce.  Yum!

Ingredients for Bourbon Mustard Sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil or EVOO (or drippings from meat)
  • 1 shallot (about 1/4 cup, chopped)
  • 1 cup bourbon
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
  • 2 tablespoons butter (from grass-fed cows)
  • kosher salt, freshly ground pepper (to taste)
  • Optional:  a touch of heavy cream

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat.  (If you have browned some pork chops or  tenderloin, set the pork aside and use the same pan with about 1 tablespoon of the pan drippings.)  Add the shallot and cook, stirring, for a few minutes until translucent and tender (do not brown).  Add the bourbon carefully to the pan and stir, scraping up the fond from the bottom of the pan.

Make sure you have the lid to the pan close by.  Now, very carefully, STAND BACK and pull the pan back across the flame and slightly tilt, so that the alcohol fumes ignite.  (If you have an electric burner, then use a stick lighter.)  Allow the flames to burn off the alcohol and die down.  Use the lid to dampen the flame if it is out-of-hand.

When the flames are gone, put the pan back over medium heat and add the cider vinegar.  Bring to a low boil and allow to reduce slightly.  Whisk in the mustard and butter.  [Optional: Whisk in some heavy cream, if a creamier sauce is desired.]  Season to taste.  Remove from heat.  Return the meat to the pan and turn to coat.  (Reheat over low heat if necessary – do not boil after adding the butter or the sauce might separate.)  Serve hot and enjoy!

jllSomebody say “Great Balls of Fire”?! Well then you’re talking about The Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis! A true rock and roll creator, crazy as a bedbug, but he’s got more talent in his little finger that most that came after him. One of the highlights of our trip to Memphis was a tour of Sun Studios. To be in that room where Jerry, Elvis, Johnny Cash and U2 all created their art was magical! Here’s a collection of the Killer’s great Sun sides, 25 All Time Greatest Sun Recordings. “Fire”, “Whole Lotta Shaking”, “Breathless” and more. Whew!

lastmanAnd he’s still at it, as this 2006 release shows. Last Man Standing – The Duets pairs Lewis with legendary fans such as Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, and B.B. King. Get ‘em, Killer!

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Ground Pork with Spicy Thai Noodles

Posted on January 11, 2013 by | 16 Comments

Ground pork Thai noodles 2

I love noodles, and I love peanut sauce.  However trying to stick with a quasi-Paleo diet means eating no gluten and avoiding legumes, which knocks out a lot of noodle possibilities and also peanuts (which are legumes, not nuts).  I’m not going to discuss why these common foods could be bad for you – there are ample articles on the subject out there if you are curious.  (Such as this and this.)

Thankfully there are good – and even superior – options.  Almond butter is one.  There are several kinds of almond butter at my local grocery, but some of them are not easy to work with.  You’ve seen the jars with the “butter” on the bottom and a huge layer of separated oil on top.  It is hard work trying to stir that stuff back together!  My favorite brand is Barney Butter, which is not only nicely blended (no-stir) and full of wholesome ingredients, it is certified gluten-free, peanut-free, and non-GMO.  On top of that, it is creamy and delicious!

We really loved this dish with ground pork and a spicy, nutty sauce mixed with rice noodles.  As with most stir-frys, it is important to get all your ingredients lined up and ready to go before you heat up that wok.  (This is called mise en place, for the gourmet-types out there.)

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound ground pork (from pastured hogs)
  • 1/2 large onion, sliced into strips
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
  • 3-4  garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup almond butter (I love Barney Butter)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons tamari/soy sauce (gluten-free) or coconut aminos
  • 1-2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce (to taste)
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice
  • 8 ounces gluten-free rice noodles (type used for Pad Thai)
  • 1/3 cup retained pasta water
  • Optional serving suggestions:  Cilantro, green onions, chopped roasted almonds, lime wedges

Soak rice noodles in hot water for 8-10 minutes, or as directed by package for stir-fry preparation.  Reserve 1/3 cup of the water used to cook the noodles. Drain noodles and set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine almond butter with tamari, Sriracha, sesame oil, honey, ginger, fish sauce, and lime juice.  Whisk until smooth and set aside.  (Try not to eat it with a spoon.)

In a large wok or saute pan, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and peppers, and stir-fry for a few minutes until crisp-tender.  Place the vegetables in a bowl and set aside.  Add the ground pork and garlic to the wok.  Cook until pork is browned throughout.  Drain excess fat from wok.

Return vegetables to the wok and toss with the ground pork.  Add the drained rice noodles and stir fry for about 2 minutes until noodles are softened (al dente), but not mushy.  Add the almond butter sauce and toss together so that the sauce is well distributed.  If needed, add some (or all) of the reserved pasta water to dilute the sauce and bring the mixture to the desired consistency.

Serve garnished with cilantro, chopped green onions, or chopped nuts.  Pass lime wedges.  It is good warm or at room temperature.  (Also good leftover – these photos were taken the next day.)  Enjoy!

Ground pork Thai noodles

djDavid Johansen has worn many hats since he burst into the music scene with the New York Dolls in the ’70s- punk rocker, lounge singer as Buster Poindexter, and now bluesman. On Harry Smiths, Johansen and his band lower the volume and increase the menace performing old time and string music classics with a bluesy touch. Highly recommended!

nightOnce he split with the Dolls David enjoyed a solo career, and his second release, Here Comes the Night is a tight, high energy romp. On the title track or “Bohemian Love Pad” he shows he hasn’t lost that punky touch.

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Roasted Pork Shoulder with Winter Spices

Posted on January 8, 2013 by | 11 Comments

Modified from The Splendid Table

Pork Shoulder Roast

The traditional menu for New Year’s Day here in the Southeastern United States is pork, black-eyed peas, and greens.  As the saying goes, “Eat poor on New Year’s and eat fat the rest of the year.”  These foods are supposed to bring you prosperity in the coming year  – the greens symbolize money and the peas symbolize coins.  I have no idea what the pork is supposed to bring – but there is another saying that might be relevant:  “Eating high on the hog.” This expression may have originated due to the belief that the cuts of meat “higher on the hog” were better or more extravagant, but it has come to exemplify that one is successful and living well.

The pork shoulder (aka Boston butt) is not a cut “high on the hog”, but I personally favor the richer tasting, less lean cuts of pork.  A pork loin roast is delicious, if you brine it and watch it carefully to keep it from being overdone, dry, and tough.  The pork shoulder, on the other hand, is nicely marbled with fat and you have to make a real effort to overcook it.

We usually make pulled pork from a pork shoulder – this is the first time I have made a roast with it.  You still need to slow cook it to at least 185F so that the intramuscular fat and collagen have a chance to break down, making the roast tender and moist.  I was going to cook it on the Big Green Egg, but there was a steady rain on New Year’s Day so into the oven it went.  On the plus side, the house smelled fabulous all day!

This roast does not have much hands-on time, but it does take some planning due to the 2-3 day marinade in the spices.  Also, if you can freshly grind your spices, please do so for the best taste.

Ingredients:

Marinade:

  • 3-4 pound boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2-3 inch cinnamon stick, ground (or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon)
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 6 large garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2/3 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup dry good-tasting red wine

Roasting:

  • 2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1 cup red wine

Marinate the meat:  2-3 days before cooking, spread the roast out (untie if it came tied together) and make deep cuts into the thick parts and through the fat cap.  (Do not even think about removing any of the fat.)  Mix the remainder of the marinade ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, then spread it all over the roast, stuffing it into the slits and massaging it into the pork on all sides.  Place the roast and all the marinade in a sealed plastic bag or a shallow glass dish (covered);  refrigerate until ready to roast, turning once or twice a day.

To roast:  Remove the meat and allow to come to room temperature (about an hour).  Preheat the oven to 400F.  Roll up the roast and tie with butcher’s twine.  Rub the roast all over with the rosemary and salt.

Oil a shallow roasting pan and scatter the sliced onions in the bottom.  Place the roast, fat side up, in the pan and scape all the remaining marinade over it.  Roast for 30 minutes at 400F.

Remove the roast and pour in the orange juice and red wine.  Reduce the oven temperature to 300F.  Continue to roast until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 185F.  This will take several hours (4-6 most likely) – check on the roast every hour or so to make sure the pan does not dry out (add water if necessary), check the temperature, and baste the roast with the juices.  If the temperature of the roast seems to plateau, cover the pan partially with foil to help concentrate the heat.

When the roast is done, let it rest on a cutting board, covered, for about 15 minutes.  Skim the fat from the pan juices.  To serve, roll the pork back into the pan juices to moisten, then slice.  Serve hot, with extra pan juices if desired.  Don’t forget the black-eyed peas and greens if it is New Year’s Day!

Pork shoulder roast (wide)

harlemWell, I felt high on the hog eating this! Yummy! Some yummy music this time too. Generally sons of famous artists are a pale copy of their fathers, but in the case of Steve Earle’s son Justin Townes Earle, there’s no fear of that. Justin is his own man indeed, as on Harlem River Blues. He’s taken folk, country and blues influences together and created something new and fresh, as on the title cut or “Working for the MTA”. Stellar stuff!

His second album, The Good Life, is more jukebox country, and Earle’s vocals goodliferemind you of classic country singers such as George Jones or Lefty Frizzell. Hard to believe a kid this young could be so assured and good, but the truth is in the grooves.

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Vietnamese Clay Pot Pork (Thit Kho To)

Posted on July 28, 2012 by | 19 Comments

I fell in love with a Vietnamese restaurant, and with Clay Pot Pork.  Chateau Saigon is a gem of a restaurant in the mecca of multi-ethnic eateries that line Buford Highway.  Restaurants in this area of Atlanta are mostly in shopping centers and strip malls, alongside pawn shops, thrift stores, and car dealerships.  In other words…not the trendy area of town.  However there is a lot of good food tucked away there, and often the most dive-y looking spots are the most authentic.  I don’t know much about Vietnamese cuisine to know if Chateau Saigon is “authentic” or not, but the restaurant is clean and filled with light, the service is elegant, and the food is beautifully presented and delicious.  If you’re looking for a new and different dining experience in Atlanta, give it a try!

The Clay Pot Pork is an intensely flavored dish – served at Chateau Saigon in a heavy, piping hot pot.  The meat is tender and is bound with a deeply rich sauce that has cooked down to the sticky essence of all its ingredients.  Wanting to make this at home, I browsed through several cookbooks and the internet to find recipes.  This recipe is modified primarily from Weave a Thousand Flavors – a blog that drew me in with mouth-watering photography and beautifully detailed instructions.

Using a good quality fish sauce is probably essential to this dish, since there is quite a bit of it in the recipe.  I like Red Boat Fish Sauce because it is 100% pure, first pressed, high-protein fish sauce – made in Vietnam with only 2 ingredients: black anchovy and sea salt.  Looking for “umami”…here it is!  It is available in some stores (see their website), but you can also order it from Amazon.

You don’t have to have a clay pot – a good Dutch oven or braising pot (with a lid) would work.  I used our Tagine- also a clay pot.

Ingredients:

  • 3 pounds fatty pork shoulder (Boston butt), cut into cubes
  • 5 to 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
  • 1/2 cup (heaping) shallots, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil (or more if needed)
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup coconut palm sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Sriracha hot chili sauce
  • 1/3 cup Vietnamese Fish Sauce
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3 to 4 scallions
  • fresh ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon or to taste

Preheat oven to 325F.  Melt the coconut oil in the clay pot (or Dutch oven) over medium heat for a few minutes.  Turn the heat up to medium-high, then add the pork in small batches and brown on all sides.  (This will take several batches.  Be careful not to overcrowd the pan or the meat will steam instead of brown.)  When each batch is done, transfer the browned meat to a bowl.  Add more oil if necessary.

Turn off the heat and add the sugar to the pan.  Stir well to combine, then turn the heat back on to medium.  Stir the sugar constantly until it melts and starts to separate from the oil (it will glob up, bubble and look pasty…don’t worry).

Add the shallots, garlic, and ginger to the sugar.  Saute for a few minutes, until fragrant.  Stir in the fish sauce and Sriracha sauce.  Add the meat and all the accumulated juices to the pot.  Add water and ground pepper.  Stir well, tossing the meat until it is well-coated with the gravy.  Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

Cover with a tight-fitting lid and place in the oven.  Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the pork is caramel in color and tender, and the sauce is thick.  Add more water if needed during cooking to keep the sauce from drying out.

Note:  None of the recipes mention it, but I found that a lot of fat accumulated as the pork cooked.  I spooned off excess fat near the end of the cooking time, reserving some to saute the green onions (next step).

While the pork is cooking, trim off the root and any wilted green parts from the scallions.  Wash and dry with paper towels.  Slice the white part of the scallion in thin pieces, and cut the green parts into ~1-inch segments.  When the pork is almost ready, briefly saute the scallions in 1 tablespoon reserved oil from the pork (or coconut oil), until they are glossy and fragrant.

Serve the pork with Jasmine rice, topped with scallions.

Now that was tasty! The same can be said for our musical guests…Little Feat! One of America’s greatest bands, led by Lowell George, they served up some of the greatest tunes you’ll ever come across. Such as on Sailin Shoes with the classics such as “Easy To Slip” and the truckers anthem, “Willin’”

Waiting for Columbus captures Little Feat at their live zenith, and when they were cookin’, ain’t nobody better. Except of course for She Cooks! Enjoy!

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Balsamic Pork Belly

Posted on June 6, 2012 by | 11 Comments

Recipe adapted from Ian Knauer’s Sticky Balsamic Ribs

I hope you are not tired of pork belly, for a couple of reasons.  First, this is the best version yet!  (Yes, I say that every time.)  The second reason is because I still have a few pounds of it in my freezer, so chances are you are going to see more of it.

While looking for a marinade for ribs, I came across what has to be the most highly praised recipe short of when the ancient Mesopotamians recorded the first recipe for beer, as handed down from the god Enki.  Ian Knauer, a former food editor for Gourmet magazine, said “These ribs just might be the best thing I’ve ever come up with.”  Food 52 proclaimed the recipe “Genius”.  Ruth Reichl wrote about them in her journal after making them again and again.  Review after review – serving these ribs made you the most popular person in the world. Well heck, I thought, if this is good enough for ribs, it should be heavenly on pork belly!

Looks heavenly, right?  To use Ms. Reichl’s words – “Smokey, Sweet, Tangy, Sticky”  – that’s all you have to know.

I halved the original recipe since I was marinating a small slab of pork belly vs 8 pounds of ribs.  Also I substituted coconut palm sugar for the brown sugar, to decrease the glycemic load.  We were smoking ribs, so the pork belly went in the Big Green Egg with the ribs.  However, you can also roast it in the oven using these instructions from Jamie Oliver.

The last time we smoked a pork belly, we found that the skin was very tough and ended up cutting it off.  This time I borrowed Jamie Oliver’s technique for crackling the skin before putting the belly in the smoker, which resulted in a crispier, edible rind.

Ingredients:

  • 1 slab of pork belly (1-3 pounds, or whatever you have)
  • 4 large garlic cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt + 2 teaspoons kosher salt (divided)
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the glaze:

  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
  • 1/4 cup water

Rinse the pork belly and dry with paper towels.  Using a very sharp knife, cut crosshatches just through the rind (skin).  Place pork belly in a resealable bag.

Mince and mash garlic to a paste with the 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.  Stir together in a small bowl with rosemary, sugar, vinegar, cayenne, remaining salt, and black pepper. Pour the marinade in the bag with the pork belly.  Seal bag (squeezing the air out) and massage the marinade into the pork belly, coating it thoroughly.  Marinate in the refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours (go for 24 hours if you can).

To prepare the glaze, bring the vinegar, sugar, and water to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Continue to boil (watching carefully) until the mixture is thick and syrupy and reduced to about 1/2 cup.  Set aside.

Continue reading →

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Sage and Sweet Potato Mash (with Bangers and Caramelized Vidalia Onions)

Posted on May 27, 2012 by | 4 Comments

We recently became enamored of the Japanese sweet potato, or satsumaimo.  These potatoes are dark red-skinned, almost purplish, and have a creamy white inside.  They are very sweet – particularly if you roast them – and have a denser flesh than the orange potatoes we are used to.  I decided to try mashing them for a new take on “Bangers and Mash”.

Since these potatoes are so sweet already, I used fresh sage to add a more savory aspect to the mash, along with copious amounts of cream and butter (of course).  We really liked the combination of the grilled sausages with the sage and the sweet potatoes – and the caramelized onions were like the cherry on top of a banana split.  Yum!

This is a hearty dish, probably best suited for colder weather.  However if you have the urge to grill some sausages, any time of year is good for bangers and mash!

Ingredients (about 3 servings)

  • 2 large Vidalia onions (or other sweet variety of onion)
  • ~ 2 tablespoons butter (pastured)
  • ~1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 large Japanese sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
  • heavy cream or half and half
  • more butter
  • ~1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, chopped fine
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 Bangers

Preheat oven to 325F.  Cut the onions in half and discard the skin.  Slice into thin slices.

Using an oven-safe skillet or saute pan (with lid), melt 2 tablespoons of butter with the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions; saute for several minutes, tossing occasionally, until the onions are soft.  Cover pan and place in oven.  Cook for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the onions are deeply browned (sorry, I forgot to write down the time).  Remove from oven and set aside.

Place the cut-up sweet potatoes in a medium-size sauce pan and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil, and cook for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender (can easily be pieced with a fork).  Drain into colander, then return the potatoes to the pan.  Throw in a few dollops of butter (~2 tablespoons to start with) and a glug of half and half.  Using a potato masher, blend the potatoes with the cream and butter to the desired consistency, adding more cream and butter as needed.  Stir in the sage, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

While the potatoes are cooking, grill the bangers – on an outdoor grill, or stove-top grill or grill-plate.

Serve the bangers over the sweet potato mash, topped with caramelized onions.

Two from the Wayback Machine today (bonus points if you know what I’m referring to!). Two incredibly influential pioneers of rock and roll. Without them, you probably don’t have the Beatles, Stones, Yardbirds, etc. First up, the first album from the wildman from Macon, Here’s Little Richard. Nobody else sounds like Little Richard, and this one is loaded with hits- “Tutti Frutti”, “Long Tall Sally” and more. Amazing what a 28 minute record achieved!

Next up, Bo Diddley. “Who Do You Love”, “Mona”, and his signature song- literally! Bo was a great songwriter, guitarist and performer, and still making great records into his later years, including a terrific live set with Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. Here’s a great collection of all the hits. Road Runner: The Chess Masters 1959-1960 Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley, have ya heard…

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Pulled Pork (Smoked Pork Butt)

Posted on May 6, 2012 by | 2 Comments

This may well be my laziest, virtually no-effort attempt at smoked Boston Butt yet….and I think it was one of the best.  Sometimes the less you do, the better things turn out.  No brine, no overnight rub, not much tinkering with the cooking…just a generous application of Dizzy Pig “Dizzy Dust” and onto the Big Green Egg.

When you are not working with many ingredients, it is especially important that those ingredients are of high quality.  When buying pork, support farms with pastured animals that are compassionately and sustainably raised.  Look for Heritage breeds of pork, like Berkshire, which unlike “factory farm” animals that are raised indoors for maximum size in the minimum time, are traditionally bred and raised in a natural environment for the best tasting meat.  Use fresh spices when making your own rub, or buy spice blends that have all natural ingredients and no preservatives.  I like the the assortment of rubs offered by Dizzy Pig Barbeque Company, which are also gluten-free and have no MSG.

Here’s how our lazy day went…

About an hour before cooking, I took the boneless pork butt (around 3.5 pounds) out of the refrigerator.  It got a nice rub down with olive oil, then I liberally applied the Dizzy Dust all over the butt.  (No snickering…)  The butt was then tied up with kitchen twine.  We let it sit there on the counter to come to room temperature while the spice rub melded on the surface of the meat.

In the meantime, Mr. “He Cleans” got the Big Green Egg set up for smoking, with plenty of charcoal since we anticipated this would need to cook for 7-8 hours (roughly 2 hours per pound).  When the Egg was showing a stable temperature around 225F, we threw in several handfuls of Jack Daniel’s Barrel Wood Chips for smoke, put in the inverted plate setter and grill for indirect cooking, and set that pork butt in there right on the grill.  To really notch up the effort, we also had a slab of pork belly there with the butt.   We closed up the Egg and watched the smoke pour out, hoping that our annoying, loudmouth neighbors were getting a good whiff of it and burning with jealousy.

The weather was really pleasant, so we sat on the screened-in porch…reading, playing Sudoku, browsing the interwebs.  We peeked in the Egg after 2 hours had passed; the little rush of ventilation gave the woods chips a boost and picked the smoke up again.  Then back to porch sitting, occasionally wiping drool off our chins.  After 4 or 5 hours (what is time, really?), we pulled the pork belly out of the smoker and had a little snack.  More time passed – jalapeno slaw and bbq sauce were made, more Suduku, Words with Friends, checking on what people were up to on Facebook.  Next thing you know, it’s about drinking time!

After about 6 hours, the temperature of the butt seemed to be stuck in the 160F range.  This, I found from reading blogs about meat smoking, is known as the “Stall”.  We want the meat to get above 170F, because that’s where the magic happens.  Around 170F is when the collagen in the meat begin to melt and turn gelatinous, and the meat becomes more tender and juicy and scrumptious.  One way to get around the “Stall” is to cover that butt to keep the juices from evaporating, and thereby cooling the meat.  I plopped it in a cast iron pot with a little apple juice, sealed it up with foil, and put it back on the grill.  If you don’t have a pot handy that you want to stick in a grill, you can also wrap it securely with foil.

Now that it was drinking time, the wait became a little easier.  We cooked the butt for another hour, and checked the temperature.  It was just under 180F – but more importantly, the butt passed the “fork test”.  Basically, if you can stick a fork in it and twist it easily, it’s done!  At this point, the butt should rest for about 30 minutes.  I think we made it for 15 before deciding that surely that was enough.  We put the butt in a lasagna-sized pan to make sure we got all the juices, and pulled it apart with these nifty “Bear Paws“.  The Bear Paws make easy work of picking up hot meat off the grill or out of a roasting pan, as well as shredding it.  If you don’t have Bear Paws, you can also shred the meat with forks.  When the meat had cooled down a little, I also picked through it to remove any gristly or extra-fatty parts (and only ate a little of the delicious bark while doing so).

We ate our pulled pork with hot tortillas, spicy jalapeno slaw, and smoky barbeque sauce.  Pork with guacamole and pineapple-mango salsa was also a hit.  Delicious!  What a nice ending for a lazy day!

We said goodbye on April 19 to one of America’s greatest artists, Levon Helm of The Band. His wonderful voice and unerring ear for music will never be forgotten. Eerily a week before his passing I picked up Ramble at the Ryman, and it’s a great evening of music, Levon with special guests such as John Hiatt, Sam Bush and Buddy Miller raising the roof at the legendary Ryman Auditorium.

And speaking of legendary, you can’t go wrong with Rock of Ages. The Band at the height of their formidable powers, with horn arrangements by Allen Toussaint. A must have for fans of one of America’s most beloved bands.

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Maple-Bourbon Smoked Pork Belly

Posted on April 30, 2012 by | 9 Comments

Modified from Los Angeles Times

What a smoking weekend!  Determined to clear out some of the pork products in the freezer, we decided to get the Big Green Egg smoking most of the day Saturday with a pork shoulder roast (aka pork butt) and a pound of pork belly.  We’ve been getting pork belly every month in our CSA share from Moonshine Meats – so far we have only braised it, and I was ready for something different.  The Los Angeles Times had a recipe that caught my eye, and why wouldn’t it with the title “Maple-bourbon hot-smoked pork belly”.  YUM-MEE!

The recipe calls for a three-day brine, but I can’t be expected to think that far ahead.  Our pork belly was in the marinade for a bit longer than 24 hours, and although a longer brine would no doubt increase the flavor, it nevertheless had the sweetly subtle taste of maple and bourbon.  After hours of sitting on the porch with tantalizing wafts of whiskey-barrel-spiked smoke passing by our noses, as soon as the pork belly was done we were unable to resist slicing bits off and eating it with our greasy fingers while we waited for the pork butt.  What a great appetizer – melt in your mouth tender, sweet and smoky!  What we didn’t snack on is destined for another meal, and I am looking forward to it.

One note about preparation of the pork belly – the LA Times recipe said to remove the rind (skin) before marinating, but instead I carved crosshatches in the skin and left it on.  In retrospect, I should have removed it because after smoking, the rind was quite chewy.  It is easily trimmed off after smoking, although some of the flavor is trimmed off with it. Live and learn!

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound (or more) pork belly, rind removed
  • 1 tablespoon mustard seed, toasted and crushed
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • several grinds of black pepper
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

Other special equipment:

  • Smoker
  • Charcoal
  • Drip tray
  • Hardwood chips (i.e. apple-wood; we used Jack Daniel’s Barrel Chips that we had on hand)

Pork belly rubbed with crushed mustard seed, black pepper, and coriander

Wash and dry the pork belly.  Carve crosshatches into the top fat layer, and rub in some of the toasted, crushed mustard seed, coriander, and black pepper.  Place the pork belly in a resealable plastic bag.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining mustard seed and coriander with more black pepper and the maple syrup, bourbon, and salt.  Pour the marinade in the bag and massage it into the pork belly.  Press the air out of the plastic bag and seal.  Refrigerate for at least 24 hours up to 3 days; remix and turn the bag over occasionally.

Prepare the smoker to cook at 225-250 degrees (F).  (On the Big Green Egg, be ready to use the plate inverter, feet up, with a drip pan and grill rack.)  When the coals are ready, throw in the wood chips.  Remove the pork butt from the marinade and set up on the grill, fat side up, over a drip pan.  Close the smoker and let it go for at least 2 hours before peeking in on it.  Keep the temperature of the smoker around 225 degrees.  Smoke the pork belly until the internal temperature reaches at least 150F, per the LA Times recipe.  We took our pork belly to around 170F, which took 4-5 hours. (I forgot to time it….sorry!)  The time and temperature are likely not that important…I don’t think you need to worry about drying out this lusciously fatty piece of meat.

Remove from the smoker and allow to cool slightly.  Slice into thin slices, cubes, chunks, or however you like it!  Refrigerate leftovers.

Nothing beats Grill Day…sitting there smelling the heavenly aroma…but new music day is nearly its equal! Picked up some new releases recently. First up is Ray Wylie Hubbard’s The Grifter’s Hymnal. Ray is a Texas songwriter, a little bit more rocking than most. He’s been around forever- he wrote the classic “Up Against The Wall, You Redneck Mother” in 1973- and his wordplay and musical instincts have rarely been sharper than on his new album. From “New Year’s Eve At The Gates Of Hell” to “Coochy Coochy” with Ringo Starr, this is fine waiting on the pork to cook music!

As is Leaving Eden from the Carolina Chocolate Drops, a jug and old-time band from the Carolinas. They bring the old black string band music into the 21st century, and it’s intoxicating.

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Latin Lasagna with Beef and Plantains

Posted on April 1, 2012 by | 20 Comments

A good casserole is one of the best comfort foods.  You just can’t beat a one-dish meal for convenience – just pop it in the oven and relax – or for the great way the ingredients play off each other.  This Latin-style lasagna is both sweet and savory, with cumin-spiced ground beef, layers of plantains, and mildly spicy pepper-jack cheese.

I can’t emphasize the importance of using RIPE plantains enough.  I was impatient – two of the plantains I used were perfectly ripe, but two were still a little green.  The difference between the taste and texture of ripe and not-so-ripe was huge.  After sauteing the ripe plantains, the slices were soft and buttery, with a subtle sweetness.  The green plantain slices were tough and dry, and had all the flavor you would expect from cardboard.  Be sure that you use plantains that have black skins, or that are yellow with lots of black spots on the skin.

This is the basic recipe that I used, modified from Emeril Lagasse’s recipe for Cuban-Style Beef and Plantain Pie, and inspired by Ingrid Hoffmann’s Latin Lasagna from Simply Delicioso.  We really enjoyed this lasagna, despite the presence of unripe plantain interspersed in the casserole.  Next time I make this, aside from using riper fruit, I might add a layer of ricotta with cilantro mixed in, or top it with a decadent layer of  cheesy, white sauce.  My mouth is watering already!

Ingredients:

  • 1 sweet onion, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
  • 1 pound ground beef (grass-fed)
  • 1/2 pound ground pork
  • 16-ounces diced tomatoes (with juice)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon Spanish smoked, hot paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 ripe plantains (black-skinned, or heavily spotted)
  • coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil (to saute plantains)
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • ~ 12 ounces pepper Jack cheese, shredded
  • Fresh cilantro, chopped, for serving

Preparing beef:

Heat coconut oil (or EVOO) in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and red bell peppers; cook until softened, stirring frequently.  Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute or until garlic is fragrant.  Add beef and pork.  Cook until browned, stirring and breaking up clumps.  Drain off all but 2-3 tablespoons of fat, if necessary (will depend on fattiness of beef and pork used).

Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, raisins, vinegar, oregano, cumin, paprika, coriander, salt, and pepper.  Simmer for around 15 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat; adjust seasonings to taste.  The meat mixture should be moist and a little saucy.  If it seems too dry, stir in some water or broth.  Set aside to cool slightly.

Preparing plantains:

Peel plantains. (They do not peel easily, like bananas.  I found it easier to slit the thick skin open, lengthwise, then slide the skin off in one piece.)

Slice in half, crosswise, then slice each half lengthwise into 3 long slices.  In a large skillet, heat ~1/4 cup coconut oil (or EVOO) over medium high heat.  Saute the plantain slices in batches until golden brown, 2-3 minutes on each side.  Add additional oil, if needed.  Transfer the cooked plantain slices to drain on paper towels.

Assembling the casserole:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly oil a lasagna pan or large casserole dish.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and water until blended.

Place about 1/3 of the meat mixture in the bottom of the pan as a base.  Top with half of the plantain slices, and then about half the shredded cheese.  Add a good layer of meat (about 1/2 of what is remaining). Pour half the egg mixture into the pan, spreading it out over the ingredients.  Layer with the remaining plantains, meat, and cheese.  Pour the remaining egg mixture over the top of the casserole – spreading it out to distribute evenly.

Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil, and bake at 350F until hot throughout and bubbly (about 45 minutes).  Remove foil, and bake for around 10 more minutes to brown the cheese on top.  Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.  Serve sprinkled with fresh cilantro.

XTC has long been one of my favorite bands, sadly they are no more. But what a brilliant collection of works they left. First, one of my “Top 10″ albums, Apple Venus Volume 1, their final release (sorta…). At this point the band was just Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding, but what a glorious noise they made! This sublime release is complete ear candy, from the opening rain drops of “River of Orchids” to Moulding’s “Knights in Shining Karma”. Hard to believe this was released in 1999…or that it’s out of print. For shame.

Now, one of the first albums by XTC, Drums & Wires. This was the first release by the band that got noticed in America, and I can remember “Life Begins at the Hop” and “Making Plans for Nigel” seemed to be on constant repeat on my Walkman (kids, ask your parents…it was the precursor to the ipod!). Essential!

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Fresh Ham Steak with Mustard-Cider Glaze

Posted on March 13, 2012 by | 9 Comments

As I’ve probably mentioned before, one fun thing about belonging to a CSA is you get to try cuts of meat (or vegetables) that you might not have otherwise picked up at the grocery store.  Part of our “Dig the Pig” share from Moonshine Meats is a large slab of fresh ham steak.  In this case, “ham” refers to the hind leg of a pig, not a chunk of cured pork.  The first time we cooked fresh ham, we tried to braise it – it was okay, but nothing to blog about.  That ham steak turned out more-or-less like a gigantimus pork chop, but less flavorful.  Aiming for more, we brined this month’s ham steak to turn it into something more like cured ham, but without the nitrates.

The addition of whole cloves and maple syrup to the brine infused the meat with a subtle sweetness – reminiscent of all those clove-studded baked hams you’ve eaten at Easter-time.  As the ham steak roasted, we basted it with a mustard-cider glaze to add more flavor and to help give the ham a beautiful color.  (The pink color of traditional ham comes from nitrates in the cure, so this ham is not pink.)

I roasted this in the oven, but it would be even better roasted or smoked on the grill!  There’s always next month when the next CSA share comes in!

Brine Ingredients: (I had a 3-pound ham steak; adjust amounts accordingly if you use a much larger piece of meat)

  • 1 fresh ham steak, uncured (brining time based on weight – you could do 2 pounds, or a whole ham)
  • 4 cups water
  • 1/4 cup kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 8-10 whole cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • several grindings of black pepper

Bring brine ingredients to a simmer; make sure the salt is completely dissolved.  Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

Place the ham steak in a large resealable bag.  Cover with the brine; squeeze the air out of the bag, seal, and refrigerate.  Keep in brine 24 hours for every 2 pounds of meat.

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Remove the ham steak from the brine, rinse with cold water, and dry with paper towels.  Place in a roasting pan on a rack.  Season with ground pepper. Deeply score the fat around the outside of the steak every 1-inch or so, to prevent the roast from curling as it cooks.

Roast at 375F for 18-20 minutes per pound.  During the last  ~30 minutes of the roasting time, baste the roast with the mustard-cider glaze (recipe below).  Flip the roast over, brush with glaze, and cook for 15 minutes.  Flip the roast over again, brush with glaze, and continue to cook until the roast is done (internal temperature around 140F).

Allow roast to rest, loosely covered with foil, for at least 10 minutes before serving.  Slice thinly across the grain to serve, and enjoy!

Mustard-Cider Glaze (amounts approximate):

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup apple cider (not apple cider vinegar)
  • 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • pinch dried thyme
  • kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

In a small saucepan over low heat, whisk together the glaze ingredients.  Adjust amounts and seasoning, to taste.  (Also good, whisk in a little of the pan drippings from the ham…yum!)

No music today, but a reading assignment! I picked up Allyson Reedy’s Breaking the Chain: How I Banned Chain Restaurants From My Diet And Went From Full To Fulfilled for my Kindle and absolutely loved it. Reedy’s triumph over bland, bad for you chain restaurant food is equal parts hilarious and thought provoking. From trying to eat local or her despair over a favorite breakfast place actually being a chain, she keep you amused while laying out just why you don’t want to eat at the Olive Garden ever again. Wonderful!

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