Candied Bacon
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Kevin's Cucina Personal Chef Service
Check out my About.com site: Cooking for Two
I also teach cooking classes at Glass Bazaar in Knoxville and I'm a frequent contributor to NPR's Kitchen Window.
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Thursday, February 04, 2010
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Thursday, November 19, 2009
Oven-Barbequed Ribs
Blasphemy or Saving Grace
Two years ago the damned local fire marshal decreed that not only was it now against fire regulations to use an open flame grill (gas or charcoal) within 20 feet of a multi-family dwelling (read "my condo") but that you can't even store a grill (gas or charcoal) within 20 feet of the dwelling. It's a completely reasonable rule. Most people are idiots and I don’t want an idiot burning down my house because he gets drunk and uses too much lighter fluid. But I'm not an idiot and I totally detest the rule because it put an end to one of my favorite modes of cooking.
I hauled my grill and smoker out to my parents' house and visit them (parents and grills) when I can, but my parents live 30 minutes away and I've gone from cooking over flame two or three times a month to cooking over flame two or three times a summer.
Probably like you, I figured liquid smoke was an artificial product. That's not necessarily bad, but typically such products are one-dimensional. For example, artificial vanilla extract contains vanillin but none of the other complex flavors that make true vanilla true vanilla. I figured the same was true of liquid smoke. I was wrong.
Liquid smoke is made from real smoke filtered through water. It has most of the flavor — and probably all of the carcinogens — you get from cooking over wood. So I've been playing with it to see if I could get at least the flavor, if not the texture, of meat cooked in a smoker. I'm still experimenting, but these ribs turned out reasonbly well.
Liquid smoke does give you a genuine smoke flavor, but the result is more one-dimensional than actual slow smoking over charcoal with soaked wood chips. So in terms of genuine flavor it falls somewhere between imitation vanilla flavoring and real vanilla extract. My conclusion is the techique is an improvement on doing without, but it still feels a bit blasphemous.
Try these ribs with...
French Fries
Potatoes Parmigiano
Fried Okra
Two years ago the damned local fire marshal decreed that not only was it now against fire regulations to use an open flame grill (gas or charcoal) within 20 feet of a multi-family dwelling (read "my condo") but that you can't even store a grill (gas or charcoal) within 20 feet of the dwelling. It's a completely reasonable rule. Most people are idiots and I don’t want an idiot burning down my house because he gets drunk and uses too much lighter fluid. But I'm not an idiot and I totally detest the rule because it put an end to one of my favorite modes of cooking.
I hauled my grill and smoker out to my parents' house and visit them (parents and grills) when I can, but my parents live 30 minutes away and I've gone from cooking over flame two or three times a month to cooking over flame two or three times a summer.
I hauled my grill and smoker out to my parents' house and visit them (parents and grills) when I can.
If all I want is a grilled flavor in a steak, I can use my stove-top smoker and then toss the steak on a really hot grill pan to get the sear and char. But that's a quick technique that doesn't work for smoked Boston Butt or pork ribs, which require long, slow cooking to become tender. So recently I tried a technique I've been hearing about in unexpected places — liquid smoke.Probably like you, I figured liquid smoke was an artificial product. That's not necessarily bad, but typically such products are one-dimensional. For example, artificial vanilla extract contains vanillin but none of the other complex flavors that make true vanilla true vanilla. I figured the same was true of liquid smoke. I was wrong.
Liquid smoke is made from real smoke filtered through water. It has most of the flavor — and probably all of the carcinogens — you get from cooking over wood. So I've been playing with it to see if I could get at least the flavor, if not the texture, of meat cooked in a smoker. I'm still experimenting, but these ribs turned out reasonbly well.
Oven-Smoked Country Ribs
Serves 4.
12 country-style pork ribs — bone-in
Dry rub
1/4 c liquid smoke
Barbeque sauce (if desired)
Generously season ribs with rub, stuff in a zippered bag, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
Wrap ribs tightly in heavy-duty foil, add liquid smoke, and cook at 225F for 5 1/2 hours.
Open up foil and drain off the liquid, it's too smoky to keep, so discard it.
At this point I had preheated my grill pan over medium-high heat. I brushed the ribs with sauce and tossed them on the grill pan for about 4 minutes per side to provide browning and caramelization.
Liquid smoke does give you a genuine smoke flavor, but the result is more one-dimensional than actual slow smoking over charcoal with soaked wood chips. So in terms of genuine flavor it falls somewhere between imitation vanilla flavoring and real vanilla extract. My conclusion is the techique is an improvement on doing without, but it still feels a bit blasphemous.
Try these ribs with...
French Fries
Potatoes Parmigiano
Fried Okra
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | pork | barbeque | main dish
Labels: barbeque, main dish, pork
Read more...Friday, October 30, 2009
Rum-and-cider-brined
Pork Sirloin Roast
Falling
The day-time temperature has been in the 70's this fall — right up until a few days ago when it plunged 30 degrees over-night. Colors haven't really started changing yet — because of the warmth, I suppose. But perhaps now we'll see fall. Although New England is certainly the most beautiful place in the country for leaf peeping, East Tennessee does pretty well — and for that matter when the aspens turn gold on California's mountain sides it's pretty stunning.
At any rate, I woke up to a cold house Saturday morning and didn't want to get out of my warm bed. So I put off getting up for a few minutes and gave some thought to supper. The first thing that popped into my mind was roast pork. To me fall means pork — and it also means apples and it just so happens that apples and pork go together beautifully, but what to do?
I've done something similar, but without brining, without juniper, and using Calvados instead of rum. I made a grocery run and came home to make up the brine. I'd already decided it needed 24 hours of brining so I'd have it for supper Sunday night instead of that night. The longer I cook the more I learn that patience is a key technique and I've found that most of my meals fall into two categories: they are either quick and simple or slow. I cook fewer and fewer dishes that fall in between.
I don’t mind letting a roast brine for 24 hours, and I don't mind slow-roasting it for a couple of hours so it arrives on the table perfectly cooked throughout.
Try this pork roast with...
Roasted Rutabaga
Glazed Carrots with Mint and Lemon
Italian Sausage Pilaf
The day-time temperature has been in the 70's this fall — right up until a few days ago when it plunged 30 degrees over-night. Colors haven't really started changing yet — because of the warmth, I suppose. But perhaps now we'll see fall. Although New England is certainly the most beautiful place in the country for leaf peeping, East Tennessee does pretty well — and for that matter when the aspens turn gold on California's mountain sides it's pretty stunning.
At any rate, I woke up to a cold house Saturday morning and didn't want to get out of my warm bed. So I put off getting up for a few minutes and gave some thought to supper. The first thing that popped into my mind was roast pork. To me fall means pork — and it also means apples and it just so happens that apples and pork go together beautifully, but what to do?
I woke up to a cold house Saturday morning and didn't want to get out of my warm bed.
I let my mind free associate and settled on cider (hard or soft... soft) with rum and juniper berries. A brine not a marinade so the salt would draw the flavors fairly deeply into the meat. However, choosing to use a brine meant it would be too salty to use as a sauce — but there was no reason not make a separate pan sauce using rum and cider — and toss in some sautéed apples as well.I've done something similar, but without brining, without juniper, and using Calvados instead of rum. I made a grocery run and came home to make up the brine. I'd already decided it needed 24 hours of brining so I'd have it for supper Sunday night instead of that night. The longer I cook the more I learn that patience is a key technique and I've found that most of my meals fall into two categories: they are either quick and simple or slow. I cook fewer and fewer dishes that fall in between.
I don’t mind letting a roast brine for 24 hours, and I don't mind slow-roasting it for a couple of hours so it arrives on the table perfectly cooked throughout.
Rum-and-cider-brined Pork Sirloin Roast
Serves 4.
Brine:
1 1/2 c dark rum
1 1/2 c apple cider
1/4 c kosher salt
12 juniper berries — coarsely crushed
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
12 pepper corns — coarsely crushed
2 lg garlic cloves &mdash: smashed
Roast:
2 1/2 lb pork sirloin roast
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Sauce:
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 apple — peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2" cubes
2 tbsp finely minced onion
1/2 c dark rum
1/2 c apple cider
Salt and pepper
Brine:
Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Place over medium-high heat, bring to a simmer, and cook until salt is dissolved.
Cool brine to room temperature. Put the roast in a gallon zippered plastic bag, add brine, evacuate most of the air, and refrigerate for 18 - 24 hours — turning three or four time while brining to distribute the brine.
Roast:
Heat oven to 250F.
Rinse roast and pat dry with a lint-free kitchen towel. Discard brine.
Heat oil in a heavy, oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add roast and brown well on 3 sides — about 3 minutes per side. When you flip the forth side down, place the skillet in the center of the oven.
Cook roast to 140 - 145F at its center according to an instant-read thermometer. Remove from oven, place on a cutting board, and tent with foil.
Sauce:
Unfortunately the fond that accumulates in the bottom of the skillet is a bit too salty to use in a sauce, so use another skillet.
Heat skillet over medium heat. Add butter and swirl to melt. Add apples in a single layer and lightly brown. Flip and brown other side. Add minced onion and cook 1 minute longer.
Add rum and reduce by half. Add cider and reduce by half. Taste and season with salt and pepper (light on the salt).
Serve.
Try this pork roast with...
Roasted Rutabaga
Glazed Carrots with Mint and Lemon
Italian Sausage Pilaf
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | main dish | pork | apples
Labels: apples, main dish, pork
Read more...Friday, October 09, 2009
Southwestern Pulled Pork
Spicy-licious
We're now into our third day of fall showers. The rain comes and lasts for two - three - four hours interspersed with periods of clouds and sunshine. Unlike Tennessee's summer storms, the autumnal rain is steady, not violent, and extended, not brief. Unlike Northwestern rains they aren't day-long middling drizzles and perpetually overcast skies. In fact, when I moved from Knoxville to Eugene I discovered Knoxville gets about the same rainfall as Eugene. But in Eugene you get six months of drizzle and six months of sun. Here you get genuine rain throughout the year.
There's something ineffably sweet about Tennessee's autumn rain. Like the summer storms the rain begins with an odor of hot rock and hot soil — granite and iron — but without the lightening the acidic ozone element is missing. Which isn't to say lightening doesn’t also play a role in the fall. There was a long roll of thunder just minutes ago. A deep sonorous voice that gave me a shiver.
For the past hour I've been sitting out on my (covered) balcony enjoying the latest rain and getting a bit wet. Bella, my companion, was sitting just inside the door grumbling as only cats can about my exposure to an element as negative as rain. My only complaint was that my balcony is exposed to the neighborhood and so I had to wear clothes to enjoy the experience. Summer and early fall rain is much better indulged in while naked.
The rain ended and I moved back inside to listen to" All Things Considered" and figure out what to do with the Boston Butt in my fridge, I decided on something Southwestern -- replicating in some way the smell of hot rock and soil from summer and the cooler, darker flavors of fall. Oregano, thyme, and basil add the grassy notes. Dried and smoked peppers bring in lightening, musk, and granite. Stout adds more musk, shifting the dish closer to fall, while fresh parsley added fresh as a garnish reinforces summer.
Served on my standard Mexican/Southwestern rice it was pretty damned good.
We're now into our third day of fall showers. The rain comes and lasts for two - three - four hours interspersed with periods of clouds and sunshine. Unlike Tennessee's summer storms, the autumnal rain is steady, not violent, and extended, not brief. Unlike Northwestern rains they aren't day-long middling drizzles and perpetually overcast skies. In fact, when I moved from Knoxville to Eugene I discovered Knoxville gets about the same rainfall as Eugene. But in Eugene you get six months of drizzle and six months of sun. Here you get genuine rain throughout the year.
There's something ineffably sweet about Tennessee's autumn rain. Like the summer storms the rain begins with an odor of hot rock and hot soil — granite and iron — but without the lightening the acidic ozone element is missing. Which isn't to say lightening doesn’t also play a role in the fall. There was a long roll of thunder just minutes ago. A deep sonorous voice that gave me a shiver.
Unlike Tennessee's summer storms, the autumnal rain is steady, not violent, and extended, not brief.
But as the rain wears on and the air clears you notice sweet, grassy notes from still-green leaves and lawns. Hiding behind the scenes is the coming decay. Dusty smells of leaves nearly turned and mushrooms turning death into life as everything dies back for winter.For the past hour I've been sitting out on my (covered) balcony enjoying the latest rain and getting a bit wet. Bella, my companion, was sitting just inside the door grumbling as only cats can about my exposure to an element as negative as rain. My only complaint was that my balcony is exposed to the neighborhood and so I had to wear clothes to enjoy the experience. Summer and early fall rain is much better indulged in while naked.
The rain ended and I moved back inside to listen to" All Things Considered" and figure out what to do with the Boston Butt in my fridge, I decided on something Southwestern -- replicating in some way the smell of hot rock and soil from summer and the cooler, darker flavors of fall. Oregano, thyme, and basil add the grassy notes. Dried and smoked peppers bring in lightening, musk, and granite. Stout adds more musk, shifting the dish closer to fall, while fresh parsley added fresh as a garnish reinforces summer.
Served on my standard Mexican/Southwestern rice it was pretty damned good.
Southwestern Pulled Pork
Serves 6 - 8.
1 3 - 4 lb Boston Butt roast — trimmed of visible fat
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp lard or oil
1 lg onion — diced
1 md bell bepper — diced
2 lg cloves garlic — minced
1 lg jalapeno pepper — seeded and minced
3 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp chile powder
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 can chopped green chiles
1 bottle stout
1 c tomato sauce
1 c chicken stock
1 tbsp white vinegar
2 bay leaves
Heat oven to 250F.
Season the roast well with salt and pepper. Heat in oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat then brown roast well on all sides. Remove roast to a platter and reduce heat to medium.
Add onions and peppers to pot and cooking, stirring frequently in they soften. Add garlic, jalapeno, cumin, and chili powder. Stir and cook 1 minute longer. Stir in stout, tomato sauce, cocoa, chicken stock, vinegar, and bay leaves.
Return the roast to the pot. The liquid should come about halfway up the sides of the roast, add water if needed. Bring just to a boil, then cover and place in the center of the oven.
Cook 1 hour and turn roast over. Taste and adjust seasonings and cook 1 1/2 hours and turn roast again. Cook 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven and skim off as much fat as you can. Serve over rice garnished with fresh cilantro.
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | main dish | pork | mexican
Labels: main dish, mexican, pork
Read more...Friday, September 18, 2009
Pork Chops with Pineapple
and Soy Sauce
Taste of the Islands
My gig as the Cooking for Two Guide at About.com has led me to create a lot of quick and easy recipes. Most of my readers have regular jobs and so they're looking for things that are suitable for making after a day at work. I used to be in the same boat, and even though I'm now working at home I still find I'll get caught up in a task and not think about dinner until 7:30 or 8:00 when I realize I'm starving.
I also had some pink potatoes that I'd bought them at the farmers' market a few days before. Yes, the potatoes' flesh is literally pink. Although the color is distinctive, they flavor isn't. They just taste like potatoes.
Try these chops with...
Curried Plantains
Beets Dijonaise
My gig as the Cooking for Two Guide at About.com has led me to create a lot of quick and easy recipes. Most of my readers have regular jobs and so they're looking for things that are suitable for making after a day at work. I used to be in the same boat, and even though I'm now working at home I still find I'll get caught up in a task and not think about dinner until 7:30 or 8:00 when I realize I'm starving.
I also had some pink potatoes that I'd bought them at the farmers' market a few days before. Yes, the potatoes' flesh is literally pink. Although the color is distinctive, they flavor isn't. They just taste like potatoes.
Chops with Pineapple
Serves 4.
4 pork loin chops
Salt and pepper
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp peanut oil
6 oz can of pineapple chunks (reserve juice)
3 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp soy sauce
Heat oven to 375F.
Generously season chops with salt, pepper, and ginger. Heat oil in a large stainless steel skillet over medium high heat. Add chops and brown on one side. Turn chops over and put the skillet in the oven. Cook until an instant-read thermometer reads 140F. Remove from oven, put the chops on a plate, and tent with foil.
Over medium heat, add mirin and deglaze skillet. Reduce mirin by half. Add soy sauce, pineapple chunks, and juice. Reduce liquid by half. Remove from heat and stir in any juices the chops have lost. Drizzle sauce over chops and serve.
Try these chops with...
Curried Plantains
Beets Dijonaise
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | pork | main dish
Read more...Thursday, September 03, 2009
Southwestern Ham Casserole
This Southwestern Ham Casserole is perfect for using up that last bit of baked ham - you know, when you've got too little to feed everyone and too much to throw away. If you happen to have some leftover rice all the better, but if not rice is easy enough to make. You can use a commercial chile powder if you wish, but my recipe for chile powder has a nice smoky flavor from the chipotles.
Recipe here...
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | cooking for two | main dish | ham | pork
Labels: cookiing for two, ham, pork
Read more...Saturday, June 13, 2009
Bacon Buns
Baking Better Barbeque Buns
When I was in the hospital last August with a staph infection the intravenous antibiotics I was getting knocked me for a complete loop. I don't know why a drug would have this side-effect but apparently it's not that uncommon. I do know that I barely made it home in one piece (the hospital had no business releasing me to drive myself home) and I realized a couple of days later that "today" was Friday, not Thursday. In other words I'd lost a complete day in the hospital without knowing it.
I suppose this could be called jamais vu, meaning "never seen" in reference to my missing day, But jamais vu is actually reserved for that weird feeling of catching your own reflection in a mirror and momentarily failing to recognize yourself. At any rate jamis vu doesn't account for the feeling I got yesterday.
The result of my latest case of temporal confusion means I'm planning to go out to my parent's house on Sunday to barbeque a Boston Butt (for pulled pork) and some pork ribs for Father's Day. But Father's Day is still a week off as I write this — and I realized while I was panicking yesterday over a wasted week.
Not only have I already met all of next week's deadlines, but all but two of the following week's. This is exactly where I should be. Over the past 20 years as a professional writer I've learned that things can interfere with deadlines. And so I set my own deadlines a week in advance of my editors' deadlines. In all these years most things I've written have been submitted early, a few went in on time, and only two were ever late. And the week I spent in the hospital back in August had no effect on deadlines beyond the two weekly things I can't do two weeks in advance.
So tomorrow, a week early, I'm going out to my folk's celebrate Fathers' Day by barbequing. Today I applied dry rub to the pork and I've got my bacon buns rising. The bacon buns are something I came up with specifically for pulled pork sandwiches. Something with a bit more flavor and texture than the usual hamburger buns, but also complementary to the star of the show — the pork.
I think some whole-wheat flour is needed for both flavor and texture — but I've learned it's much less than I originally supposed. This time the proportion of wheat to white was less than 1 to 3. Slow rising and minimal yeast produce deeper and richer flavors and I have bias toward such flavor. But these characteristics also produce a tougher bread because the gluten is more developed. And I didn't want the bun to be so much an ingredient as a condiment — at least in this case. A quick single rise works best. For additional flavor bacon fat in the buns instead of the usual butter, is an excellent choice.
When I was in the hospital last August with a staph infection the intravenous antibiotics I was getting knocked me for a complete loop. I don't know why a drug would have this side-effect but apparently it's not that uncommon. I do know that I barely made it home in one piece (the hospital had no business releasing me to drive myself home) and I realized a couple of days later that "today" was Friday, not Thursday. In other words I'd lost a complete day in the hospital without knowing it.
I suppose this could be called jamais vu, meaning "never seen" in reference to my missing day, But jamais vu is actually reserved for that weird feeling of catching your own reflection in a mirror and momentarily failing to recognize yourself. At any rate jamis vu doesn't account for the feeling I got yesterday.
It was common-place to be planning the May issue, working with writers on the April issue, doing initial edits on the March issue, making final tweaks on the February issue, and have the January issue at the printer — all of this in December.
I was reflecting on the fact that this past week has been almost a total washout — I accomplished almost nothing and I was trying to figure out how to salvage the week. I was checking my calendar to figure out where I was most behind when I realized I wasn't behind, I was a week ahead. This feeling used to be common when I was editing a monthly magazine and had as many as four issues at various stages going at once with a fifth just arriving from the printer. It was common-place to be planning the May issue, working with writers on the April issue, doing initial edits on the March issue, making final tweaks on the February issue, and have the January issue at the printer — all of this in December. I loved that job, but it had its temporal challenges.The result of my latest case of temporal confusion means I'm planning to go out to my parent's house on Sunday to barbeque a Boston Butt (for pulled pork) and some pork ribs for Father's Day. But Father's Day is still a week off as I write this — and I realized while I was panicking yesterday over a wasted week.
Not only have I already met all of next week's deadlines, but all but two of the following week's. This is exactly where I should be. Over the past 20 years as a professional writer I've learned that things can interfere with deadlines. And so I set my own deadlines a week in advance of my editors' deadlines. In all these years most things I've written have been submitted early, a few went in on time, and only two were ever late. And the week I spent in the hospital back in August had no effect on deadlines beyond the two weekly things I can't do two weeks in advance.
So tomorrow, a week early, I'm going out to my folk's celebrate Fathers' Day by barbequing. Today I applied dry rub to the pork and I've got my bacon buns rising. The bacon buns are something I came up with specifically for pulled pork sandwiches. Something with a bit more flavor and texture than the usual hamburger buns, but also complementary to the star of the show — the pork.
I think some whole-wheat flour is needed for both flavor and texture — but I've learned it's much less than I originally supposed. This time the proportion of wheat to white was less than 1 to 3. Slow rising and minimal yeast produce deeper and richer flavors and I have bias toward such flavor. But these characteristics also produce a tougher bread because the gluten is more developed. And I didn't want the bun to be so much an ingredient as a condiment — at least in this case. A quick single rise works best. For additional flavor bacon fat in the buns instead of the usual butter, is an excellent choice.
Bacon Buns
Makes 8 buns.
1 c milk
1/2 c water
1/4 c bacon fat
1 c whole-wheat flour
3 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1 ea egg
Heat the milk, bacon fat, and water in a small saucepan until about 120F.
Mix together 2 cups flour, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Mix in milk mixture, followed by the egg.
Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time — switching to the dough hook after adding a cup and a half of flour. Knead for 8 minutes then turn out on a floured board and knead 2 or 3 minutes longer if required. Shape dough into a roll and allow to rest for about 10 minutes.
Divide dough into 10 equal pieces. Form each piece into an oblong shape and place on a parchment lined baking sheet (you'll need two sheets). Spritz buns with a light coating of oil and cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until slightly more than doubled in bulk.
While the buns are rising, heat the oven to 400F and position a rack in the middle of the oven.
Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate baking sheet 180 degrees. Bake another 2 to 4 minutes until golden brown.
Try these Bacon Buns with...
Pulled Pork
Potato Salad
Blackberry Ice Cream
Technorati: Food | recipe | bread | buns | bacon
Labels: american cuisine, bread, pork
Read more...Thursday, May 14, 2009
Braised Pork and Onions
Tastes and Flavors
A few days ago I braised a pork shoulder. I seasoned the roast well with salt, pepper, and ground juniper berries. Then I browned it in a Dutch oven in some olive oil. Following that I added a couple of cups of dry vermouth and three onions, quartered. The pot went into a 275 degree oven for five hours. It smelled pretty bad while it was cooking.
When I opened the pot it smelled great and when I served it an hour later it tasted even better. What happened?
I called my friend Bob del Grosso, a former teacher at the CIA and currently a salumuniere at Hendricks Farms and Dairy because I was baffled. We decided that the foul odor was probably a result of the onions — which went into the pot completely raw. The slightly rotten odor I was smelling was the natural sulfur compounds in the onions which were recombining because the pot was sealed instead of venting off quickly as they do when the onions are sweated before cooking.
We could be wrong. I've caramelized onions in sealed pots and they smelled great from beginning to end. But it brought back to mind a topic I find infinitely intriguing — the interaction of taste and smell.
When I create a dish and decide something is missing, I'll frequently open jars of herbs and sniff until I find what's needed. And although we know from watching the Food Network that even famous chefs taste their creations, it's not so obvious that when they aren't tasting they're still smelling. In the case of my pork shoulder I knew absolutely that the ingredients should work well together — experience taught me this. So although I had doubts about the final dish because of the smell, I stuck with it to the end and was rewarded with a wonderful meal.
Try this roast with...
Baby Potatoes
Fried Okra
Buttermilk Pie with Lemon/Mint Sauce
A few days ago I braised a pork shoulder. I seasoned the roast well with salt, pepper, and ground juniper berries. Then I browned it in a Dutch oven in some olive oil. Following that I added a couple of cups of dry vermouth and three onions, quartered. The pot went into a 275 degree oven for five hours. It smelled pretty bad while it was cooking.
When I opened the pot it smelled great and when I served it an hour later it tasted even better. What happened?
I called my friend Bob del Grosso, a former teacher at the CIA and currently a salumuniere at Hendricks Farms and Dairy because I was baffled. We decided that the foul odor was probably a result of the onions — which went into the pot completely raw. The slightly rotten odor I was smelling was the natural sulfur compounds in the onions which were recombining because the pot was sealed instead of venting off quickly as they do when the onions are sweated before cooking.
We could be wrong. I've caramelized onions in sealed pots and they smelled great from beginning to end. But it brought back to mind a topic I find infinitely intriguing — the interaction of taste and smell.
The slightly rotten odor I was smelling was the natural sulfur compounds in the onions which were recombining because the pot was sealed.
Current thinking is that our taste buds can detect five character-istics: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and savory (umami). These basic tastes are complemented by the thousands of odors we can detect. What we think of as "flavor" is actually that combination of odor and taste. Those of us who love cheese (and are willing to experiment) are familiar with stinky cheeses — cheeses that smell almost rotten — but taste marvelous. And there's the famous durian fruit that, reputedly, smells absolutely vile and yet tastes wonderful.When I create a dish and decide something is missing, I'll frequently open jars of herbs and sniff until I find what's needed. And although we know from watching the Food Network that even famous chefs taste their creations, it's not so obvious that when they aren't tasting they're still smelling. In the case of my pork shoulder I knew absolutely that the ingredients should work well together — experience taught me this. So although I had doubts about the final dish because of the smell, I stuck with it to the end and was rewarded with a wonderful meal.
Braised Pork with Onions
Serves 6.
3 lb pork butt/shoulder roast — trimmed of all apparent fat
2 tbsp juniper berries
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
1 - 2 cups dry vermouth
3 md onions
Heat oven to 275F.
Put juniper berries in a small zippered plastic bag and flatten with a meat mallet. Scoop into a mini food processor and process until the size of coarsely-ground pepper.
Pat the pork dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Season with ground juniper.
Remove ends of onions cut into quarters top to bottom then cut each quarter in half horizontally. Peel.
Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven until shimmering then brown pork on all sides. Add onions and enough vermouth to come half way up the pork. Cover pot and place in oven for 5 hours.
Try this roast with...
Baby Potatoes
Fried Okra
Buttermilk Pie with Lemon/Mint Sauce
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | main dish | pork
Labels: main dish, pork, recipe
Read more...Saturday, March 21, 2009
Left-Left-Overs
Left-Left-Overs
Like so many of my fellow bloggers, I've been trying to clear some of the detritus out of my freezer. So far I've eaten freezer-burned chicken thighs with rice, freezer-burned Italian sausages in a ragout, and freezer-burned peas and beans. I just threw out the freezer-burned shrimp. (By the way, confit doesn't get freezer-burned - a very good thing). These efforts have made a dent in the ice-box, but I still have a ways to go until I can see the back wall.
I've been wanting to get one of those food sealers, but had trouble justifying the cost. But a friend recommended the new hand-held vacuum sealer from Reynolds ($9.95 + special bags) so I'm checking it out and will post a review here in a month or so.
The roast was good, but the rub was undetectable - so I put some freezer-burned Romesco sauce on it. I'm going to try this again but plan to give it 24 hours to marinate wrapped tightly in plastic.
Like so many of my fellow bloggers, I've been trying to clear some of the detritus out of my freezer. So far I've eaten freezer-burned chicken thighs with rice, freezer-burned Italian sausages in a ragout, and freezer-burned peas and beans. I just threw out the freezer-burned shrimp. (By the way, confit doesn't get freezer-burned - a very good thing). These efforts have made a dent in the ice-box, but I still have a ways to go until I can see the back wall.
I've been wanting to get one of those food sealers, but had trouble justifying the cost. But a friend recommended the new hand-held vacuum sealer from Reynolds ($9.95 + special bags) so I'm checking it out and will post a review here in a month or so.
I was inspired by Dr. Biggles posts on cooking pork roast in his clay cooker, but I seldom use mine and when I pulled it off the shelf it was moldy inside.
This week I pulled out a two-pound pork shoulder roast (not freezer-burned) and cooked it. I was inspired by Dr. Biggles posts on cooking pork roast in his clay cooker, but I seldom use mine and when I pulled it off the shelf it was moldy inside. I'm going to try cleaning the cooker, but in the meantime I still needed to fix supper. So I rubbed the roast with a paste of lemon zest, crushed garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, and olive oil and let it marinate for about six hours. Then I roasted it at 300F for a couple of hours covered with foil, pulled off the foil, and continued cooking for another hour and a half until it was nice and crusty.The roast was good, but the rub was undetectable - so I put some freezer-burned Romesco sauce on it. I'm going to try this again but plan to give it 24 hours to marinate wrapped tightly in plastic.
Technorati: Food | essay | kevin d weeks | seriously good | left-overs
Read more...Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Benton's Country Ham
Road Trip
It was a gorgeous winter day — or at least as gorgeous as any winter day in East Tennessee meaning the hills were brown, the trees were bare, and the sun was shining but with that watered-down light that seems to make colors duller rather than brighter. It was also warm (mid-50s). So I finally made the trip out to Benton's Country Ham that I've been meaning to make for the past year.
It's a long drive (two hours round trip — 80-plus miles) and because my father lives closer and makes the trip regularly, I usually just ask him to pick up an order for me that I get the next time I visit my folks. However, I've been wanting to take photographs of the low, concrete building and the wooden racks on which hams and bacon hang. I forgot my camera the last time I drove out there, but a chance comment on Facebook yesterday (someone was wishing for a Benton's ham room freshener) prompted me to put today's plans aside and head out there.
The oddest thing about the sausage is its slightly grainy texture. I finally decided Benton adds a bit of ground country ham to the sausage. This explains both the graininess and the depth of flavor. I've experimented with trying to duplicate the recipe and with a fresh batch of the real thing on hand for comparison I'll try again. It isn't that I'm not perfectly happy buying from Allan Benton, but there's a puzzle there I want to figure out.
It was a gorgeous winter day — or at least as gorgeous as any winter day in East Tennessee meaning the hills were brown, the trees were bare, and the sun was shining but with that watered-down light that seems to make colors duller rather than brighter. It was also warm (mid-50s). So I finally made the trip out to Benton's Country Ham that I've been meaning to make for the past year.
It's a long drive (two hours round trip — 80-plus miles) and because my father lives closer and makes the trip regularly, I usually just ask him to pick up an order for me that I get the next time I visit my folks. However, I've been wanting to take photographs of the low, concrete building and the wooden racks on which hams and bacon hang. I forgot my camera the last time I drove out there, but a chance comment on Facebook yesterday (someone was wishing for a Benton's ham room freshener) prompted me to put today's plans aside and head out there.
The oddest thing about the sausage is its slightly grainy texture. I finally decided Benton adds a bit of ground country ham to the sausage. This explains both the graininess and the depth of flavor. I've experimented with trying to duplicate the recipe and with a fresh batch of the real thing on hand for comparison I'll try again. It isn't that I'm not perfectly happy buying from Allan Benton, but there's a puzzle there I want to figure out.
Technorati: Food | essay | kevin d weeks | seriously good | Bentons ham | pork
Read more...Friday, December 26, 2008
Toutièrre
Christmas Dinner
My parents won't drive at night, so if I want to have them over to my place for a meal it has to be lunch and on most holidays I end up going to their house. That's fine except it usually means I can only cook one or two things and they either have to be transportable or simple enough to prepare in an hour. So when I learned my sister was coming down for Christmas I insisted we have Christmas dinner here - driving at night isn't a problem for her so she could bring the folks.
We began our meal with champagne, a smoked trout and cheese spread, and a mushroom pâte my mother had made — and we opened gifts. It was a significantly bookish year gift-wise. But given we're all fanatic readers that worked. (Dad gave me Fearnley-Whittingstall's Meat, which has been on my list for ages.) Then we had Christmas dinner.
To accompany it I sautéed kale with garlic and pork confit and made cauliflower puree. I've done cauliflower puree before but I ran across a recipe on Serious Eats that added shredded Parmigiano to the mix. For me, this was the surprise star. The cheese was an extraordinarily good complement to the cauliflower.
Inevitably, dessert was Bourbon Cake.
My parents won't drive at night, so if I want to have them over to my place for a meal it has to be lunch and on most holidays I end up going to their house. That's fine except it usually means I can only cook one or two things and they either have to be transportable or simple enough to prepare in an hour. So when I learned my sister was coming down for Christmas I insisted we have Christmas dinner here - driving at night isn't a problem for her so she could bring the folks.
We began our meal with champagne, a smoked trout and cheese spread, and a mushroom pâte my mother had made — and we opened gifts. It was a significantly bookish year gift-wise. But given we're all fanatic readers that worked. (Dad gave me Fearnley-Whittingstall's Meat, which has been on my list for ages.) Then we had Christmas dinner.
Like everyone else, money is really tight for me right now so roast goose or prime rib were out.
Like everyone else, money is really tight for me right now so roast goose or prime rib were out. But this wasn't a huge problem as I've been wanting to make a traditional French Canadian (Quebecois) Christmas dish — Toutièrre. This is a savory meat pie made of pork and beef and it's not only extraordinarily good, but as you can see in the photo above it makes an impressive, albeit rustic, presentation.To accompany it I sautéed kale with garlic and pork confit and made cauliflower puree. I've done cauliflower puree before but I ran across a recipe on Serious Eats that added shredded Parmigiano to the mix. For me, this was the surprise star. The cheese was an extraordinarily good complement to the cauliflower.
Inevitably, dessert was Bourbon Cake.
TourtièrreOn this occasion I made a mushroom sauce using red wine and veal demi-glace to go on the pie, but it isn't necessary.
Serves 8 - 10.
pastry (see below)
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 lg onion — diced
3 cloves garlic — minced
2 tbls bacon grease or vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 c beef stock
3 ea medium potatoes — peeled and quartered
salt and pepper
1 ea egg
1 tsp milk
Make pastry and refrigerate (see below).
Boil potatoes until fork tender. Drain and cool.
Heat bacon grease or oil over medium high heat. Add beef, pork, onion, and garlic. Season with salt, pepper, and allspice. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring to cook evenly. Add beef broth, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Cool. Drain liquid and reserve.
Heat oven to 400F.
In a bowl, coarsely crumble potatoes with a fork and add meat mixture. Stir in enough of the reserved broth to thoroughly moisten mixture but no more.
Remove pastry from refrigerator and allow to warm up until top edges are pliable -- about 10 minutes. Fill pastry shell to within 1/2" of top. Moisten edges and lay on top crust and press to seal. Beat together egg and milk and brush pastry. Cut several slits in top and bake in middle of oven for 40 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Pastry
You can substitute shortening for the lard if you wish, but the lard really works in this recipe.
2 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 c cold lard
1/2 c cold butter
5 tbsp ice water
Thoroughly mix flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
Add the lard and break up with your fingers until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse corn meal.
Add water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture clumps together. Use your hands to mix in the water.
Form two balls from the dough, one a bit larger than the other. Press the larger ball flat on a floured work surface and roll it out to form a circle. Line the inside of a 9" springform pan. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate.
Roll out second ball and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate.
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | main dish | pot pie | savory pie | beef | pork
Labels: beef, pork, pot pie, recipe
Read more...Thursday, December 18, 2008
Sausage Balls
Early Genius - Holiday Pork
I was nine or 10 when I got the assignment: make sausage balls. I suspect I brought it on myself. My memory from so long ago is fuzzy but I seem to recall lobbying my mother to make them one Christmas (she must have made them the previous year) and, as she was wont to do, her response was, "If you want them, you make them."
You know the things I'm talking about, country sausage, cheddar cheese, and Bisquik mixed together, rolled into balls, and baked. The perfect task for a nine-year-old cook. So I made them and when we had our annual Christmas Day open house my sausage balls were part of the spread. Woohoo! I not only got to make them and eat them but I got to show them off to all the adults!
I made them a few times thereafter, but eventually I forgot about them until I was writing an yesterday article about those long ago Christmases and remembered them. How could I have forgotten? Sausage is the next best thing to bacon and these included cheese! So this morning I had to go to the store, buy the ingredients, and make a batch. Lordy, lordy, lordy…
They were everything I remembered: greasy, chewy, spicy, bready, delicious. There is nothing remotely sophisticated about them: the flavors are simple, assertive, and one-dimensional; the preparation is so simple a nine-year-old can do it; and they were invented simply to offer another way of using Bisquick (current Bisquick recipe). But, nevertheless, they're damned good. If you want to get a tad fancier you might make these sausage rolls, but frankly, the sausage balls are better.
Although most country sausage includes fennel seed and/or sage, bumping up either of those flavors would work.
You can offer a good brown mustard or a homemade flavored mayo as a dip - but frankly that's gilding the cabbage (there's no way these can be called lilies).
I was nine or 10 when I got the assignment: make sausage balls. I suspect I brought it on myself. My memory from so long ago is fuzzy but I seem to recall lobbying my mother to make them one Christmas (she must have made them the previous year) and, as she was wont to do, her response was, "If you want them, you make them."
You know the things I'm talking about, country sausage, cheddar cheese, and Bisquik mixed together, rolled into balls, and baked. The perfect task for a nine-year-old cook. So I made them and when we had our annual Christmas Day open house my sausage balls were part of the spread. Woohoo! I not only got to make them and eat them but I got to show them off to all the adults!
My job, my Christmas calling, was to make sausage balls.
Well…. From that day on I was the sausage ball king. As the years passed and my cooking skills improved I'd contribute other things to the Christmas open house menu, but my job, my Christmas calling, was to make sausage balls. And I did, every year until I left home.I made them a few times thereafter, but eventually I forgot about them until I was writing an yesterday article about those long ago Christmases and remembered them. How could I have forgotten? Sausage is the next best thing to bacon and these included cheese! So this morning I had to go to the store, buy the ingredients, and make a batch. Lordy, lordy, lordy…
They were everything I remembered: greasy, chewy, spicy, bready, delicious. There is nothing remotely sophisticated about them: the flavors are simple, assertive, and one-dimensional; the preparation is so simple a nine-year-old can do it; and they were invented simply to offer another way of using Bisquick (current Bisquick recipe). But, nevertheless, they're damned good. If you want to get a tad fancier you might make these sausage rolls, but frankly, the sausage balls are better.
Sausage BallsOptions: Gruyere would be a great alternative to cheddar as would comte - even Jarlsburg would work. You could also use Italian sausage and provolone.
1 lb. bulk country sausage
1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese — shredded
2 c. Bisquick
Heat oven to 350F.
Measure Bisquick into a large bowl. Add small pinches of sausage to the Bisquick, stirring often to coat the sausage. Add shredded cheese and mix thoroughly. (Note: I used my KAStand Mixer with the paddle blade to do the mixing.)
Form mixture into 1-inch diameter balls and place on a baking sheet (Note: I usually line the pan with aluminum foil to eliminate cleanup.) These will fill two quarter-size baking pans.
Bake the first pan for 15 - 20 minutes until lightly browned, cool pan on a rack then peel foil from balls. Repeat for second batch.
Although most country sausage includes fennel seed and/or sage, bumping up either of those flavors would work.
You can offer a good brown mustard or a homemade flavored mayo as a dip - but frankly that's gilding the cabbage (there's no way these can be called lilies).
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | appetizer | pork
Labels: appetizer, pork, recipe
Read more...Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Pork Chops with Apples
Thinking About Supper
It's six o'clock and in a couple of hours I'm going to want supper. I know what I'm going to fix because I started thinking about it last night in bed right after I turned off the lights. I've got some boneless pork loin chops and some apples I bought at yesterday's farmers market. Last night I made my hot potato salad for supper, so I'll have some leftovers tonight as well.
My plan is to peel, core, and chop the apples. They'll go into a sauce pan with some butter for a quick browning, then I'll add a splash of beer, some molasses, cinnamon, curry powder, and a pinch of salt. To finish, I'll simmer the apple until soft and most of the liquid evaporates.
The chop I'll simply pan fry until medium-done while I heat the oven broiler. Then I'll spoon some of the sautéed apples over the pork and, echoing my Austrian Pork Chops, add a slice of Jarlsberg and melt the cheese.
It's six o'clock and in a couple of hours I'm going to want supper. I know what I'm going to fix because I started thinking about it last night in bed right after I turned off the lights. I've got some boneless pork loin chops and some apples I bought at yesterday's farmers market. Last night I made my hot potato salad for supper, so I'll have some leftovers tonight as well.
My plan is to peel, core, and chop the apples. They'll go into a sauce pan with some butter for a quick browning, then I'll add a splash of beer, some molasses, cinnamon, curry powder, and a pinch of salt. To finish, I'll simmer the apple until soft and most of the liquid evaporates.
The chop I'll simply pan fry until medium-done while I heat the oven broiler. Then I'll spoon some of the sautéed apples over the pork and, echoing my Austrian Pork Chops, add a slice of Jarlsberg and melt the cheese.
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | pork | main dish
Labels: main dish, pork, recipe
Read more...Friday, October 03, 2008
"Austrian" Pork Chops
Spontaneous Creation
Where does creation come from? I'm not talking in the religious sense (at least not directly) but in the human sense. Where do we get our ideas? Particularly those that seem completely off-the-wall and yet aren't?
I've long sense given up on the idea that I'm in any sense capable of original thought. For instance I once came up with the idea of being able to draw a user input screen on a computer (this was back in the days when most monitors were textual and not graphic). I spent over six months designing a program to design the screen and create the computer code to support it. About the time I finished a fellow named Dan Bricklin, who created one of the first spreadsheets, released his program doing the same thing. This wasn't the first software idea I had several months too late.
Being a day late and ending up a dollar short pretty much sums up my creative abilities. So this recipe is probably nothing extraordinary. I was in the supermarket and picked up a package of boneless chops and wondered what I might do with them. This idea came to me. I've never seen such a thing before but I could taste it the moment I thought of it. In fact, I liked it so much I made it twice in a row.
Where does creation come from? I'm not talking in the religious sense (at least not directly) but in the human sense. Where do we get our ideas? Particularly those that seem completely off-the-wall and yet aren't?
I've long sense given up on the idea that I'm in any sense capable of original thought. For instance I once came up with the idea of being able to draw a user input screen on a computer (this was back in the days when most monitors were textual and not graphic). I spent over six months designing a program to design the screen and create the computer code to support it. About the time I finished a fellow named Dan Bricklin, who created one of the first spreadsheets, released his program doing the same thing. This wasn't the first software idea I had several months too late.
This dish is wonderfully savory and edgy — not unlike a Reuben sandwich.
And there was the time I first added anchovy paste to marinara sauce. I thought the idea was brilliant, adding depth and richness to the sauce without altering the flavor. I subsequently learned it's an old Italian trick. I even know why now (anchovies contain MSG and so heighten savory flavors).Being a day late and ending up a dollar short pretty much sums up my creative abilities. So this recipe is probably nothing extraordinary. I was in the supermarket and picked up a package of boneless chops and wondered what I might do with them. This idea came to me. I've never seen such a thing before but I could taste it the moment I thought of it. In fact, I liked it so much I made it twice in a row.
Austrian Pork ChopsThis dish is wonderfully savory and edgy. Not unlike a Reuben sandwich, but not like one either - it evokes connections, but not memories for me. Try it with Brussels sprouts or broccoli on the side. And some potatoes roasted in lard wouldn't be out of place.
Serves 4.
4 boneless pork chops - 3/4" thick
Salt and cracked pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 15 oz can chopped sauerkraut - well drained
2 tbsp minced fresh rosemary
4 slices Jarlsburg
Heat oil over medium-high in a saute pan. Season chops generously with salt and pepper and brown well on both sides.
Mix sauerkraut with rosemary and spread chops generously with the mixture. Cover pan and reduce heat to medium low. Cook for about 10 minutes. Top chops and kraut with cheese, cover, and cook for another 5 minutes until cheese is melted.
Scoop up the kraut that fell into the pan and browned and use as a garnish on the chops.
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | main dish | pork
Labels: main dish, pork, recipe
Read more...Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Roast Pork Sandwich
Magical Sandwich
For the most part I'm a fairly laid-back guy — calm and collected with a light Southern drawl (actually, an Appalachian mountain drawl). Not real excitable. At both meetings and parties I spend more time observing than talking. And so it sometimes surprises people when I get off on one of my passions, because I do have passions.
I can rant for hours on software quality and the value of proper software testing. The same when it comes to software design. And don't get me started on the importance of editors for producing quality written work — this blog really suffers from not having a second pair of eyes approve each post before it goes online.
One would think that having just completed an article on sandwiches that I'd be sandwiched out, but in fact I was inspired to come up with something new. So I bought a pork sirloin roast.
I cut slits in the roast and stuffed them with slivers of garlic and fresh rosemary leaves and seasoned it with salt and pepper. Then I browned the roast in a skillet before slow-roasting it at 225F to medium. I knew going in that the strong garlic/rosemary flavors would make selecting other ingredients for a sandwich tough, but I like a challenge.
I selected Kaiser rolls for the bread, picking up a package at Fresh Market (the local equivalent of Whole Foods). I wanted the thin but crackly crust and dry, spongy crumb of a good Kaiser roll. The first sandwich was the roll with mayonnaise and Dijon mustard for condiments, provolone cheese, lettuce, and sliced tomatoes. In short, nothing out of the ordinary but I wanted a base line.
The cheese was completely wrong. I'd had smoked cheddar in the back of my head, but although smoked cheese seemed like a good bet, cheddar didn't and neither did smoked swiss. Rummaging through the cheese case at the market I found some sliced smoked gouda. Milder and more creamy than cheddar or swiss I figured it was worth a try. Bingo!
The tomato and lettuce didn't really contribute anything either. So I dumped them and went with very thin (1/8-inch) slices of red onion. The sweetness of the onion was a perfect foil to the garlic slivers.
Sandwich two was better, but still not there. Not enough cheese and the condiments weren't working. For sandwich three I pan-roasted some cloves of garlic, pureed them and added them to the mayo, then I stirred in some whole grain mustard. This too was a winner. I now had the right bread, the right cheese, the right condiment, and the right veggie. But something was still needed. Thinking back over the sandwiches I'd recently written about I suddenly had it. I'd quick-pickled some daikon for the bhan mi and that combination of slightly spicy/hot, sweet, and tart would be perfect on this sandwich. It was. Over the top.
I think, in honor of my friend, I'll call this a Kitchen Mage.
For the most part I'm a fairly laid-back guy — calm and collected with a light Southern drawl (actually, an Appalachian mountain drawl). Not real excitable. At both meetings and parties I spend more time observing than talking. And so it sometimes surprises people when I get off on one of my passions, because I do have passions.
I can rant for hours on software quality and the value of proper software testing. The same when it comes to software design. And don't get me started on the importance of editors for producing quality written work — this blog really suffers from not having a second pair of eyes approve each post before it goes online.
My friend, Kitchen Mage, calls me "Pig, Sandwich Boy," reflecting my passion for pork, sandwiches, and pork sandwiches.
I have culinary passions too. My friend, Kitchen Mage, calls me "Pig, Sandwich Boy," reflecting my passion for pork, sandwiches, and pork sandwiches. Get me started on a food passion and I'll go a mile-a-minute, my words spilling over each other like ping-pong balls cascading down a stair-well. Witness this podcast on NPR.One would think that having just completed an article on sandwiches that I'd be sandwiched out, but in fact I was inspired to come up with something new. So I bought a pork sirloin roast.
I cut slits in the roast and stuffed them with slivers of garlic and fresh rosemary leaves and seasoned it with salt and pepper. Then I browned the roast in a skillet before slow-roasting it at 225F to medium. I knew going in that the strong garlic/rosemary flavors would make selecting other ingredients for a sandwich tough, but I like a challenge.
I selected Kaiser rolls for the bread, picking up a package at Fresh Market (the local equivalent of Whole Foods). I wanted the thin but crackly crust and dry, spongy crumb of a good Kaiser roll. The first sandwich was the roll with mayonnaise and Dijon mustard for condiments, provolone cheese, lettuce, and sliced tomatoes. In short, nothing out of the ordinary but I wanted a base line.
The cheese was completely wrong. I'd had smoked cheddar in the back of my head, but although smoked cheese seemed like a good bet, cheddar didn't and neither did smoked swiss. Rummaging through the cheese case at the market I found some sliced smoked gouda. Milder and more creamy than cheddar or swiss I figured it was worth a try. Bingo!
The tomato and lettuce didn't really contribute anything either. So I dumped them and went with very thin (1/8-inch) slices of red onion. The sweetness of the onion was a perfect foil to the garlic slivers.
Sandwich two was better, but still not there. Not enough cheese and the condiments weren't working. For sandwich three I pan-roasted some cloves of garlic, pureed them and added them to the mayo, then I stirred in some whole grain mustard. This too was a winner. I now had the right bread, the right cheese, the right condiment, and the right veggie. But something was still needed. Thinking back over the sandwiches I'd recently written about I suddenly had it. I'd quick-pickled some daikon for the bhan mi and that combination of slightly spicy/hot, sweet, and tart would be perfect on this sandwich. It was. Over the top.
I think, in honor of my friend, I'll call this a Kitchen Mage.
Kitchen Mage Sandwich
Makes 16 oz garlic/rosemary roasted pork (recipe here)
Kaiser roll
Garlic/mustard mayonnaise (see below)
Red onion — sliced 1/8" thick
Smoked gouda — 1/4" thick, at room temperature
Pickled daikon (see below)
The pork should be sliced very thin, the more flesh exposed to air the better the flavor.
Kaiser rolls tend to be thick, so I cut out a center slice to reduce the amount of bread.
Spread both halves of the roll lightly with the garlic/mustard/mayo. Layer on remaining ingredients.
Garlic/Mustard Mayonnaise
4 large garlic cloves
1/4 c mayonnaise
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp whole-seed Dijon mustard
Roast whole, unpeeled garlic cloves in a small skillet over medium heat until soft — about 15 minutes. Turn garlic frequently to avoid burning. Peel garlic and puree garlic in a mini food processor, add remaining ingredients and pulse several times to blend.
Pickled Daikon
1/4 c rice vinegar
1/4 c granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c daikon strips
Whisk together vinegar, sugar, and salt until dissolved.
Peel 3 inches of daikon, then use peeler to make strips of daikon. Soak in vinegar solution for at least 30 minutes. Drain before using.
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | sandwich | pork
Labels: pork, recipe, sandwich
Read more...Saturday, August 02, 2008
Mediterranean Pork Roast
Sandwich Planning
As you may have gathered from my Kitchen Window article, I've been on a bit of a sandwich binge lately. But in fact, I haven't eaten that many sandwiches because two of the recipes were for sandwiches I'd previously perfected and photographed. Yesterday I felt myself suffering from a sandwich deficit. On reflection, I decided I wanted a pork sandwich, that meant I needed roast pork and so last night I roasted a pork sirloin roast. Tonight, I make the sandwich. More to come...
You can find my recipe for the roast on About's Cooking for Two.
As you may have gathered from my Kitchen Window article, I've been on a bit of a sandwich binge lately. But in fact, I haven't eaten that many sandwiches because two of the recipes were for sandwiches I'd previously perfected and photographed. Yesterday I felt myself suffering from a sandwich deficit. On reflection, I decided I wanted a pork sandwich, that meant I needed roast pork and so last night I roasted a pork sirloin roast. Tonight, I make the sandwich. More to come...
You can find my recipe for the roast on About's Cooking for Two.
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | cooking for two | pork | main dish
Labels: cooking for two, pork, roast
Read more...Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Paisano: Schnitzel
Forgotten Tastes
About a month ago I purchased American Classics by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine. The book is a good modern reference to such traditional favorites as Chicken Pot Pie, Parker House Rolls, and Yellow Layer Cake done in the magazine's inimitable style of setting a goal and the experimenting until they achieve it. I don't always like their recipes, but I trust them and the investigation behind them.
One of the recipes I browsed was Crisp Pork Cutlets — something I haven't fixed in ages. So the other night I pulled a boneless pork loin chop out of the freezer and thawed it. I didn't follow the book recipe (although I'm sure I remembered parts of what I'd read) but instead followed my own instincts. The result was juicy, tender, and the essence of pork flavor.
About a month ago I purchased American Classics by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine. The book is a good modern reference to such traditional favorites as Chicken Pot Pie, Parker House Rolls, and Yellow Layer Cake done in the magazine's inimitable style of setting a goal and the experimenting until they achieve it. I don't always like their recipes, but I trust them and the investigation behind them.
One of the recipes I browsed was Crisp Pork Cutlets — something I haven't fixed in ages. So the other night I pulled a boneless pork loin chop out of the freezer and thawed it. I didn't follow the book recipe (although I'm sure I remembered parts of what I'd read) but instead followed my own instincts. The result was juicy, tender, and the essence of pork flavor.
Pork CutletsI sauteed some frozen turnip greens in oil seasoned with curry powder to go with it. A great meal.
6 oz. boneless pork loin chop
1 egg — beaten in pie plate
1/4 c all purpose flour
sage, paprika, salt, black pepper
1/4 c sourdough bread crumbs — seasoned with sage, paprika, salt, & pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
Pound chop to about 1/4" thick and season generously with sage, paprika, salt, & pepper (I'm particularly fond of freshly-ground Lamphong black pepper which is both spicy and highly aromatic). Dredge the chop in the flour, coat with egg, and thoroughly coat with bread crumbs. (Note: seasoning the pork directly is much more effective than seasoning the flour and or seasoning the bread crumbs alone.) Set chop aside.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add oil. Fry chop on each side until golden and crisp (about 2 minutes per side). Serve immediately.
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | paisano | pork
Read more...Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Sirloin Pork Roast
Take it Easy
There's something odd about buying meat off the back of a truck in vacant supermarket parking lot. The setting makes me feel as though I'm engaged in something unsavory — like buying porn — nevertheless, I do it on most Fridays. West Wind Farms, which is located up on the Cumberland Plateau, makes three regular stops in Knoxville, including the grocery store parking lot, on Fridays to sell chicken, beef, pork, and turkey as well as a collection of specialty products they make such as summer sausage, corned beef, and salami.
The couple who own West Wind are nice folks and if I remember correctly they're both environmental scientists by training who decided to get into organic ranching. At any rate, on this day I'd been planning on getting a pork butt to make a pork daube. They didn't have a shoulder but they did have a pork sirloin roast.
My thinking was this approach would minimize the contraction of the muscle fibers and so avoid toughening the meat and driving the juices out. I was right. I pulled the roast from the oven at 145F and after resting for 15 minutes slicing into it did no more than moisten the cutting board — the juices were all still inside and the roast was a perfect medium from about 1/4 of an inch inside to the center. And although not as tender as a loin roast, it certainly wasn't tough.
There's something odd about buying meat off the back of a truck in vacant supermarket parking lot. The setting makes me feel as though I'm engaged in something unsavory — like buying porn — nevertheless, I do it on most Fridays. West Wind Farms, which is located up on the Cumberland Plateau, makes three regular stops in Knoxville, including the grocery store parking lot, on Fridays to sell chicken, beef, pork, and turkey as well as a collection of specialty products they make such as summer sausage, corned beef, and salami.
The couple who own West Wind are nice folks and if I remember correctly they're both environmental scientists by training who decided to get into organic ranching. At any rate, on this day I'd been planning on getting a pork butt to make a pork daube. They didn't have a shoulder but they did have a pork sirloin roast.
My thinking was this approach would minimize the contraction of the muscle fibers and so avoid toughening the meat and driving the juices out.
This is a cut from the opposite end of the pig and is also largely opposite in character. Where the butt has multiple muscles running in different directions with layers of fat separating the muscles, the sirloin is only two primary muscles with relatively little internal fat. The character they have in common is that both cuts tend to be tough which means they're best cooked low and slow. But because of the lack of fat and connective tissue (both of which melt and produce a tender pork butt when braised or barbequed) the sirloin has a tendency to dry out. So I decided to roast it at 225F — very low and slow.My thinking was this approach would minimize the contraction of the muscle fibers and so avoid toughening the meat and driving the juices out. I was right. I pulled the roast from the oven at 145F and after resting for 15 minutes slicing into it did no more than moisten the cutting board — the juices were all still inside and the roast was a perfect medium from about 1/4 of an inch inside to the center. And although not as tender as a loin roast, it certainly wasn't tough.
Roast Pork
3 lb. pork roast
3 lg. garlic clove &mdash smashed
Salt and pepper
Ground dried rosemary
1 small onion — diced
1 carrot — diced
1 stalk celery — diced
2 Tbsp. olive oil, separated
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
~3/4 cup red wine, separated
Heat oven to 225F.
Rub pork with one of the smashed garlic cloves. Sprinkle lightly on all sides with ground rosemary then season generously with salt and pepper.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil in a large, oven-poof skillet over medium-high heat. Brown roast on all sides then transfer to a plate.
Add onions, carrot, and celery to skillet along with additional oil if needed and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to brown. Add garlic and thyme and cook a minute longer. Deglaze skillet with 1/2 cup of wine.
Place roast on top of vegetables and place skillet in center of oven. Cook until an instant read thermometer show the internal temperature reaches 145F (about 2 hours). Remove from oven from tent roast with foil.
Transfer 1 1/2 cups of vegetables from the skillet to a sauce pan and add enough additional wine to completely cover. Bring to a soft boil and cook about 15 minutes. Puree vegetable mixture in a blender or food processor. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve over sliced pork.
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | main dish | pork | pork roast
Read more...Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Pancetta, Yet Again
This is my second (and much more ambitious) batch of pancetta. As with my first pass, this is based on the recipe in Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. Someone (and I seem to have lost the email) suggested I do the drying in a wine fridge. I happened to have access to one and tried it — the results, as you can see, are gorgeous. Sadly, now I need to buy my own wine fridge.
Ever wondered what to do with pancetta?
Sauté with some garlic and minced anchovies until the fat renders. Add fresh spinach or blanched broccoli rabe, kale, or chard. and cook three or four minutes.
Add sautéed pancetta to risotto, polenta, or even grits.
Use a bit of ground pancetta in stuffed mushrooms.
Mix sautéed pancetta with chopped fresh tomato and shredded cheese as a topping for bruschetta.
Toss chopped, cooked pancetta in a salad.
Make a sandwich using several thin, grilled slices.
It's wonderful stuff.
Technorati: Food | photo | kevin d weeks | seriously good | pancetta | pork | italy | bacon | pork belly
Labels: bacon, italy, pancetta, pork
Read more...Saturday, September 01, 2007
Meat
Meat
I noticed that my friend, the good Doctor and Reverend Biggles of Meathenge, was reduced to posting a photo of chicken in a pot this morning. The struck me as the perfect occasion to rub his nose in the pulled pork I smoked for 12 hours on Thursday.
You can find a recipe for the dry rub here and the sauce here.
I noticed that my friend, the good Doctor and Reverend Biggles of Meathenge, was reduced to posting a photo of chicken in a pot this morning. The struck me as the perfect occasion to rub his nose in the pulled pork I smoked for 12 hours on Thursday.
You can find a recipe for the dry rub here and the sauce here.
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin weeks | seriously good | pulled pork | barbeque
Read more...Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Living Small — but not too small
This has been a tough month financially. My two most regular clients have been on hiatus and although my one-off business (dinner parties, picnics, that kind of thing) has continued to improve, food costs have been eating me alive.
I've always had a problem managing food costs. My attitude is I want to eat the best food I can find and that attitude extends to my clients as well -- I want to serve them the best food I can find. But food prices have risen a lot this year (cutting into profits from my regular clients who have a fixed, per-service, price) and although I cost the menu for a one-off before quoting a price I've done a poor job of estimating direct subsidiary costs.
Direct costs are the costs of all the fundamental elements of the meal. Meat, vegetables, fresh herbs, heavy cream, canned stock when I don't have homemade. These items compose the bulk of the meal.
Pantry costs are the ingredients of a dish that I amortize over multiple clients. Dried herbs, oils, vinegars, flour, wine, and on and on. I figure these constitute 25 percent of total food costs for my personal chef service clients.
Direct Subsidiary Costs are where I really get burned. These are expenditures associated directly with a meal, but they only apply to one-off meals. They're for things like flowers for a table setting, radishes for a garnish, or nice paper napkins for a fancy picnic. I never think of them while I'm planning the menu and concentrating on the food and recipes and burners and oven space and the 100 other things needed to serve a fancy meal precisely at 6:30 PM on a Monday evening. No, I think of these things when I'm in the store buying the ingredients or the night before as I'm working out the cooking schedule and figuring out what equipment I need to lug to the site.
Direct Subsidiary items are non-essential from the flavor standpoint, but essential for creating a perfect experience for the client. My Monday night dinner party cost me $15 in unanticipated direct subsidiary costs. A 23 percent cost increase over my estimate. Damn! I've got to do better.
All of this is to say I'm broke again after a decent spring and early summer. So I've been eating out of my freezer as much as possible. A good thing as it's time to scrub my refrigerator again. Hiding in the back I found a pork tenderloin from Laurel Creek Farms.
Laurel Creek is owned and worked by a fellow named Tracy Monday. I'd guess he's in his early forties. He's a short and rotund fellow with a slow, but ready, smile; a soft voice; old Southern manners; and the bib overalls that would make him a complete cliché if you didn't shake his hand and feel the callouses. He exudes honesty like parmigiano regiano exudes flavor crystals.
I've been saving the tenderloin for a special occasion, and I guess not starving to death would have to do. So I moved it to the fridge to thaw and gave some thought to how to cook it. I finally settled on marinating it in wine, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, and a touch of lemon juice. Once thawed, the tenderloin got 24 hours in the marinade, was patted dry, and went on a hot grill for 2 minutes per side (I figure the cylindrical tenderloin has four sides). As you can see it was nicely pink in the center and I only needed a fork to cut it thanks to Tracy.
To go along with it I blanched some broccoli rabe then sautéed it in olive oil with pancetta, garlic, and anchovies. I also repeated the Potatoes Parmigiano recipe because I had a few taters left and it's so damned good.
Tonight I plan a wonderful cold broth based on fresh ice cubes and to go along with it some moldy asiago. And, well, there are a few tomatoes I got at the farmers' market yesterday and a cucumber. Checking freezer... Hmmm... Wonder what I can do with raw pig fat? Oh, I know...
This has been a tough month financially. My two most regular clients have been on hiatus and although my one-off business (dinner parties, picnics, that kind of thing) has continued to improve, food costs have been eating me alive.
I've always had a problem managing food costs. My attitude is I want to eat the best food I can find and that attitude extends to my clients as well -- I want to serve them the best food I can find. But food prices have risen a lot this year (cutting into profits from my regular clients who have a fixed, per-service, price) and although I cost the menu for a one-off before quoting a price I've done a poor job of estimating direct subsidiary costs.
Tonight I plan a wonderful cold broth based on fresh ice cubes and to go along with it some moldy asiago.
"Direct subsidiary costs?" Ok, just for the hell of it, here's how I classify food costs. Note: this is my working approach, not my accounting approach. (Just in case some IRS dude sees this and tries to hang me on it.)Direct costs are the costs of all the fundamental elements of the meal. Meat, vegetables, fresh herbs, heavy cream, canned stock when I don't have homemade. These items compose the bulk of the meal.
Pantry costs are the ingredients of a dish that I amortize over multiple clients. Dried herbs, oils, vinegars, flour, wine, and on and on. I figure these constitute 25 percent of total food costs for my personal chef service clients.
Direct Subsidiary Costs are where I really get burned. These are expenditures associated directly with a meal, but they only apply to one-off meals. They're for things like flowers for a table setting, radishes for a garnish, or nice paper napkins for a fancy picnic. I never think of them while I'm planning the menu and concentrating on the food and recipes and burners and oven space and the 100 other things needed to serve a fancy meal precisely at 6:30 PM on a Monday evening. No, I think of these things when I'm in the store buying the ingredients or the night before as I'm working out the cooking schedule and figuring out what equipment I need to lug to the site.
Direct Subsidiary items are non-essential from the flavor standpoint, but essential for creating a perfect experience for the client. My Monday night dinner party cost me $15 in unanticipated direct subsidiary costs. A 23 percent cost increase over my estimate. Damn! I've got to do better.
All of this is to say I'm broke again after a decent spring and early summer. So I've been eating out of my freezer as much as possible. A good thing as it's time to scrub my refrigerator again. Hiding in the back I found a pork tenderloin from Laurel Creek Farms.
Laurel Creek is owned and worked by a fellow named Tracy Monday. I'd guess he's in his early forties. He's a short and rotund fellow with a slow, but ready, smile; a soft voice; old Southern manners; and the bib overalls that would make him a complete cliché if you didn't shake his hand and feel the callouses. He exudes honesty like parmigiano regiano exudes flavor crystals.
I've been saving the tenderloin for a special occasion, and I guess not starving to death would have to do. So I moved it to the fridge to thaw and gave some thought to how to cook it. I finally settled on marinating it in wine, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, and a touch of lemon juice. Once thawed, the tenderloin got 24 hours in the marinade, was patted dry, and went on a hot grill for 2 minutes per side (I figure the cylindrical tenderloin has four sides). As you can see it was nicely pink in the center and I only needed a fork to cut it thanks to Tracy.
To go along with it I blanched some broccoli rabe then sautéed it in olive oil with pancetta, garlic, and anchovies. I also repeated the Potatoes Parmigiano recipe because I had a few taters left and it's so damned good.
Tonight I plan a wonderful cold broth based on fresh ice cubes and to go along with it some moldy asiago. And, well, there are a few tomatoes I got at the farmers' market yesterday and a cucumber. Checking freezer... Hmmm... Wonder what I can do with raw pig fat? Oh, I know...
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin weeks | seriously good | pork | essay | italian | grilling
Labels: essay, grilling, italy, pork
Read more...Friday, July 13, 2007
Pork Chops Florentine
alla Fiorintina
A few weeks ago Doc/Rev Biggles of Meathenge posted a photo of a gorgeous grilled pork chop. Then a week ago I received the August 2007 issue of Cuisine at Home that offered a recipe for "Pork Chops Florentine-Style." This was just too much. I haven't eaten a grilled pork chop since last summer and it was clearly time to do it again.
The recipe in Cuisine at Home intrigued me. Bistecca alla Fiorentina is a famous dish made with a thick T-bone or Porter House steak. I started doing research on it.
According to Lidia Bastianich, "[Steak Florentine] seems to have its origins with the many people from Northern Europe who fell in love with the countryside around Florence and decided to move to Tuscany. In fact, so many English relocated to the Chianti area that is has been dubbed 'Chiantishire.'" At any rate, ideally the beef for
Steak Florentine is from the Chianina cattle of the region, which were used primarily as draft animals and could be so large that a single steak might weight 6 pounds.
As I expected, the recipes were all over the map. If anyone ever tells you "this is the absolutely authentic and only way" to prepare a dish, put your boots on, the manure is getting deep. But lemon juice and olive oil were common ingredients in most of the recipes. So I took that as a given. The recipes were divided between marinating or not. I decided to marinate. I also decided not to include any acid in the marinade.
The two chops I had were grass-fed Berkshire hog and grass-fed meat tends to be tough. Marinating in acid would have made the meat even tougher. So instead of juice I elected to use lemon zest. To make sure the lemon got into the meat I heated the olive oil to a low simmer and infused it with the lemon zest, fresh oregano, and garlic. That was some damned-fine tasting oil.
A few weeks ago Doc/Rev Biggles of Meathenge posted a photo of a gorgeous grilled pork chop. Then a week ago I received the August 2007 issue of Cuisine at Home that offered a recipe for "Pork Chops Florentine-Style." This was just too much. I haven't eaten a grilled pork chop since last summer and it was clearly time to do it again.
The recipe in Cuisine at Home intrigued me. Bistecca alla Fiorentina is a famous dish made with a thick T-bone or Porter House steak. I started doing research on it.
According to Lidia Bastianich, "[Steak Florentine] seems to have its origins with the many people from Northern Europe who fell in love with the countryside around Florence and decided to move to Tuscany. In fact, so many English relocated to the Chianti area that is has been dubbed 'Chiantishire.'" At any rate, ideally the beef for
Steak Florentine is from the Chianina cattle of the region, which were used primarily as draft animals and could be so large that a single steak might weight 6 pounds.
As I expected, the recipes were all over the map. If anyone ever tells you "this is the absolutely authentic and only way" to prepare a dish, put your boots on, the manure is getting deep. But lemon juice and olive oil were common ingredients in most of the recipes. So I took that as a given. The recipes were divided between marinating or not. I decided to marinate. I also decided not to include any acid in the marinade.
The two chops I had were grass-fed Berkshire hog and grass-fed meat tends to be tough. Marinating in acid would have made the meat even tougher. So instead of juice I elected to use lemon zest. To make sure the lemon got into the meat I heated the olive oil to a low simmer and infused it with the lemon zest, fresh oregano, and garlic. That was some damned-fine tasting oil.
Braciola di Maiale alla Fiorentina (Florentine Pork Chops)I had tabouleh with these chops — a perfect accompaniment. The flavors from the marinade are mild, but detectable, especially with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice on top. Encourage your eaters to season generously with salt and pepper. Encourage your eaters to gnaw the bones as I did, searching for that last delectable morsel.
Serves 2.
2 bone-in rib chops, at least 1 inch thick
1 cup olive oil
zest of two lemons (reserve lemons)
2 cloves garlic — minced
3 sprigs fresh oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Combine olive oil, lemon zest, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small skillet and cook over medium heat until it begins to bubble around the oregano sprigs. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour into a ziplock bag, add chops, and refrigerate for at least eight hours — turning occasionally to distribute marinade.
Remove pork from fridge an hour before cooking to warm up.
Build a hot fire in the grill. When the coals are ready, remove the chops from the marinade and dry on paper towels. Cook on each side for about 2 1/2 minutes over direct heat — until mahogany brown. Move chops off the direct heat but with the bone facing the heat and cover the grill and cook for four minutes more.
Serve with lemon wedges.
Technorati: Food | recipe | italy | italian | steak | pork | pork chops | florentine
Labels: appetizer, florentine, italian, italy, pork, recipe, steak
Read more...Thursday, June 28, 2007
Paisano: Pinchos Morunos
In April of 711, the Arab governor of Tangiers, Tariq ibn-Ziyad, crossed the strait between what are now Morocco and Spain with an army of 10,000 Berbers. At the time the Iberian peninsula was ruled by the Goths and their king, Roderick, took an army south to repel the Moorish invader, but Tariq and his troops defeated Roderick's army in a battle near the River Guadalete.
Tariq's army then followed the old Roman roads north to the Goths' capital city, Toledo, taking the cities of Ejica and Cordoba along the way. Resistance was minimal, whether reduced by Tariq's intimidatory propaganda (reportedly he'd had group of prisoners cut into pieces and their flesh boiled in cauldrons) or not. The invasion had been ordered by Musa, the governor of North Africa, who joined the invasion the following year with another Berber army of 18,000 -- including a large number of Arab officers. Musa took Medina Sidonia, Seville, and Merida, where a last stand by the Goths failed. And that was more or less that for the next 700 years until the Christians defeated the Moors and drove them out.
Close your eyes and taste the spices swirling across your tongue.
To this day traditional Spanish architecture shows a clear Moorish influence -- so does the cuisine.Called Pinchos Morunos (Moorish Pointed Stick or Thorns), this recipe, adaped from the Williams-Sonoma Web site, highlights the Moorish influence on Spanish cooking. The Moors didn't eat pork but the Spaniards have, apparently, always loved eating pig. I can imagine the marinade with lamb, but judging by the results I'm positive it has been tweaked over the centuries to specifically complement pork.
These bites of pork are extraordinarily good. Close your eyes and taste the spices swirling across your tongue. One moment they stamp on your taste buds -- a Flamingo dancer pounding a rhythm of sensation, hard heels beating a tattoo with skirts flouncing. Then the flouncing skirts morph into swaying silks and delicate veils and the erotic languor of a belly dance caresses your tongue. Two cultures, choreographed into a seamless dance across the palate. Romancing the nose. Seducing the belly.
Moorish Pork Kabobs (Pinchos Morunos)
Serves 8.
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt, plus more, to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 lb pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 c chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
Combine the olive oil, cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne pepper, turmeric, oregano, salt, and pepper in a small skillet over low heat. Cook until warmed through and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Place the pork pieces in a bowl and rub with the spice mixture. Add the garlic, parsley and lemon juice and toss well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat a cast-iron grill pan over medium-high heat, or prepare a hot fire in a grill.
Thread the meat onto skewers and season with salt. Grill on all sides until just cooked through, 12 - 15 minutes total.
Technorati: Food | recipe | pork | pork kabobs | spain | morrocco | pinchos morunos
Labels: kabobs, morrocco, pork, recipe, spain
Read more...Thursday, March 01, 2007
The Day of Pigs
The Day of Pigs
Today was far more special than you could have imagined. This is not only the Chinese Year of the Pig, which occurs every 12 years, but the Golden Year of the Pig, which occurs every 600 years. On top of that, March 1 is National Pig Day, the first, and perhaps only, time there will be such a confluence porcinus. Clearly such an auspicious event called for a panoply of piggish prodigality. Fortunately I didn't have anything time-critical scheduled today so I had time this morning to give a little thought to the matter.
But what to do? I didn't want to make a trip to the store just to buy a pork chop for some lame last-minute effort at some lame last minute effort. And although I did have bacon and a couple of different kinds of sausage in the freezer, I wanted something special. Then I remembered I had some pork confit that I'd made a month ago and hadn't gotten around to tasting since I'd made it. This was the perfect occasion. A little more thought and I had my menu planned.
But even that wasn't enough. La Tienda had a sale on Serrano ham last week and I'd ordered some. It arrived today, clearly a omen, and in a last frenzy of pig-headedness I decided to wrap a few orange segments in ham as an amuse bouche. (The flavor pairing worked, but the orange overwhelmed the ham. I may try this again using country ham.)
And, as you can see above, that's exactly what I did. It was a remarkable meal built almost entirely of pork products that I made myself. I think even the CIA would be happy with the results.
Today was far more special than you could have imagined. This is not only the Chinese Year of the Pig, which occurs every 12 years, but the Golden Year of the Pig, which occurs every 600 years. On top of that, March 1 is National Pig Day, the first, and perhaps only, time there will be such a confluence porcinus. Clearly such an auspicious event called for a panoply of piggish prodigality. Fortunately I didn't have anything time-critical scheduled today so I had time this morning to give a little thought to the matter.
But what to do? I didn't want to make a trip to the store just to buy a pork chop for some lame last-minute effort at some lame last minute effort. And although I did have bacon and a couple of different kinds of sausage in the freezer, I wanted something special. Then I remembered I had some pork confit that I'd made a month ago and hadn't gotten around to tasting since I'd made it. This was the perfect occasion. A little more thought and I had my menu planned.
But even that wasn't enough. La Tienda had a sale on Serrano ham last week and I'd ordered some. It arrived today, clearly a omen, and in a last frenzy of pig-headedness I decided to wrap a few orange segments in ham as an amuse bouche. (The flavor pairing worked, but the orange overwhelmed the ham. I may try this again using country ham.)
And, as you can see above, that's exactly what I did. It was a remarkable meal built almost entirely of pork products that I made myself. I think even the CIA would be happy with the results.
Technorati: Food | recipe | pork | pig | National Pig day | bratwurst | pork confit
Labels: bratwurst, food, pig, pork, pork confit, recipe
Read more...Sunday, January 28, 2007
Pancetta
A Face Only a Cook Could Love
How can something so ugly taste so good? But it does. It tastes extraordinarily good.
Last December I made pancetta using a recipe in Michael Ruhlman's and Brian Polcyn's Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing. I ordered a pork belly from my local rancher, rubbed the cure into it, and let it rest in the refrigerator for two and a half weeks. Then I rinsed the cure off, rolled it up and tied it, and let it age for another two weeks in a cool closet. Finally it was ready and I cut off a
Inevitably I had to try cooking with it so I peeled and diced a couple of parsnips and sautéed them with diced pancetta for lunch — awesome!
I've included an adaptation of the recipe for making pancetta below, but I recommend buying the book.
How can something so ugly taste so good? But it does. It tastes extraordinarily good.
Last December I made pancetta using a recipe in Michael Ruhlman's and Brian Polcyn's Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing. I ordered a pork belly from my local rancher, rubbed the cure into it, and let it rest in the refrigerator for two and a half weeks. Then I rinsed the cure off, rolled it up and tied it, and let it age for another two weeks in a cool closet. Finally it was ready and I cut off a
Anybody who believes that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach flunked geography. ~ Robert Byrne
piece and cooked it -- as I said, extraordinary. Far better than any pancetta I've ever eaten. It's also easy to make in a home kitchen. The hard part is the waiting.Inevitably I had to try cooking with it so I peeled and diced a couple of parsnips and sautéed them with diced pancetta for lunch — awesome!
I've included an adaptation of the recipe for making pancetta below, but I recommend buying the book.
Pancetta
2 - 3 pound pork belly — skin removed
2 cloves garlic — crushed
1 teaspoon pink salt (curing salt with nitrite)
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon juniper berries — crushed
2 bay leaves — crumbled
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 reaspoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients except pork in a small bowl.
Trim the belly so that it forms a neat rectangle of fairly uniform thickness.
Rub the cure into the both sides of the pork belly, place in a large zippered plastic bag, and refrigerate for one week. Without removing the belly from the back, massage the curing mixture into the meat again. Refrigerate for another week. At the end of that time check the meat for firmness at it's thickest point. If it's still soft, refrigerate for another couple of days until firm.
Remove the belly and rinse off the cure with cold water (you don't need to be obsessive about cleaning it) and pat dry. Sprinkle the meat side with another tablespoon of black pepper. Roll very tightly, meat side in, and tie with twine at on to two inch intervals. Hang in a cool (50 - 60F), dark place — ideally with 60 percent humidity — for 2 weeks.
Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks or freeze for up to 4 months.
Technorati: Food | recipe | pancetta | pork | bacon | charcuterie
Read more...Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Stuffed Pork Chops w/ Caramelized Onions
Powerless
Ok, so I lack will power. It's a flaw, but it's not as though I was child molester or worked for Tyson foods. I'm not so obsessive that I have to count every parking meter on the street nor am I compelled, like some bloggers, to write about my daughter, or even my cat, throwing up — count your blessings.
But yes, I can be obsessive.
Saturday afternoon I got a couple of pork chops out of the freezer for supper Sunday night. I didn’t know what I was going to do beyond eating them, but I figured I'd
But about 10:00 that night I had an idea. I tried to push it out of my mind, to come up with another thought. But the more I pushed against it the better it seemed. It was a perfectly good idea, but it required port — and I didn't have any in the house. I considered using madeira or sherry, which I had. Nope. They wouldn’t work (not that I knew port would work, I mean, I was making this up on the spot, it could turn out to be a fiasco) but at 10:30 I knew it had to be port.
I live in the Bible belt. You can’t buy liquor on Sunday (and in Tennessee, port is legally the same as bourbon or vodka) and the liquor stores were closing in 30 minutes and wouldn’t reopen until Monday morning — a bit late for supper Sunday night. It was about 28 degrees outside — chilly. I was watching a movie on SciFi channel, which would be over by the time I got back. No dice. I couldn't talk myself out of it. No will power.
Sigh. I got up, changed the raggedy sweats I wear at home for something presentable in public, pulled on a coat, drove to the liquor store, and, with 5 minutes to spare, spent $20 on a bottle of port just to make dinner Sunday night. It's not even a main ingredient — it's a flavoring.
I wonder if there's a 12-step program for cooks?
Ok, so I lack will power. It's a flaw, but it's not as though I was child molester or worked for Tyson foods. I'm not so obsessive that I have to count every parking meter on the street nor am I compelled, like some bloggers, to write about my daughter, or even my cat, throwing up — count your blessings.
But yes, I can be obsessive.
Saturday afternoon I got a couple of pork chops out of the freezer for supper Sunday night. I didn’t know what I was going to do beyond eating them, but I figured I'd
It is surely a great calamity for a human being to have no obsessions. ~ Robert Bly quotes
come up with something. As Saturday afternoon progressed I thought about it a bit, perused a couple of cookbooks, thought about it a bit more, checked out some recipe sites on the Web. Now mind you, this was not some single-minded search for a recipe, just sort of a relaxed — oh, I wonder? — research session as I watched TV; worked on a new blog Farmgirl Susan and KitchenMage and I are starting; and caught up with my magazine reading.But about 10:00 that night I had an idea. I tried to push it out of my mind, to come up with another thought. But the more I pushed against it the better it seemed. It was a perfectly good idea, but it required port — and I didn't have any in the house. I considered using madeira or sherry, which I had. Nope. They wouldn’t work (not that I knew port would work, I mean, I was making this up on the spot, it could turn out to be a fiasco) but at 10:30 I knew it had to be port.
I live in the Bible belt. You can’t buy liquor on Sunday (and in Tennessee, port is legally the same as bourbon or vodka) and the liquor stores were closing in 30 minutes and wouldn’t reopen until Monday morning — a bit late for supper Sunday night. It was about 28 degrees outside — chilly. I was watching a movie on SciFi channel, which would be over by the time I got back. No dice. I couldn't talk myself out of it. No will power.
Sigh. I got up, changed the raggedy sweats I wear at home for something presentable in public, pulled on a coat, drove to the liquor store, and, with 5 minutes to spare, spent $20 on a bottle of port just to make dinner Sunday night. It's not even a main ingredient — it's a flavoring.
I wonder if there's a 12-step program for cooks?
Stuffed Pork Loin Chops Stuffed with Caramelized OnionsNote: The gruyere provided an unexpectedly sweet note when paired with the pork. Excellent! The onions were also good, but not worth the trip to the liquor store.
2 ea boneless pork loin chops — 1" thick
2 oz gruyere — sliced
1 lg onion — peeled, halved, and sliced into half rounds
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 c port
salt and pepper
Melt butter in a large sauce pan over over low heat. Add onions and stir to coat. Cover and cook until onions caramelize — about 30 minutes — stirring frequently.
Heat oven to 400F and heat olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium high heat.
Cut a deep pocket in the side of each chop and stuff with sliced gruyere. Liberally season with salt and pepper. Brown one side of chops — about 4 minutes. Turn chops over and place skillet in the oven. Cook chops for about another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and tent with foil.
Meanwhile, place onions over medium heat and stir in vinegar. Reduce vinegar to a glaze. Add port and reduce to a glaze. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Serve chops topped with caramelized onions.
Technorati: Food | recipe | main dish | pork | pork chops
Labels: pork
Read more...Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Milk-Braised Pork Loin
Simple, Strange, Delicious
Sometimes cooking and eating are a matter of faith. Or, perhaps more accurately, a calculated risk. I had a three pound pork loin in my freezer that I needed to do something with but I wanted something different and I was clueless. So I sent an e-mail to my friend Doc Biggles at Meathenge and asked him for suggestions. And he came back with a suggestion for pork braised in milk — Arrosto di Maiale Al Latte, which he published back in February of 2006.
Doc got the recipe from Kate at Accidental Hedonist who posted the recipe a few days earlier. Actually, that's what I figured Doc would suggest because he'd just tried a variation using pork chops.
Perhaps it's just me, but braising pork in milk seemed like a strange idea to me. It is also such a simple recipe that (pork, milk, garlic, and salt and pepper) that I wondered how much flavor it would have. But Doc has never steered me wrong, and I did want something new so I decided to give it a shot. However, I decided to follow Kate's original recipe rather than Doc's posting because I didn't want to incorporate any variations Doc may made on this first trial. — which doesn’t mean I followed Kate's recipe exactly.
I varied the cooking technique as well. Kate cooked it on the stove top, but my experience is that braising works best in the oven. In the oven, particularly if you have a good heavy cast iron dutch oven like my Le Crueset. Using the oven and cast iron the braise is cooked simultaneously from all sides instead of just from the bottom. This results in more even cooking and produces a superior result.
Lastly, instead of whisking the liquid at the end of the cooking process, I used my immersion blender, which produced a smooth, thick sauce with the garlic evenly distributed throughout.
I've got some chops in the freezer and may try Doc's most recent variation in the near future — the onions sound like a good idea.
Sometimes cooking and eating are a matter of faith. Or, perhaps more accurately, a calculated risk. I had a three pound pork loin in my freezer that I needed to do something with but I wanted something different and I was clueless. So I sent an e-mail to my friend Doc Biggles at Meathenge and asked him for suggestions. And he came back with a suggestion for pork braised in milk — Arrosto di Maiale Al Latte, which he published back in February of 2006.
Doc got the recipe from Kate at Accidental Hedonist who posted the recipe a few days earlier. Actually, that's what I figured Doc would suggest because he'd just tried a variation using pork chops.
Perhaps it's just me, but braising pork in milk seemed like a strange idea to me. It is also such a simple recipe that (pork, milk, garlic, and salt and pepper) that I wondered how much flavor it would have. But Doc has never steered me wrong, and I did want something new so I decided to give it a shot. However, I decided to follow Kate's original recipe rather than Doc's posting because I didn't want to incorporate any variations Doc may made on this first trial. — which doesn’t mean I followed Kate's recipe exactly.
I look upon it that he who does not mind his belly will hardly mind anything else. ~ Samuel Johnson
Kate browned her roast in butter before braising, however at medium-high heat I knew the butter would burn during browning, so instead, I elected to brown the roast in bacon grease. I think this was consistent with the recipe while using something like olive oil wouldn't have been.I varied the cooking technique as well. Kate cooked it on the stove top, but my experience is that braising works best in the oven. In the oven, particularly if you have a good heavy cast iron dutch oven like my Le Crueset. Using the oven and cast iron the braise is cooked simultaneously from all sides instead of just from the bottom. This results in more even cooking and produces a superior result.
Lastly, instead of whisking the liquid at the end of the cooking process, I used my immersion blender, which produced a smooth, thick sauce with the garlic evenly distributed throughout.
Arrosto di Maiale Al LatteThis is an amazingly good dish. The milk really brings out the pork flavor and, although as a rule a lean cut like pork loin isn’t a good candidate for a technique like braising, in this case although the meat shrank to about half it's original size it wasn't dry. The sauce was incredibly rich and flavorful with a nice, but not overwhelming, garlic lilt to it. If you make this, please resist the urge to add additional seasonings the first time, you should understand the baseline before you screw around with the recipe.
3 - 4 lb pork loin roast
salt and pepper
2 tbsp bacon grease
2 1/2 c whole milk (don't use anything low fat or skimmed)
5 cloves garlic — peeled
Heat oven to 325F.
Melt bacon grease in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Generously season pork with salt and pepper, then brown on all sides in the dutch oven. Pour out the fat in the bottom of the pot, add the milk and garlic, cover, and place in the middle of the oven.
Cook for one hour. turn roast over and cook another hour. Turn roast over again and cook 30 minutes more. Remove from oven and set roast on a plate, covered with foil, and allow to rest 10 - 15 minutes. Blend milk sauce using a blender and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serves 4 -6.
I've got some chops in the freezer and may try Doc's most recent variation in the near future — the onions sound like a good idea.
Technorati: Food | recipe | main dish | meat | pork | pork loin | italian | braise
Labels: pork
Read more...Friday, December 29, 2006
Charcuterie: A Book and a Year, In Review
A Book and a Year, In Review
About this time a year ago I decided 2006 was going to be the year I finally satisfied a cooking urge I'd been harboring for 10 or 12 years — 2006 was going to be my year of the pig. In particular, it was going to be the year I started learning charcuterie.
Around 2000 I bought the grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid and a rather pitiful book on making sausage (The Sausage-Making Cookbook).
I tried a couple of recipes, but the results were pitiful — mainly because the author failed to address the issue of having sufficient quantities of fat. So after two or three incredibly dry batches of sausage I lost interest, although I did continue to grind my own beef, pork, and lamb.
Having reawakened my ambition to make sausage, I bought Bruce Aidells's Complete Sausage Book and proceeded to start making sausage including Mititei, Kofta, Italian sausage, and bratwurst. I've also made several batches of breakfast sausage, but although it's no longer dry, I still haven't found the flavor I'm looking for.
The book was a revelation. I started flipping though it when it arrived, something caught my eye, that led me back to the introduction, and before I knew it I'd read half the book. Literally. Every description, every recipe. I even hauled down my Bruce Aidell book to make a couple of comparisons. Charcuterie is one of the best-written books I've read this year — perhaps because it's neither a cookbook, though it is a book of recipes, nor a cooking manual, though it does present the technical aspects of the art of charcuterie.
Here's an example of what captivated me: "A powerful mania descended on me a decade ago when I first tasted duck confit…." What serious cook can't identify with such a statement, such a sentiment whether about confit or asparagus? Elsewhere Ruhlman writes, "Embrace the sausage." I wish I had the gift for expressing such simple unadorned passion.
Curious, I asked Ruhlman how he got involved in cooking and he said he'd seen Julia Child make an apple pie on TV and then made his own "rather bad" effort. "[It] always seemed natural, cooking, especially if you love to eat. [I] began writing and cooking at same age, I think they're linked for me."
The prose, even when describing how to do something, is smooth, flowing, readable. Ruhlman's background as an English major and then writer and editor is evident.
Polcyn, Ruhlman's partner and the source of the expertise, clearly has as deep a knowledge of preparing and preserving meats as Ruhlman does of expressing that knowledge.
The book's 300 plus pages contain six sections (not counting the introduction and a final chapter on "Recipes to Accompany Charcuterie"). The sections cover salt-cured food, smoked food, sausages, dry-cured food, pâtés and terrines, and "The Confit Technique." I haven't even begun to explore the material in practice, but I have read the book and made enough recipes to think I can judge the quality from the standpoint of an experienced cook learning a new method of preparing food.
As I mentioned in the piece on Smoked Duck Breasts, they're extraordinary and, after reading the recipe, straight-forward to prepare. Since then I've also used the All-Purpose Brine on a pork loin, it's a good solid basic recipe (compared to many I've seen or tried) and is readily adaptable to modification.
The pancetta is
On the down side, rendering pork fat for lard requires (in my experience) making a point of trimming off all the attached meat or you won't be able to avoid browning the lard to get out most of the fat. This may be an issue for me because I can’t get enough leaf fat to make lard and so use a mixture of whatever pork fats I can get. Polcyn, on the other hand, is a chef and has access to resources that many readers won't. This brings up a related point.
The recipes typically produce five or more pounds of sausage, confit, or whatever. That's a lot for what will, for most people, be an experiment. If you figure a single link of bratwurst is about 1/4 of a pound, then that's enough sausage for 15 to 20 servings. Suppose you screw something up? The recipes are certainly scalable, but I suspect that I'll be scaling all of them down for a 1st batch, and in some cases for all batches.
Though I'm sure I'll find more nits to pick as I continue to explore Charuterie, this is a great book. Eminently readable, clearly knowledgeable, and thorough, it's earned a place, not on my bookshelf so much, as under my coffee table so I'll have it handy as my second Year of Charcuterie begins.
Pork Confit
About this time a year ago I decided 2006 was going to be the year I finally satisfied a cooking urge I'd been harboring for 10 or 12 years — 2006 was going to be my year of the pig. In particular, it was going to be the year I started learning charcuterie.
Around 2000 I bought the grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid and a rather pitiful book on making sausage (The Sausage-Making Cookbook).
I tried a couple of recipes, but the results were pitiful — mainly because the author failed to address the issue of having sufficient quantities of fat. So after two or three incredibly dry batches of sausage I lost interest, although I did continue to grind my own beef, pork, and lamb.
Having reawakened my ambition to make sausage, I bought Bruce Aidells's Complete Sausage Book and proceeded to start making sausage including Mititei, Kofta, Italian sausage, and bratwurst. I've also made several batches of breakfast sausage, but although it's no longer dry, I still haven't found the flavor I'm looking for.
The book was a revelation. I started flipping though it when it arrived, something caught my eye, that led me back to the introduction, and before I knew it I'd read half the book. Literally. Every description, every recipe. I even hauled down my Bruce Aidell book to make a couple of comparisons. Charcuterie is one of the best-written books I've read this year — perhaps because it's neither a cookbook, though it is a book of recipes, nor a cooking manual, though it does present the technical aspects of the art of charcuterie.
Here's an example of what captivated me: "A powerful mania descended on me a decade ago when I first tasted duck confit…." What serious cook can't identify with such a statement, such a sentiment whether about confit or asparagus? Elsewhere Ruhlman writes, "Embrace the sausage." I wish I had the gift for expressing such simple unadorned passion.
Curious, I asked Ruhlman how he got involved in cooking and he said he'd seen Julia Child make an apple pie on TV and then made his own "rather bad" effort. "[It] always seemed natural, cooking, especially if you love to eat. [I] began writing and cooking at same age, I think they're linked for me."
The prose, even when describing how to do something, is smooth, flowing, readable. Ruhlman's background as an English major and then writer and editor is evident.
Polcyn, Ruhlman's partner and the source of the expertise, clearly has as deep a knowledge of preparing and preserving meats as Ruhlman does of expressing that knowledge.
The book's 300 plus pages contain six sections (not counting the introduction and a final chapter on "Recipes to Accompany Charcuterie"). The sections cover salt-cured food, smoked food, sausages, dry-cured food, pâtés and terrines, and "The Confit Technique." I haven't even begun to explore the material in practice, but I have read the book and made enough recipes to think I can judge the quality from the standpoint of an experienced cook learning a new method of preparing food.
As I mentioned in the piece on Smoked Duck Breasts, they're extraordinary and, after reading the recipe, straight-forward to prepare. Since then I've also used the All-Purpose Brine on a pork loin, it's a good solid basic recipe (compared to many I've seen or tried) and is readily adaptable to modification.
The pancetta is
On the down side, rendering pork fat for lard requires (in my experience) making a point of trimming off all the attached meat or you won't be able to avoid browning the lard to get out most of the fat. This may be an issue for me because I can’t get enough leaf fat to make lard and so use a mixture of whatever pork fats I can get. Polcyn, on the other hand, is a chef and has access to resources that many readers won't. This brings up a related point.
The recipes typically produce five or more pounds of sausage, confit, or whatever. That's a lot for what will, for most people, be an experiment. If you figure a single link of bratwurst is about 1/4 of a pound, then that's enough sausage for 15 to 20 servings. Suppose you screw something up? The recipes are certainly scalable, but I suspect that I'll be scaling all of them down for a 1st batch, and in some cases for all batches.
Though I'm sure I'll find more nits to pick as I continue to explore Charuterie, this is a great book. Eminently readable, clearly knowledgeable, and thorough, it's earned a place, not on my bookshelf so much, as under my coffee table so I'll have it handy as my second Year of Charcuterie begins.
Pork ConfitTechnorati: Food | review | Charcuterie | Pancetta | Pork confit | sausage | smoking | food preservation
Labels: pork
Read more...Friday, November 24, 2006
Apricot/Sausage Stuffed Pork Roast
Thanksgiving Traumas
"Help! I burned the Turkey Gumbo!"
This call came in around 2:00 PM yesterday (Thanksgiving). When she discovered the problem she poured the unburned gumbo into another pot, but it still had a burned taste. I had to tell the poor caller I didn't know of any way to eliminate the burned taste, but suggested she might be able to distract from it by upping the spice level in the gumbo. Later it occurred to me that adding some smoked sausage might also have helped.
I've spent the past week manning a Thanksgiving help-line for people with cooking questions. The help line was offered as a free promotional service by ChefsLine.com, a startup company offering advice from food-service professionals on an array of kitchen topics including baking, menu planning, wine choices, and adapting recipes. It turned out to be a lot of fun and besides the "gumbo incident" the only other person I couldn't really help was the caller who didn't start defrosting her 20 pound turkey until yesterday morning. (Fortunately, that caller had a ham she could serve instead.) Most of the questions were about roasting times and temperatures and defrosting.
Consequently, it's rather ironic — although, perhaps, fitting — that I screwed up my Thanksgiving dinner. Not seriously, but enough to disappoint.
I'd done all the prep between phone calls on Wednesday and Thursday so that after I took my last call I could finish it off. I made the Shrimp Bisque on Wednesday — all I had to
Thursday I prepped the baby artichokes yesterday morning, and they were read to slide into the oven. In a last minute change, I tossed the root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, and beets) in the last of the smoked duck fat and they were in a pan ready to bake. The pork loin had been brining for 24 hours and yesterday afternoon I made the stuffing and then tied and stuffed the roast. Last, I made the apricot coulis to go on the pork and it just needed a quick zap in the microwave. So far, so good.
Once I was through with the help-line, I heated up the oven and browned the roast in a skillet. Then I inserted the probe of my digital thermometer into the center, put the roast (and veggies) in the oven, and set the thermometer to beep at 130F. I called my sister and my parents to wish them a happy t'day. When I got off the phone the thermometer was reading 120F. Fifteen minutes later it still read 120F. So I doubled-checked using another instant read thermometer — it read 150F. Damn! I'd overcooked the roast.
A couple of weeks ago I'd spilled some stock on the thermometer and it went haywire. But once it dried out it seemed to be working correctly again. Guess not.
All in all, it was a good meal, but not great. The bisque was smooth and creamy and managed to be simultaneously rich and light. The root veggies had a nice hint of smoke from the duck fat. The baby artichokes were tender and delicious. I was pleased with the stuffing for the pork -- it was perfectly seasoned and a nice complement to the meat.
On the down-side, the apricot coulis wasn't a success. It was too acid for the pork. And the pork itself, though wonderfully flavored, was dry and tough. However, the pork is definitely worth doing again and, although it involves quite a few steps, isn't difficult and can be made in advance.
"Help! I burned the Turkey Gumbo!"
This call came in around 2:00 PM yesterday (Thanksgiving). When she discovered the problem she poured the unburned gumbo into another pot, but it still had a burned taste. I had to tell the poor caller I didn't know of any way to eliminate the burned taste, but suggested she might be able to distract from it by upping the spice level in the gumbo. Later it occurred to me that adding some smoked sausage might also have helped.
I've spent the past week manning a Thanksgiving help-line for people with cooking questions. The help line was offered as a free promotional service by ChefsLine.com, a startup company offering advice from food-service professionals on an array of kitchen topics including baking, menu planning, wine choices, and adapting recipes. It turned out to be a lot of fun and besides the "gumbo incident" the only other person I couldn't really help was the caller who didn't start defrosting her 20 pound turkey until yesterday morning. (Fortunately, that caller had a ham she could serve instead.) Most of the questions were about roasting times and temperatures and defrosting.
Consequently, it's rather ironic — although, perhaps, fitting — that I screwed up my Thanksgiving dinner. Not seriously, but enough to disappoint.
I'd done all the prep between phone calls on Wednesday and Thursday so that after I took my last call I could finish it off. I made the Shrimp Bisque on Wednesday — all I had to
Thursday I prepped the baby artichokes yesterday morning, and they were read to slide into the oven. In a last minute change, I tossed the root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, and beets) in the last of the smoked duck fat and they were in a pan ready to bake. The pork loin had been brining for 24 hours and yesterday afternoon I made the stuffing and then tied and stuffed the roast. Last, I made the apricot coulis to go on the pork and it just needed a quick zap in the microwave. So far, so good.
Once I was through with the help-line, I heated up the oven and browned the roast in a skillet. Then I inserted the probe of my digital thermometer into the center, put the roast (and veggies) in the oven, and set the thermometer to beep at 130F. I called my sister and my parents to wish them a happy t'day. When I got off the phone the thermometer was reading 120F. Fifteen minutes later it still read 120F. So I doubled-checked using another instant read thermometer — it read 150F. Damn! I'd overcooked the roast.
A couple of weeks ago I'd spilled some stock on the thermometer and it went haywire. But once it dried out it seemed to be working correctly again. Guess not.
All in all, it was a good meal, but not great. The bisque was smooth and creamy and managed to be simultaneously rich and light. The root veggies had a nice hint of smoke from the duck fat. The baby artichokes were tender and delicious. I was pleased with the stuffing for the pork -- it was perfectly seasoned and a nice complement to the meat.
On the down-side, the apricot coulis wasn't a success. It was too acid for the pork. And the pork itself, though wonderfully flavored, was dry and tough. However, the pork is definitely worth doing again and, although it involves quite a few steps, isn't difficult and can be made in advance.
Stuffed Pork Loin RoastUpdate: I added some heavy cream to the apricot coulis the day after Thanksgiving and that moderated the acidity.
3 lb boneless pork loin — about 12 inches long
Apple Brine
1/2 gal apple cider
1/4 c pickling salt
1/4 c maple syrup
1 tbsp dried sage
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 ea bay leaf
Bring cider to a boil, add remaining ingredients and stir to dissolve salt. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold.
Put the pork loin in a gallon zip-lock bag, and put that bag in a second one (to prevent leaks). Pour brine into bag containing pork, seal, then seal second bag. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
Stuffing
1/4 c cooked, chopped breakfast sausage
1/4 c coarsely minced onion
8 ea dried apricots, chopped
1 tbsp minced fresh sage
1/4 c bread crumbs
1/2 c chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
Place chopped apricots and chicken broth in a small sauce pan, bring to a boil, and remove from heat. Allow to cool.
Mix all ingredients, including broth apricots are in, together in a small bowl. The mixture should be moist but not wet. You may need to add a bit more broth.
Cut pork loin in half, crosswise, so that you have to 6 inch pieces. Stack portions together, fat-side out, and tie with twine. Using a carving knife, cut a slit in the center of the paired loins at right angles to the seam — be careful to not cut too deeply. You should now have a plus symbol in the roast when viewed from the end.
Assemble
Heat oven to 375F.
Use your fingers to force stuffing into the slot, then push it in further with a wooden spoon or some similar implement. You'll want to stuff the roast from both ends, so only use half before flipping the roast over. Season roast on all sides with salt and pepper.
Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in an oven-proof skillet, then brown roast on all sides and both ends. Place on the middle rack of the oven and cook until center reads 135 on an instant-read thermometer.
Allow roast to rest for about 20 minutes before carving.
Technorati: Food | recipe | pork roast | main dish | thanksgiving
Labels: pork
Read more...Monday, September 25, 2006
Choucroute
The Wheel Turns
Saturday morning I awoke in a dark bedroom. Never bright even on the sunniest days, my bedroom was particularly dim on this morning. I could hear rumbling in the distance and outside my window an irregular, multi-tonal chatter of rain on leaves and air-conditioner cowlings. It was the first day of fall, and it sounded like it.
I checked the clock, snuggled deeper into the sheets, and dozed a bit longer — enjoying that especially comfortable feeling
At this time of year in East Tennessee there are few real indications of the official change in season. The leaves are still 90 percent green (except in the mountains), the weather is still suitable for short sleeves, and the sunlight hasn't yet achieved that orange-gold cast that, in a strange confounding of our senses, almost smells like fall.
But this Saturday (and unseasonbly) it felt like fall and so it was time for my first fall meal.
Fall is my favorite cooking time. I begin to make again those dishes that adhere first to your ribs before migrating to your belly and thighs where they take up long-term residence. Hearty foods, boldly flavored that turn even a rainy Saturday into something to savor in anticipation of the evening's supper.
Traditionally, I mark this change of season (not the official day but the psychic day, the day it first feels like fall) by fixing choucroute. I don't recall when I began this tradition, but I've been doing it a long time. This is somewhat simplified version of the traditional Alsatian dish it both complicated and time consuming. It's a great way to celebrate another turn of the season.
Saturday morning I awoke in a dark bedroom. Never bright even on the sunniest days, my bedroom was particularly dim on this morning. I could hear rumbling in the distance and outside my window an irregular, multi-tonal chatter of rain on leaves and air-conditioner cowlings. It was the first day of fall, and it sounded like it.
I checked the clock, snuggled deeper into the sheets, and dozed a bit longer — enjoying that especially comfortable feeling
I'm at the age where food has taken the place of sex in my life. In fact, I've just had a mirror put over my kitchen table. ~ Rodney Dangerfield
of sleeping in on a rainy morning. I got another 10 minutes in before SweetThing, my cat, demanded breakfast.At this time of year in East Tennessee there are few real indications of the official change in season. The leaves are still 90 percent green (except in the mountains), the weather is still suitable for short sleeves, and the sunlight hasn't yet achieved that orange-gold cast that, in a strange confounding of our senses, almost smells like fall.
But this Saturday (and unseasonbly) it felt like fall and so it was time for my first fall meal.
Fall is my favorite cooking time. I begin to make again those dishes that adhere first to your ribs before migrating to your belly and thighs where they take up long-term residence. Hearty foods, boldly flavored that turn even a rainy Saturday into something to savor in anticipation of the evening's supper.
Traditionally, I mark this change of season (not the official day but the psychic day, the day it first feels like fall) by fixing choucroute. I don't recall when I began this tradition, but I've been doing it a long time. This is somewhat simplified version of the traditional Alsatian dish it both complicated and time consuming. It's a great way to celebrate another turn of the season.
ChoucrouteThis is essentially a one-dish meal, but as mentioned above, some rye bread for sopping up the broth is highly recommended. Homemade stewed apples are also good as side dish.
Serves 6.
2 lb pork shoulder
3 ea bratwurst — cut into 1 1/2" lengths
4 oz salt pork — trimmed of rind and cut into matchstick-sized pieces
2 lg yellow onions — cut in half and then into half rings
2 15 oz cans of sauerkraut
1 btl dark beer
1 c beef stock
4 md red potatoes — cut into eighths
1 tbsp juniper berries — coarsely chopped
salt and pepper
Heat oven to 350F.
Place salt pork in a non-reactive dutch oven or stew pot over medium low heat and gently render fat until lardons are browned. Remove to a bowl and reserve.
Generously season pork shoulder with salt and pepper and brown in rendered fat over medium high heat. Set aside on a plate.
Brown bratwurst and remove to plate with pork.
Reduce heat to medium-low, add sliced onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned — 20 - 30 minutes. Sprinkle in 1/2 of crushed juniper berries. Add a 1/3 of the kraut (including juice) and lardons and mix with onions.
Return shoulder to pot and fill in around it with potatoes, bratwurst, and kraut mixed with remaining juniper.
Add beef stock and enough beer to not quite cover the top.
Return pot to stove and bring to a vigorous simmer over high heat. Cover tightly, place in preheated oven, and cook for two hours or until meat is fork tender.
Remove shoulder to a cutting board and stir ingredients in pot to distribute evenly. Spoon kraut, brats, and potatoes onto a plate and top with slice shoulder.
Technorati: Food | recipe | main dish | pork | choucroute | alsace
Read more...Sunday, December 11, 2005
Ragu from Bologna
In the Flesh
Yesterday some friends were passing through Knoxville on their way to Memphis from Winston-Salem, North Carolina so of course I invited them to have supper here and stay the night. Actually, I didn't know him but I've known her for about five years — we'd just never met I the flesh before.
This is old-hat for me. I'd guess that over the past 15 or so years I've met over 50 people that I first got to know on-line. But Angela was nervous about it and her husband, Frank, was downright skeptical about the whole idea of making friends on-line — much less planning on staying the night with a "stranger." Some folks just don't understand how genuine friendships can be based on e-mail.
As it turns out, Angela is much prettier and more elegant than I'd imagined and has a gorgeous and genteel tar-heel accent — characteristics that completely belie the quirky and somewhat warped sense of humor I knew she possessed. Frankly I was expecting someone a bit more country. And speaking of Frank, he turned out to be a quiet and rather taciturn man with a wickedly ironic sense of humor. They were perfect foils for each other.
They didn't know exactly when they'd arrive — between 5:00 and 7:00, they thought — so I needed to fix a meal that would hold well. Neither of them are foodies, although Angela has an appreciation of food. She warned me, though, that Frank is fairly conservative about what he eats. I decided to make pasta Bolognese.
I'd never made it before — never even eaten it — but it's long been on my list and everybody likes spaghetti so I figured Frank would be Ok with it. I used Marcella Hazan's recipe in Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking as the base, but tweaked it a bit. For the pasta, I had some Papardelle that I'd been looking for an excuse to serve and this seemed a good time.
I fixed a salad with raspberry vinaigrette to go along with it and for dessert I made gingerbread cake that I served warm with a sherry sauce. It was all good and we finished off the gingerbread for breakfast this morning before they left.
Yesterday some friends were passing through Knoxville on their way to Memphis from Winston-Salem, North Carolina so of course I invited them to have supper here and stay the night. Actually, I didn't know him but I've known her for about five years — we'd just never met I the flesh before.
This is old-hat for me. I'd guess that over the past 15 or so years I've met over 50 people that I first got to know on-line. But Angela was nervous about it and her husband, Frank, was downright skeptical about the whole idea of making friends on-line — much less planning on staying the night with a "stranger." Some folks just don't understand how genuine friendships can be based on e-mail.
Angela is much prettier and more elegant than I'd imagined and has a gorgeous and genteel tar-heel accent — characteristics that completely belie the quirky and somewhat warped sense of humor I knew she possessed.
Our minds are constructed in such a way that we automatically form mental pictures of people we know even if we've never seen them. Apparently we require some sort of visual image to hang our knowledge, suppositions, and opinions of them on. And no one I've eventually met in person has ever looked or sounded at all like I expected, which isn't particularly odd. What is odd — at least the first few times — is how quickly after that initial meeting the other person's actual physical and, especially, vocal character completely supplant the fictional image you've carried around for so long. Within a few short minutes they're as familiar as they would have been if you'd always known them in person.As it turns out, Angela is much prettier and more elegant than I'd imagined and has a gorgeous and genteel tar-heel accent — characteristics that completely belie the quirky and somewhat warped sense of humor I knew she possessed. Frankly I was expecting someone a bit more country. And speaking of Frank, he turned out to be a quiet and rather taciturn man with a wickedly ironic sense of humor. They were perfect foils for each other.
They didn't know exactly when they'd arrive — between 5:00 and 7:00, they thought — so I needed to fix a meal that would hold well. Neither of them are foodies, although Angela has an appreciation of food. She warned me, though, that Frank is fairly conservative about what he eats. I decided to make pasta Bolognese.
I'd never made it before — never even eaten it — but it's long been on my list and everybody likes spaghetti so I figured Frank would be Ok with it. I used Marcella Hazan's recipe in Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking as the base, but tweaked it a bit. For the pasta, I had some Papardelle that I'd been looking for an excuse to serve and this seemed a good time.
I fixed a salad with raspberry vinaigrette to go along with it and for dessert I made gingerbread cake that I served warm with a sherry sauce. It was all good and we finished off the gingerbread for breakfast this morning before they left.
Ragu BologneseWe had a great time and, because Angela is a photographer and wanted to see how I take my food pictures, I got some photos before having to clear the dining table so we could eat.
Serves 6.
3 tbls olive oil
1/2 c finely chopped onion
1/3 c finely chopped celery
1/3 c finely chopped carrot
1 lb beef — minced or coarsely ground
1/2 lb pork — minced or coarsely ground
1 1/2 tsp salt
ground black pepper
1 1/2 c whole milk
1 1/2 c dry white wine
1/4 tsp nutmeg
28 oz whole tomatoes — roughly chopped, with their juice
3 tbsp tomato paste
3 tsp anchovy paste
1 lb parpardelle
4 tbsp butter
Parmigiano Regiano
Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent -- about 3 minutes. Add celery and carrot and cook another two minutes. Increase heat to medium high and add beef and pork, season with salt and pepper, and cook stirring as needed, until no pink remains.
Reduce heat to medium low and add milk. Simmer until little or no liquid remains. Add nutmeg and white wine and simmer until little or no liquid remains. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and anchovy paste, stir to mix thoroughly, reduce heat to low, and simmer for three hours. (Note: the sauce should just barely bubble.) Stir occasionally and add water as needed to prevent mixture from drying out. However, at the end the ragu should not be runny.
Cook pasta and toss with butter. Serve with freshly grated Parmigiano.
Technorati: Food | recipe | main dish | pasta | bolognese
Labels: beef, italian, pasta, pork
Read more...Disclaimer: Most quantities in recipes are approximate. Adjust as needed according to your taste and experience. Unless otherwise specified, eggs are large and butter is unsalted.
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