Pork - that Magical Meat

I love pork. I guess if you eat meat, and pork is not kept off your menu for religious or vegetarian purposes, it is a favorite of most. Bacon makes everything taste good. My sister-in-law quipped once that "Bacon could even make cardboard taste good." I'm not sure I would go quite that far, but I expect you know what I mean.

There are so many parts of the animal that are usable, though I usually stick to the more common ones. Bacon, of course, pork loin roasts, pork tenderloins, pork chops, pork ribs, other pork roasts, ham. Once in a while I will cook something like a boneless pork shoulder roast to use in things like a barbecue for summer sandwiches. Pork Barbecue is one of my more favorite things to serve on a bun. The terminology is different in some places. My mother-in-law called what I would term Sloppy Joes, "barbecue". But when I say Pork Barbecue, I mean the wonderfully tender shredded pork roast with barbecue sauce. Yum!

I have made pork barbecue occasionally for many years, though I never thought to set down a "recipe" as such. I rectified that lately, and put the recipe on my website. I used my own Sweet Tangy BBQ Sauce recipe for the sauce, and it is just insanely good. Still, any preferred barbecue sauce will work. In past, I have used a regular red barbecue sauce alone, or used a combination of a red sauce combined with a honey-mustard variety. Whatever your preference, it will be good, I am sure. It is a simple meal to prepare. The only messy part comes when you have to remove all the fat from the cooked roast and shred the meat. Obviously, a pork shoulder roast is fatty, and will cook down a fair bit. I just place it into a pot with water nearly to cover and add in some salt, bay leaves, pepper. Sometimes I add an onion, sometimes not. I allow the roast to cook, covered for up to 3 hours, or until it is falling-apart-tender. Remove from the cooking water and let it cool. Breaking it up a bit will speed the cooling process. Then remove fat and shred the meat and you are almost done with no real work involved.

Pork Barbecue

Pork Barbecue

Serves about 6 - 8

3 - 3½ pound boneless pork shoulder
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 large onion, chopped
3 - 6 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Sweet Tangy BBQ Sauce, or other barbecue sauce

Place the pork roast into a pot large enough to accommodate without crowding. Add water to almost cover, then add in the salt, bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook slowly for 2½ to 3 hours, or until the pork falls apart easily. Remove the meat to a plate until cool enough to handle.

Once meat has cooled, remove all fat and discard, then shred the meat, cutting across the grain to make some strands shorter and more easy to eat. Set aside. In a large skillet, fry the onion until golden brown. Add the garlic and fry for a couple minutes more. Add in the meat and the BBQ sauce; toss to combine and heat through.



Pork Chops with Sage & Currant Jam

Pork chops are a favorite standby. I make them in various ways. One of my favorite go-to-recipes for pork chops is to place the chops into a cold skillet and bring up to fairly high heat. Brown that first side and while it is browning, sprinkle the chops with salt and pepper and then use either fresh sage or rosemary. Chop the herb of choice very finely and sprinkle that all over, along with some minced garlic. Once the first side is browned, flip the pork chops and repeat with the seasonings. Once the second side is browned, place about a tablespoon of Marion Blackberry Jam, or currant jelly on top of each chop. Cover and simmer for about a half hour. The jam/jelly will have made a wonderful sauce around the meat and given great flavor. These are a particular favorite with my husband and his sister. Recently, when I made some "Champagne Pink" Currant Dehydrator Jam, while the jam was too tart for serving on toast, it was fantastic on these pork chops.

I make pork tenderloins all summer long on the grill. I love using the marinade for either chicken or pork tenderloins. I usually clean any fat and silver skin off the tenderloins, then cut them on a bias across the grain into three pieces. They are then about the size of a chicken breast. This marinade is so exceptionally good on either chicken or pork. The meat is great after a half hour of marinating, but can easily be left overnight if it is a time crunch. This is the recipe:

Pork (Chicken or Turkey) in Indian Spices

Pork in Indian Spices

1½ to 2 pounds pork tenderloins (or boneless chicken or turkey breasts)
 
MARINADE:
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
2 teaspoons coriander seed, ground
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, ground
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cardamom, ground
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup olive oil

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a zip top bag or other container. Prepare meat: For pork tenderloins, trim any silver skin and slice the tenderloin diagonally into 3 or 4 pieces. If using chicken breasts, leave whole if small. If large, cut them lengthwise into two pieces. For turkey breasts, cut them lengthwise into 2 pieces each. Place the meat of choice into the marinade and allow at least 1/2 hour of marinating time, turning often so all sides of the meat are in contact with the marinade.

Once the meat is marinated, remove from marinade and grill to desired doneness. It is wonderful with a side of rice. 


I could go on and on, but all this is making me hungry! I hope some of these ideas will give you new avenues to explore.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Pork Loin Roast, Good for Any Occasion

I got an idea a few days ago for making a pork loin roast. I wanted a rub, but what kind? I wanted a little bit of sweet, but not too much, so I used brown sugar. I thought of using cocoa in it, as I love foods using cocoa, not as a sweet element, but in the concept of a mole poblano kind of way. I wanted smokiness, because we both love that, so I put in smoked paprika and Spanish sweet paprika. Then what other things would give the kinds of flavors I was looking for? I add in a lot of freshly ground pepper, because I love pepper, and it gives a little bite. Ginger has a little of its own bite and zip. Coriander seeds give great flavor, and then a little cumin. I added in a little ancho chili powder for a little more zip. I could have added chipotle powder but didn't want it to be too hot for my guests. If I knew guests loved heat with their spice, I would certainly add that in.

I went to work, adding this and that, tasting the outcome to see how it fared. It was really good, so I proceeded with that as my recipe for Sweet Smoky Cocoa Rub. 

Sweet Smoky Cocoa Rub

Sweet Smoky Cocoa Rub

Makes 1⅓ cups rub mix

¾ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon paprika, preferably Spanish
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1½ teaspoons smoked paprika (Pimienta de la Vera)
1½ teaspoons salt
1½ teaspoons ground coriander seed
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder, or more to taste
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon chipotle powder, optional
¾ teaspoon ground cumin

Mix all ingredients until thoroughly blended. If storing, use an airtight container and keep in a cool, dry place away from heat or light. 

Then for the pork loin

Loins can end up tough and dry because the meat in the center is so lean. Two things that were crucial in my mind is to get the flavor to the middle of the meat, and to roast it correctly so it would stay juicy and succulent. In order to get flavor to the middle, I decided to cut the 4 1/2 pound roast open in a spiral, so it would lay flat. My reason for this was to rub on a paste of garlic, minced thyme and olive oil to the inside of the roast. I then took 3 or 4 tablespoons of the rub mix and sprinkled it over the paste and rubbed it in. I sprinkled on a couple teaspoons of Kosher salt and rolled the meat back to its original shape. Using kitchen twine, I tied the loin in about 6 places or so to keep it together while it roasted. I rubbed a lot more of the spice rub on the outside and sprinkled with more Kosher salt. I set this in the refrigerator overnight.

Now it was ready for the oven. To roast fast at high temperature or low and slow? I opted for low and slow, setting the oven at 325 degrees. My plan was to roast for an hour, then lay bacon strips over the top of the roast for the remainder of time. I added the bacon too late (it was quite thick sliced), so it didn't even get done before the roast registered 150 on my thermometer. Looking back, I could easily have fried the bacon and laid the strips on the inside of the roast when I was seasoning it, and would certainly try that next time. As it was, I had to fry the bacon a little bit more to get it done completely. I removed the roast when it hit 150 degrees, tented it with foil and left it to rest while I finished preparing the side dishes. My Sweet Cocoa Rubbed Pork Loin Roast came out well flavored, moist and succulent. Just as I hoped.

Sweet Cocoa Rubbed Pork Loin Roast

Succulently juicy and tender, the rub gives rich cocoa and smoky flavor. More smoky-spicy heat could be attained by adding chipotle powder to the rub mix.

Serves 10 to 12

1 (4½ pound) pork loin roast
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped finely
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 large cloves garlic, minced or put through a press
¾ to 1 cup Sweet Smoky Cocoa Rub
3 - 4 teaspoons Kosher Salt
4 strips thick sliced bacon, optional
Butcher's twine, for tying

Sweet Cocoa Rubbed Pork Loin Roast

To distribute flavor all through the meat, using a good sharp chef knife, start at the lower edge of the length of the roast and slice in horizontally, about 1-inch up from the bottom, the entire length of the meat, until you are about at 1-inch from the other edge. Leave the bottom flat, lift the center of the meat and slice horizontally again, continuing until the entire piece of meat is approximately 1-inch thick. Do not worry if the meat is not perfectly flat. Lay the meat open.

Mix together the thyme, garlic and olive oil into a paste and spread this over the open meat. Sprinkle on about 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt, then rub in about 4 tablespoons of the Sweet Smoky Cocoa Rub. At this point, if desired, fry the optional bacon strips and then lay them lengthwise on the meat. Roll the meat back into its original position, and tie at about 2-inch intervals along the length of the meat. Trim ends of the twine.

Sprinkle 6 to 8 tablespoons more of the Sweet Smoky Cocoa Rub over the entire outside of the roast. Sprinkle on more Kosher salt.

About 2½ - 3 hours before the roast will be served, have the oven at 300 degrees with a rack positioned so the roast will be in the center of the oven. Use a thermometer placed into the center of the meat to monitor the temperature. Place the roast on a rack in a pan and place in oven for approximately 2 - 2¼ hours, or internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. Remove from oven and tent with foil and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Remove twine, slice into about 1-inch thick slices and serve.


NOTES: I did not use the bacon inside the roast, but instead placed the raw bacon strips, cut in half, over the top of the roast about 1 hour into the roasting time. Doing this again, I will put the bacon inside, allowing each slice to have some rolled inside it.




My passion is to teach people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and help pass along my love and joy of food, both simple and exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, trying new things weekly. Join me at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook and Pinterest.